Grand Forks herald., 1917-01-24
Office of Home Economics ihesents
Valuable Suggestions to Housewives
On Economical Choice Of Edible Fats

Washington, Jan. 23.-Flavor and
color have an important bearing on
the prices which must be paid for the
various edible fats used in the home,
since all are regarded as wholesome
when OF good quality and practically
the same amount Of energy is derived
by the body from each. The house
keeper therefore must decide usually
what she is willing to pay for relative
~ superficial properties in the foods
Ihese facts are pointed out in a re-
cent professional paper of the.U. 8.
department. of agriculture, bulletin
46s. Fats and Their Economical Use
IN the Home.' prepared by the office
OF nome economics Of the department.
In discussing the selection Of fats for
special uses the bulletin says:
In general it pays always to buy fats
OF such good quality that none will
nave to be thrown away through
spoilage. In some instances a higher
priced article may be more economi-
cal In the end, as, for example. clean,
sanitary butter. as compared to
cheaper, but less sanitary product.
In some instances, where taste or
havor nav. only is involved, a less expen-
slVe table fat may answer quite satis-
factorily the purpose of more ex-
pensive one. For example, the chief
use of the table oils is as an ingredi-
ent of salad dressings, and when a
characteristic flavor Is not especially
desired, good grades Of cottonseed and
peanut oils, having a bland flavor,
may be used, when these are less ex-
pensive than the corresponding grades
of olive oil.
Fats used for shortening, that is, in
mixture with doughs, etc, influence
the appearance. flavor, texture. COM
position, keeping quality. and cost of
the foods in which they are incor-
porated. In selecting shortening fats
flavor and odor are to be considered,
but attractive appearance and color
are OF less Importance. since in cook
ing these are usually masked. Other
qualities being equal. those culinary
fats are more economical and desir-
able which possess the best keeping
quality; that is, the least tendency to
become rancid. Also, for general use
shortening fats give the best results
If they are neither too hard nor too
soft to be easily mixed with the other
ingredients of the dough at ordinary
temperatures.
Fats used as a medium for cooking
in such operations as frying should
be carefully selected, since they in
fluence the flavor. appearance, and
texture of the foods cooked in them,
as is evident when one recalls the bad
flavor impaired to fried foods by
burned or rancied fat. Preference
should be given to a fat which does
not scorch too readily at the temper
ature most commonly used for frying.
Experiments in the laboratory of the
office Of home economics indicate that
butter and lard scorch at lower tenn
perature than beef or mutton fats and
cottonseed, peanut, or cocoanut oils.
For this reason, therefore, the latter
fats are preferable for deep frying,
which requires high temperature.
Economical Use of Fats.
1t is waste, the bulletin points out,
to use more fat than a good recipe
calls for. 1t is we'll known that too
much butter makes cake soggy,
while salad dressing with too much
Oil tastes "fat." The following are
additional examples Of ways in which
economy may be secured. It is more
economical to stir butter into cooked
vegeta bles just before they are served
rather than while cooking, and the
flavor thus impaired Is more pro-
nounced. Furthermore, II added be-
fore cooking much of the butter is
lost unless the water in which the
vegetables are boiled is served with
them. Instead of adding butter to
vegetables many people cook fat ham,
bacon, or salt pork with them and
relish the characteristic flavor thus
impaired.
Saving Fats That Would be Thrown
Away.
Much fat may be saved by home
rendering Of the trimmings from fat
meat. The following method of rem
dering fats, found to be very satis-
factory in the laboratory of the office
of home economics, may be applied
in the home. The fat is cut finely
with an ordinary household meat
chopper or sausage grinder and Is
then heated in double boiler until
completely melted. The melted fat