The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-06-28
SUGGESTIONS To
THE HOUSEWIFE
THE CONSERVATION OF FOOD
STUFFs A SUBJECT THAT IS
VITAL TO THE FAMILY
WAYS GIVEN TO SAVE MONEY AND FOOD
Department Of Agriculture Gives Per-
tinent Advice to Reduce Living
Cost.

one dollar out of every five that Is
spent for food is thrown away in some
American households. In the majority
it may be only one out of every ten Or
twelve, but in almost every home the
waste is an important item in the cost
OF living. Investigators have estimat-
ed it as ranging from practically moth
ing to 20 per cen of the food pur-
chased, with 7R per cent as a mean
value. Few housewives probably have
any idea of what it mount to in
their own homes, but there are fewer
still who could not reduce it if they
would.
Ordinarily the process of wasting
begins with the purchase of food. 1t
is not uncommon, for example, for the
housewife to want the butcher to trim
off the fat and bones which were
nevertheless included when the meat
was weighed and for which he has
charged his customer. Since these
have to be paid for, the economical
housewife will see that they are taken
home and used. The bones should go
into the soup pot and the fat can be
utilized for cooking and thus made to
reduce the amount of fat which must
be purchased specially for that pur-
nnCn and which in M, hnI,rahnJl-
is a considerable item in the years
food bill.
Another cause of wasteful buying is
the erroneous idea that the value of
foods as food is in some way determin-
ed by the price. As a matter of fact,
the nutritive value of an article of
food and its price seldom have any
relation to each other. An expensive
cut Of beef is not necessarily any
more sustaining than a cheap one. II
usually tastes better, or can be cook
ed by easier methods. To buy it de
liberately for these qualities does not
necessarily NEAR waste of money, but
if one is looking for nutriment, not
flavor or convenience, the purchase
of the expensive cut if often unwar-
ranted extravaganza. Care in cook
ing and seasoning moreover, will make
inexpensive meats attractive and much
better than costly ones poorly pre-
pared.
With fruits and vegetables the price
is often determined by the season. A
vegetable out of season is much more
expensive thar one in season, but it
is no more nutritious. In order to
purchase to best advantage, the house.
wife should understand such things
and should also be familiar with gen
eral market conditions. If she a
choose between going to market in
person and ordering by telephone or
at the door, she should know whether
in her particular circumstances the
convenience of the latter makes up
for the possibly better prices and
Qudllty " We oDlIlilVu ny II li'
method. She should, further, know
whether the saving often effected by
buying in bulk is likely to be offset
or not by spoilage and waste in the
home. If she has no adequate storage
facilities it may often be wiser to buy
in small quantities. Furthermore.
when this is done, there is no doubt
that there is less temptation to be
unduly lavish with the article in ques-
ton.
Once the food is in the house, it Is
important that all that is edible De
eaten. The peeling of potatoes, for
example, seem a small thing. but it
has been estimated that 90 per cent
of the flesh of the potato is often lost
in the process. Not only are many 9TH
er vegetables and fruits wastefully
pared, but in many cases the tops or
outer leaves are thrown away, al
though they could be used as greens.
to flavor soups, and in other ways.
One Of the articles of food with
which the waste is greatest is bread.
In almost every household quantities
of this are left over" every day. FIRE.
q%uently they are put into the garbage
pail; more rarely they are made into
bread pudding or a few are used in
cnnIlnnn1 1tchnr 49, II, ctpatlor xr,nvyc I
1t is not generally known. however.
that dried bread can be ground in 4
coffee mill or food chopper and used
in place of part or all of the -four call
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