The Topeka state journal., 1918-09-24
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director.
Washing1on. d. C
HOW PORTO RICO is FED.
Washington. D. G.

platanos, scalloped aguacates; choco- |
late with cocoanut milk and a suck of
the sugar cane read a menu of a
Porto Rican food conservationist.
Porto Rico, like the rest of s:sA
United States, must conserveA She =,
for all such purposes, as much a part
of the nation as-any state. But when
it comes to procuring food, she is an
island separated from the mainland of
supplies, as is England. This fact was
brought poignantly home to the Porto
Ricans when on June 2, the steamship
Carolina was sunk by German subma-
rine. Suddenly they realized that their
problem was different from that of the
mainland. If anything should cut
their connection with it, it would not
be question'of conserving for the al
lies, but of finding food for them
selves. The towns would be panic
stricken. 1t was obvious that, while
| obeying the orders of the food admin
istration to save wheat, fats, meat and
sugar, they must also learn to use their
own products wherever possible, and
must increase their production of such
Ifoodstuffs
Fortunately this possibility had been
foreseen by the department of educa-
ton, and as early as August, 1917, ac-
cording to the report of the chairman
of food production and home econo-
mics. Porto Rican division of the woL
4 IL
Defense, plan was started to make
Porto Rico self-supporti1g in her food
supplies.
First, of ALL two weeks summer
course for teachers was held to study
the new work for the coming year,
which was to instruct the students of
the schools and their families in war
diet. and utilizing local products. Dur
ing the year cooking classes were con-
&-I fano
classes were not only in conservation
! Icooking, but also in Porto Rican cook
! ing
| 1t was a simple matter to omit pies
and cakes and wheat bread, from thes
school menu cooking lessons. The
question was. what should be sub
stituted? ? Corn was not used in Porto
| Rico in any quantity; what was, was
4 imported. Rice and potato flours
would all have to be imported. And
it was from this dependence upon i'm
portation for the staff of life that the
Porto Ricans had to be freed.
| 1t was found that Porto Rico is spe-
cially blessed with vegetables rich in
starch. This starch can readily be
extracted by simple home process.
The vegetable is peeled and grated,
covered with. water, and allowed to
stand for several hours. The pulp is
| then strained out, the starch allowed
to settle, the water poured off and the
starch dried and sifted. In all cases it
is fine and white and serves as we'll as
flour or cornstarch. In order to prove
to the people that starch is starch,
whether it comes from a vegetable or
| a grain of wheat, and that it furnishes
las much nourishment to the body. coli
lections of starch were made nlustrat-
ing the varying amounts extracted
from equal quantities of several vege-
tables. These collections were exhib
tied and explained to the public. They
were also used with great success in
all school recipes, except bread, calling
for flour.
The next step was to teach the sub
stitutien. In place of bread, boiled
or baked batatat baked piatanos and
other vegetables must be used. For
sandwiches, slices Of boiled yautia and
boiled batata were spread with pea
nut butter or shredded cocoanut.
At the University of Porto Rico a
dryer was installed and excellent re-
suits obtained in the making of flour
from yautia and batata. Sun drying is
impossible on account of the large
amount of moisture in the air, but air
currents artificially heated and pro-
PEELED b. electric fans brought results.
The vegetable dries in from six to ten
hours, depending upon the uniformity
with which it is sliced. Four pounds
of yuatia will make one and one-half
pounds of flour when dried. This
flour gives slight tan color to batters
and doughs, and combines exeellently
with cornmeal in the making of muf-
fins and corn bread, serving to keep
the corn bread moist for several days,
instead of letting it dry and crumble
! as when meal alone is used. '-'-
, The use of cornmeal as a substitute
has been extended. Prior to the war
; what was used was imported and in
small towns it was available perhaps
| once a month. only when q smaller
grower ground it, Twenty-fo
recipes have been distributed, and now
its use is general. not only in bread but
: as substitute in pie crust.
As to fats, the problem of the Porto
Ricans was not substitution, but re.
l placement. Butter has not been car
I ried by' local stores since November
The price of lard is prohibitive to poor
= people. Other substitutes on thu
, American market are not available
There was choice, new fats mus
be found. Local fat supplies were
: therefore studied. Cocoanut huttel
was made by churning the cocoanu
milk by the same process used to pro.
duce creamery butter. This is used or
$ breads and vegetables. Cocoanut OF
( is used for frying, and cocoanut mill
to provide the fat in boiled and seal
loped dishes. The cocoanut milk i.
extracted and bottled in the schools
In the rural districts, cocoanut milk i:
being used in coffee -
The use of aguacates, known in the
: United States as alligator pears, ant
the native cocoa in chocolate were en-.
couraged because of the fat content.
= of these products.
Like other people intent on saving
S meat for the allies, Porto Ricans hav,
| learned to use more and morefish<F For
| tunately their coastal swaters abount
with good varieties that Porto Rican
| had forgotten how to catch and t,
i enjoy. A special campaign pointed ou
f the value of fish in a diet and brough
forth large catches. Porto Rico ais,
produces beans, peas and peanuts ant
t their planting has been stimulated.
G sugar cane abounds in Porto Rice
and SO, merely to feed herself If Gu
Hose from American commerce. sh,
> need not ecenomize it. But here sh,
l. fpra CticeS the sacrifice of self for fhj