Evening star., 1921-04-29
The Stars Household
Expert Gives Some
Hints on Care of Food
in Summer How to
Make a Serviceable
1celess Refrigerator.

There Is no article Of furniture in
q house as important as the refriger-
ator in warm weather. The health OF
the family really depends upon hav-
ing a good one. so that all food placed
in 1t can be kept in a perfectly fresh
condition until needed.
When buying refrigerator there
are four main points to consider: Inc
air circulation, the insulation. the
interior lining and the exterior hnlsn; ,fs
The circulation in a refr gerator plays
an important part in keeping food
fresh and free from taint. Melting
ice will absorb most OF the doors
from the air that comes in contact
with it. Therefore. the refrigerator
kept in circulation and comes in fire.
quent contact with the ice. For this
reason refri gerators that have the ice
placed in a separate compartment at
one side are the best. By this ar
| rangement the air on the side where
the ice is, because it is cooler. is also
heavier and sinks, while the air in the
food compartment. being warmer and
| therefore lighter, rises and passes
over into the ice compartment. where
it becomes cooled and purified. All
the air in the refrigerator is thus
! brought into frequent contact with
| the ice.
! The Insulation.
| The insulation is the material that
| occupies the space between the out
| side woodwork and the inside lining
| Its purpose is to prevent heat from
| coming through from the outside and
melting the ice. 1t must, therefore. be
| Of some material that will keep out
| the heat and not waste the ice. Some
| insulating materials will let in two
! or three times as much heat as 9TH
! ers. A little extra money spent to
obtain good insulation is. therefore
| we'll invested.
The best insulators are cork anG
! mineral wool. The most effective i.
| pressed cork board. but 1t is expen.
sive. Mineral wool and granulatet
| cork are nearly as good. and much
cheaper. In the cheapest refriger'
| ators wool felt. charcoal and ever
| insulators. for they gather moisture
and that almost wholly destroy theil
| insulating qualities. Moreover. thu
| moisture rots the wood and soon de
stroys the refrigerator itself. The
| outside castings are usually either OF
| est. but costs more. The exterior is
| largely matter of taste and depends
| upon what the purchaser is willing
| to pay. 1t has nothing to do with the
| economy or the sanitary qualities OF
| the refrigerator. The lining may be
heavy opal glass. The zinc and enam
eled iron Innings are the cheapest. but
are the most difficult to keep clean
The porcelain and glass Innings are
expensive. but are easy to keep clean
and do not retain odors. Whatever
you select. make sure that there are
no cracks or corners that would be
hard to keep clean. The latches on
the doors are also to be considered
They should be so made that they
will not work loose and fail to keep
the doors tightly closed. A loosely
fastened door will let in the warm
outside air and rapidly waste the ice.
Of the food Of the family is kept.
should be one of the housewives first
considerations in the matter Of clean
illness. II there is a pan under the
refrigerator. 1t should be scalded Oft
en- to prevent the collection Of slime.
oughly CLEANED with hot water and
washing soda once q week. All the
helves and racks should be removed
and scaided and all the pipes cleaned.
Anything with a strong odor should
not be placed in the icebox. Fish
should be wrapped first in cloth and
then In several thfcknesses of paper.
Meat. On the other hand, should not
be put away in paper. but open on a
plate, and unless. like ham. it is al
ready salted, a little salt should be
sprinkled over it. Nothing hot should
De put into the refrigerator at all.
Those who wrap their ice in paper
to make it last longer should remem-
Der that only as ice melts is the re-
frigerator cooled. When the ice is
kept from melting by covering il
with paper or a blanket the refrig-
orator is kept from becoming as cold
as IT should be: It is economy to keep
rather than buying little at a time
and thereby allowing the refriEerator
to become warm and quickly melting
the ice.
csre Of Leftevss.. 1'-se
A ho9Sewife uses all scots of dish
es. such ~ cups, tumblers, pitchers
ana thins. as receptacles for the left
ovefs @ tnae are constantly appearing
Many odds and ends have to be saved
like the white of an egg, a little apple
sauce, pieces Of butter. half a f1,m- =
bier OF cream. Most Of the impro.
vised feceptacles lack covers. vet II
is important to protect their contents
from absorbing odors from other food
| in the refrigerator. For that purpose
| saucers and plates are insecure make
shirts. Paper covers will do the
work. They are light. clean and con-
| venient. and once the knack is ac-
quired are easy to make.
! Filter paper. such as druggists and
| chemists use, is the best for the mr.
! pose. 1t is inexpensive and so soft
| and tough that IT can be folded sew
| eral times without breaking. To
| make. cut out square piece twice
\ the size Of the top Of the tumbler or
dish to be covered. Clip Off the four
corners. then with the left hand hold
i OCtlH0naI in
tumbler. Roll the projecting edges
| of the paper inward and upward and
press them against the outside Of the
tumbler or dish. II you have made
the cap correctly. you can easily re.
move it from any smooth edged re.
ceptable. such as tumbler, and USE
| II again and again.
Berries. peaches or apricots shoult
not be kept long in boxes in the re.
frigerator. Pears. melons and. grape.
come to no harm by lying on the ic.
FOR some hours before they are to be
| eaten, but they should not be KEEP
In a damp place too long and shoult
| be eaten as soon as they are removed
from the refrigerator. Celery. salad.
or all sorts. caulfower. tomatoes
peas: beans and other succulent veg
etables may be stored for a day OF
two in the refrigerator and be mucl
better for it. Potatoes. onions. tur.
| nips. carrots and other vegetables O
| this class should be kept dry and cool
but not cold. A box of fresh dry sane
is an excellent thing to have in
! corner of the storeroom or pantry
II apples are carefully packed in tn,
| sand they will keep fresh and un
| shriveled for long time.
If your vegetables become wiltet
and stale before you have an oppor
tunity to use them. place them" for al
hour or so in a gallon Of water, t,
, which a teaspoonful Of soda has beer
! added. They will then be Just a
crisp and fresh as when gathere.
| from the garden.