CHOICE AND CARE OF FOOD IN HOT WEATHER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21531, 31 December 1931, Page 13

CHOICE AND CARE OF FOOD IN HOT WEATHER

(Contributed by the Home Science Extension Department.) During the hot weather one of the greatest problems of the housekeeper is the question of food—what to do and how to prevent waste and spoilage. In order to decide what to serve we have to consider the body’s requirements. We all know that-during the hot weather we require much less of the fuel foods, these giving heat and energy. For this reason we do without fat, the most concentrated fuel food, as far as possible. Our appetite guides us away from bacon and such like, but we must be on our guard against pastry, cream, and rich puddings, against which appetite does not always warn ns. It is also obvious that we need water during the summer to compensate for the increased amount of moisture lost by onr bodies through perspiration. By taking abundance of fruit and vegetables we can help compensate this loss in some measure. It is advisable, too, for us to reduce the quantity of meat, not perhaps from the purely dietetic point of view, but also because it keeps so badly and becomes tainted. Here is where we can substitute cheese and egg dishes. The idea, then, to be aimed at is plenty of fruit and vegetables, little fat, but sufficient starchy food to give the beat and energy required, and a reduced meal intake, the children especially receiving an adequate quantity of eggs and, of course, an abundance of milk. The next problem is how best to keep food fresh and good. Our three chief enemies are heat, dust, and flics. Only a few of us are blessed with the ownership of a refrigerator, but we can verv easily devise ways of keeping things cool. With a good, well-ventilated sale, hung or built in the shade where there is a free draught of air through it, we arc not so badly off. A cover of butter-muslin will protect the foods from dust and flies. For the butter and the milk, it is best to stand the vessel containing them in a basin of cold water and cover with a piece of damp butter-muslin, allowing the ends to dip into the water. If the muslin has been wrung out in water containing borax the result is even more satisfactory.

in the waging of war against flies, of course, llie best method is to concentrate on preventing the flies from even getting into the house at all. Wire gauze sliutters and doors arc excellent. The gauze costs about 2s 6d a yard, while a gauze door would be about 30s to £2. This is well-

invested money, for it is really better than all the methods of catching or poisoning flies once they iiave got in. The strip of fly’paper suspended from the ceiling is, perhaps, the best of the catching methods, as the papers can be removed and burned frequently. And last, but by no means least, lot us be more than careful to see that we leave no food standing uncovered, and remember particularly to cove all refuse and garbage so that we provide no possible breeding place for flies and germs.