HOME ECONOMICS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25279, 16 July 1943, Page 4

HOME ECONOMICS

A large audience of membet's of. the Home Economics Association and the Food Value League met in the Home Science Building on Monday night, when Miss' Mac Gibbon gave .an- interesting description of the research work done in recent years to discover the most effective methods of cooking foodstuffs, so as to conserve, the maximum food value. A series of demonstrations showed clearly the bad and good ways of treating the different classes of foods. Vegetables were valuable# for the minerals and vitamins, so small in quantity, and so easily lost or spoilt. Experiments had proved that there was least lost when they were cooked quickly, with minimum peeling, In hot salted water. Discoloration of white vegetables, due to tannin or melanin, was counteracted by lemon or vinegar. As very hard water hardened vegetables this was the only condition when the use of a little soda ■ was advocated, when cooking vegetables. When roasting meat best results were proved to be obtained if the meat was put in. the oven at a temperature of 350 degrees and kept at that heat till cooked. Tough meat could be made tender, by stewing with tire addition of acid in the form of vinegar, lemon* or tomato. The gluten content of flour varied according to the source of the wheat, and it was for this reason that some people had been disappointed when using American recipes, which were based on the use of American flour, for this was different from New Zealand flour in that it could hold more sugar and liquid. The present types of baking powders were slower in action • than cream of tartar powders, and gave a definite taste to the goods made with them,, so it, was advisable to use smaller quantities of th war conditions had called for tremendous quantities of every kind of foodstuff in dried form, so the display which proved how satisfactorily dehydrated eggs, butter, meat, etc., could be .made into palatable and nourishing dishes made a fitting finale to the demonstration.