Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-02
THE ECONOMICAL PURCHASE OF
FOOD.

economically. This is a Science ard art
in itself. but it has not been recognized.
| due no doubt TO the superabundance of
/ our food materials i'm times past and
/ their relative cheapness as well. For
| some years we have been studying and
| thinking along the lines of sanitation.
which is right and proper. and certainly
/ there should be no intimidation of eff
/ fort in this direction for reasons appar-
/ ent to all. at the same time. il is posi-
/ bic that so-called sanitation may be car
ried to wasteful extremes with the re-
suit that large quantities of money are
spent by the consumer for a product
which is attractively wrapped but which
may contain a minimum amount of nu-
! triton where the cost is considered
/ The consumption of package goods IN
America has grown wonderfully in the
last few years, due TO the fact that they
were so easy TO handle, and because of
the growing desire on the part of the
housewife to secure seYni-prepared foods
which could be easily and quickly made
ready for the table. As a result of the
scramble which has taken place in this
direction. more and more varied and
costly package goods have come into use
until now when prices have taken such
a sudden and phenomenal jump, paying
for these packages entails a national
burden OF expense amounting to mill
lions of dollars annually.
The use of bulk goods in the place of
package goods may be made at this time
the means of saving a very great
amount of money in the aggregate with
out lessening the sanitary nature of
the food consumed so as to endanger
the life of the family. The purchaser
and ultimate consumer will not only
Z II.
cost. but even in a more nutritious
form than many of the goods put up
i'm packages. AS an illustration Of
what is meant by this statement,
steafn-cooked cereals are now extern
siyely used. They are supposed to De
very economical. The consumer should
know. however. that unless there was
good profit in their manufacture IL
would not be undertaken. Many of our
most generally consumed and widely
used cereal foodstuffs are sold in pack
age form after having been partly
steamed or cooked at the factory. The
advantage of this method of preparing
them for table use lies in the fact that
Il only takes about half the time to get
them ready for consumption in the
home. The hurried housewife thinks
this is a great advantage. She over
looks the fact. however. that this par
ttal cooking Injuries the flavor and in
creases the water content very materi-
ally. OF course. the purchaser pays for
this water An illustration of this
point will not be inappropriate. One
cup of steamed cooked GA tmeal will alb
sorb about two cups of water. One
cupful of raw oatmeal will absorb some
four coups of water. This being true. il
is self-evident that one cupful of raw
about tx8-ipp
a smuch as one cupful of steamed oat-
meal when cooked. There is no reason
why oatmeal sold in bulk from bar
rcls should not be as clean and whole
some as that obtained in packages, and
il is self-evident that the proper thing
for the small consumer and the house
wife on the farm to do is TO purchase
goods in bulk form since they will go
about twice as far at the same cost, and
the raw or bulk material is in form
which makes the food more easily di-
gested and assimilated than that which
has been partially cooked.
There are those VINO will contend that
package goods in their semiready con-
dition are more economical because
they require less fuel and less time
for preparation. Tho time for cooking
raw cereals and other products may
be shortened by soaking them over
night or by cooking them in double
boiler while other foods are being pre-
pared. All cereals are best when they
are cooked slowly for a long time. They
NAV be placed in the fireless cooker at
night and be ready for breakfast the
next morning. If we used more cereals,
such as certain by-products of oats and
corn provide, we could lessen the con-
sumption of wheat and supply our fam
lilies With a wholesome substitute there
for at a reasonable cost. Surely this
is something worth considering in view
of the emergency which the country
faces at this time Certainly 1t is very
desirable that we find the cheapest
means of nourishing our people so that
the largest amount of money possible
NAV be set free for investmentin war
loans. The appeal of the food admins
tration is to the effect that we substi-
tute essential for nonessential foods.
The use of bulk cereals is one or the
ways I'm which this end can be brought
about without in any sense improperly
circumscribing or limiting the nutri-
ton of the family or the wholesome
ness of the ration provided therefor.
Other Illustrations of the economy or
purchasing in bulk may not be out OF
Mace at this time. Baked beans. for
instance sold at a certain price Will De
sufficient to feed some four people. The
same money. If invested in dried beans,
would furnish enough food for eight
people. & pound of evaporated fruit.
such as peaches or apricots, contains
three times as many pieces as jar or
canned fruit. If you will examine the
list Of the foods used in your home you
will quickly see the Importance of buy
ing i'm bulk rather than in packages.
These Illustrations are only intended to
sgre-t the mind OF the housewife into
a channel of thought which seems TO
nave been overlooked and neglected Tor
scme years past. The merchants and
manufacturers of the country have
naturally been watching the demands
IF the market, and in recent years FOOD
put up in attractive packages seems to
have been given preference by the
housewife. As a result, every manu-
facturer has endeavored TO get his COM
petitor's trade by putting out better
looking and more sanitary package. The
result has been that about one-half TO
tvo-thirds of the cost OF the package
goods is. expended on the container. AS
a result. the amount Of nutrition the
housewife has obtained for her money
has steadily decreased.
An investigation OF this subject has
recently been made by Sherer-Gillett
Co. of Chicago, for the benefit Of the
state food commissioner Of the state of
Indiana This Investigation was quite