Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-09-16
HOMEMAKERS COLUMN.
Correspondence on topics Of interest to the ladies
COLUMN. Oxford Democrat. South Paris. Ne
A Raisin for Every Day.

A Ralsln for Every Day.
A good appetite needs no brush. II
relishes good, well-prepared, wholesome
food. A food is wholesome when 1t is
enticing and relished in the eating!
Food consumed under these conditions
gives the minimum of work for the sys.
tenn; health is promoted, efficiency ia
increased, and the whole outlook of life
is frightened.
1t is when we scorn natural food and
sosmper after artificial Qualifications and
indulgences that our bodily powers are
weakened with the result the old Roman,
Seneca, states: "Man does not die, be
kills himself"
A common enough, yet little used,
article of food, that Is worth many times
Its weight IN food value, Is the raisin.
They are cheap, indeed, the very best OF
hem, considering their calorific value.
Thanks to the chemists are due for cal
culating for US the raisin's Galleries, in
comparison with such standard foods
as eggs and beefsteak. Their finding
speaks with weight in favor of the raisin,
when they show that the food power in
one pound of raisins is more than double
that of one pound of eggs and about
one third more than that contained In
one pound of beefsteak.
The grape, 1t is worth noting, has al
ways been extolled and its old-time
virtues and merits survive in our raisins
of to-day. Raisins abound in fat, pro-
tein, phosphorus and iron in the best
possible form to be easily assimilated by
the human system. The raisin 10 more
than three-fourths carbohydrate and con.
tains the bulk of Its sugar content in the
form of fructose and levulose. Then the
protein of the fruit is important, while
it's acid qualities spur on digestion and
help assimilation, the appetite being
piqued by the agreeable flavor impaired
to food prepared with raisins.
Then If we bad exhausted the virtues
of the raisip, still 1t would be deserving
of large place on even the humblest
board, for 1t has other valuable proper.
ties. Of all the dried fruits none are go
rich in mineral matter, natural con.
stituent our bodies cannot do without.
The quantity of organic iron contained
in raisns is surpassed by no other fruit
or vegetable. Besides iron, raisins con.
1
sodium, phosphorus, sulphur, potassium
and calcium.
Raisins are produced from fine, deli
cate, delicious, thin-skinned grapes,
grown on the Pacific Coast, where they
mature nicely. They are then dried in
the sun and by artificial heat.
There are three kinds:
Seedless raisins grown without seeds)
Seeded raisins (seeds removed).
Clustered raisins ION the stems).
There are so many uses to which the
raisin will lend itself that it would be
superfuous to give recipes, but cup Of
seedless raisius cooked in the kettle oil
stewed, dried apples makes a dish, IL
our estimation, literally kingly!
In coffee cake We couldn't do without
raisips. A handful of raisins put into
the dinner pail of either child or adult
is real find.
Raisins stewed gently in plenty OF
water and the juice poured off, and
sweetened and cooled, provide finer
drink for feverish patients than that
made with prunes.
Fopdant, favored with little wistaria
md pressed about seedless raisip
makes delightful CONNECTION.
Stewed prunes and raisins together are
an improvement over either, singly.
Raisins in boiled rice and puddings
add much to the food value of the rice
Raisins added to the filling for cakes
give richness and flavor all their own.
Raisins, chopped, are frequently added
70 the various salads we serve in oul
home.
A handful of good seedless raisins,
added to the pot of beef soup an hour
before 1t is desired to serve it, is a
wrinkle practised by chef know, and
is only one of his many ways of giving
zest, individuality and flavor to his cook.
ing.-F. NC.