Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-09-24
How Porto Rico
Feeds Herself
by Frederic J. HaskIn

mol banana but really potato) spread
with cocoanut butter and bits Of shredded /
cocoanut; dish Of baked platanos.
scalloped aguacntes; chocolate with cocoa
nut milk and suck Of the sugar cane,
reads menu of Porto Rican food
conservationlst.
Porto Rica, like the rest of the United
States, mist conserve. She ~, Tor aIl
such purposes, as much n part OF the
nation as any state. But when it comes
to procuring food. she is an island sepa-
rated from the mainland OF supplies,
as il England This fact was brought
| poignantly home to the Port Rcans
when on June 2, the steamship Caro-
| lima was sunk by German submarine.
Suddenly they realized that their
problem was different from that OF the
! mainland If anything should cut their
| connection with IT, II would not be a
| question Of conserving for the allies,
| but of finding food for themselves. he
| towns would he panic-sticken. 1T was
| obvious that, while obeying the orders
| OF the Food Administration 10 save
wheat fats, meat and sugar, they must
| also learn 10 use their own products
wherever possible, and must increase
| their production Of such foodstuiis
REALLY sELr-surroWuNG
Fortunately this possibility had been
| foreheen by the Department Of Edu-
cation, and as early rs August, l6l7,
| according to the report of the chair
man of Food Production and Home
Economics, Porto Rican Division Of
the Womans Committee, Council az
National Defence. plan was started
Ia make Porto Rico self-supportlng
| in her food supplies
First Of all, two weeks summer
| course for teachers was held to study
the new work for the coming year.
| whrh was 10 instruct the students
of the schools and their families IN war
dict, and utilizing local products Dur
ing The year cooking classes were con
Quoted IN forty-two towns 1hosc clas5er
wcrr not only in conservation cooking
| hut also IN Porto RiCan cooking
II was simple matter TO omit pics
and cakes and wheat bread from the
school menu cooking lessons The ques-
tion was. what should be substituted
Corn was not used in Porto Rira IN
any quantity. what was, was imported
Rice and potato tours would all have
10 be imported And It was from this
dependence upon importation for tho
.taff Of life that tho Porto Ricans had
10 be freed
II was found That Port Rico is specially
blessed with vegetables rich ~ starch
This starch ran readily be extracted
by simple home process The vegetable
is peeled and grated covered with wafer,
and allowed to stand for several hours
The pulp Is then strained out. the starch
allowed Ia settle the water poured off
and tho starch dried and sIftcd In AZ
eases Il ls fine and white and serves as
we'll as -four or cornstaroh
pEsova arHATtoSs MADT.
II order to prove n the people that
4 starch Is starch whether # comes from
= vcget able or graln u wheat and
That Il furnishes rs mitch nourishmeni
10 the body collections ot starch were
made illustrating the varying amounts
extracted from equal quantities of sew
cral vegetables These collections were
exhibited and explained 20 the public
They were also with great success m all
school recipes. except bread calling Tor
flour
The next step was "a teach the sub
stituflon In place Of bread. boiled or
baked bat alta baked platanos and other
vegetables must he uset For sand
Wichea slices of boiled yautla and boiled
hatata were spread with peanut-butter
or shredded -ocoanuf
1t the University Of Porto Rico a
DRYER was installed and excellent results
obtained IN thu making Of flour from
vautla and batata ~un-drying IS I'M
possible or account Of the large amount
of r1oIsture IN the mr., put air currents
trtiGcIallv heated and propelled by
clcctric fans brought results The eye
tabl,. drics IN from sIx 70 ten hours, de-
pending upon the uniformity with winch
II IS sliced. -Four pounds ai yautia will
make one and onc-half pounds ot flour
when dried Tins -four gives sight
tan color to nattcrs and doughs and
combines eNccllently with cornmeal IN
making OF mullins and corn bread, serving
10 keep the corn bread moist for several
davs. instead of letting it dry and crumcle
aS when meal alone Is used.
The use ri cornmeal as "a substitute
has been extended Prior TO the AZ,
v hat was used was imported and IN small
towns it was available perhaps once
"A month. only when a smaller ground 1t,
Twentv-four recipes have been cls-
tributed. and now It's use Is general.
not only in bread but as substitute
IN PIE crust.
THE FAT PROBLEM
A. - f.+y tho ,,rp}Ic of tho port n