Evening star., 1938-02-23

tight containers, the French Army wa
the whole world did. From this dis
covery developed the canning at home,
and now the great commercial indus
try, that has developed methods of
preserving almost every type of vege-
table and fruit grown, for our pleasure.
The world owes this man a debt of
gratitude, for due to him we can have
we'll balanced diet today no matter
where we are, or what season of the
year.
Canned food is all so simple for the
modern housewife, that don't believe
she ever stops to think that not so
many years ago, there were only few
varieties of vegetables and fruits
canned, for sale in the corner grocery
store. Any others for the winter
larder, had to be put-up at home dur
ing the heat of the summer, when
vegetables and fruits were ripe.
Nowadays almost every kind of vege-
table and fruit is preserved in either
tins or glass, and are placed on the
shelves of food stores. All the modern
day cook has to do is heat the vege-
tables thoroughly before serving.
The country gentleman. who was
asked by his city friends what he did
with all the vegetables that he grew
on his farm, answered, I'VE eat what
we can, and We can what we can't"
is certainly as true today if not more
SO, than when the old gentleman made
the remark, which is one I heard in
my childhood, and it was probably
old then.
The Bureau of Home Economics
says that fruits and vegetables make
up great per cent Of the foods pre-
served by canning. Nutritionally these
two foods are valuable chiefly because
of their vitamins and minerals. For
that reason any adequate diet includes
them in considerable amounts.
FOR instance, a family of four that
is getting an adequate diet for a
moderate amount Of money probably
consumes about 35 pounds of fruits
and vegetables each week-over and
above potatoes.
''Of all the vegetables canned COM
mercially the big four are tomatoes,
corn, green peas and snap beans.
Others of importance are asparagus,
lima beans, beets. spinach and cabbage
as kraut No census has ever been
taken of the foods canned at home, but
probably the ranking is somewhat the
same.
THE supply of commercially packed
fruits and vegetables now available is
quite bit larger than 1t was last year
according to reports received in the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture.
In preparing canned foods for the
table there are three points to re-
member. One is that the food has al
ready been cooked during the process
ing in the cans. For that reason the
second cooking should be no longer
than necessary. Overlooking makes
some vegetables mushy and damages
flavor.
And the second rule is to use the
liquid from the canned products When
ever possible-on the food itself, or
condensed and used in sauces and
soups This liquid contains valuable
mineral salts and vitamins. So don't
drain the juices Of canned foods down
the sink
THE third point is to vary the sea-
sonings and ways Of serving. When
vegetables are packed in the can they
are generally seasoned only with salt.
This leaves the cook free to use her
skill in adding that soupcon of onion
for which the French are justly famous.
Or for putting in that grating of nut
meg or mace so liked in other parts of
Europe-or the dash of curry powder
that gives q far Eastern tang.
Take canned corn for, instance
the kind that has had the grain scored
and the pulp scraped out. This may
be transferred into delicious pudding
by thickening it with eggs, combining
with milk and seasoning it to suit your
fancy The mixture is baked like a
custard.
'And the other kind of canned corn
the whole grain type-may be made
into crunchy fritters. For the fritters,
use a stiff batter with the juice drained
from the corn as all or part of the
liquid. Mix just enough to moisten
all ingredients. Then drop it by spoon
fulls into deep or shallow fat Be sure
to fry the fritters slowly so that the
center is done before the outside gets
too brown. Serve them hot.
OMATOES, with their distinctive
flavor and high vitamin c con-
tent, may be favored with crisp pieces
of bacon or onion Drowned in butter.
An ever-popular dish is scalloped to-
matoes, at their best when topped
with crisp, golden-brown buttered
bread crumbs. It's a good idea, too,
to toast the bread before mixing it
with the seasoned canned tomatoes
Canned tomatoes are often used in
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