HOME ECONOMICS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2143, 28 December 1920, Page 4

HOME ECONOMICS.

VALUE OF THE ORANGE.

An American writes thus of the orange, a fruit obtainable here at all seasons:—"The orange is one of Nature's finest gifts to man. Orange juice contains prc-digested food in a most delicious and attractive form, ready for Immediate absorption. The amount of food contained in a single large orange is about equivalent to that found in a halfslice of bread: but it differs from bread, in that it needs no digestion, while bread, before it can be used in energising and strengthening the body, must undergo digestion for several hours. It is for this reason that oranges are so refreshing to an exhausted or feeble person. The sweeter the orange the greater its food value. But the energy value of an orange, which for an ordinary-sized orange amounts to from 75 to 100 calories, is by no means its only value. Orange juice is rich in salts, especially in lime and alkaline salts, which counteract the tendency to acidosis, which is always threatening sedentary people, hearty meal enters, and those advanced in age. The free use of orange juice is a valuable means of combnting the inroads |of Father Time, and is also an excellent means of antidoting, to some extent, the bad effects of an indoor or sedentary life. One or two oranges taken at bed-time, and on rising in the morning, arc an excellent means of stimulating bowel action. Oranges may be taken between meals with great benefit by feeble persons. The delightful flavour and general stimulating influence of orange juice incites peristaltic activity, and sd tends to prevent the accumulation of food residues in the colon, which leads to putrefaction and auto-intoxication." ' It is wasteful to throw away the peels of oranges. They c;m be used for marmalade, by shredding into very fine strips, and following the recipe for any orange marmalade, substituting one apple for the pulp of each orange called for ill the recipe. Care should be taken to remove every particle of the thin membrane, which holds the sections of orange together, and the pulp to the skin, for this gives a disagreeable flavour to the marmalade. Another way to use the peelings is to put theqi through the food-chopper—always removing the membranes—and place the finely-chopped peels in jars in alternate layers with granulated sugar. The layers should be well pressed together or weighted. After a few days a thick golden syrup will collect at the bottom of the jars, and this is exceedingly delicious to flavour puddings, icings, cake-fillings, or a dozen other dishes. To dry the peelings and grate the yellow ouside; to cut them while fresh in strips and candy them; to chop, and make confections mixed with nuts—these and many other ways of using them will suggest themselves. The peel can he candied in the following way:—Take the peel of four oranges and two lemons, cut in quarters, and soak it in slightly salted water for two or three days. Drain and boil till soft in other water. Make a syrup of two breakfnstciips of sugar and one of water, and boil for six minutes. Put your well-drained peel in a basin and pour the syrup over it. Lot it stand for three or four days. Pour off the syrup and boil. Put the peel into the boiling syrup, and boil till clear for 15 or 20 mintucs. If there is not enough syrup to cover the peel, add more. Arrange the peel in a flat dish, and pour a little of the syrup in the hollow of each piece. Sprinkle with sugar, and dry well in a cool oven or hot sun. Orange juice to flavour the syrup improves it. POINTS ON GOOD COOKING. Cookery, in its full meaning, is a science, as well as a profession, and, as such, it is a potent civilising factor. As a profession, it cannot be learnt by mere theoretical studies, for it requires constant practice and experience. Good cooking is the greatest boon to mankind, and adds considerably to the comfort of any home. Bad cooking, on the other l hand, is not only Wasteful, but also the cause of discontent and unhappiness, and" thus nothing short of an insult to Nature. The foundation of good cookery consists in so preparing raw materials as to render them tender in substance, without wasting those juices which constitute their true nourishment and ilavour. The latter quality is most necessary to the enjoyment of food. The preparatory process is the essential basis of all good cooking. One great secret lies in a judicious use of materials, and, with but few exceptions, in the application of a moderate degree of hentv Most food, while cooking, requires but gentle simmering, not the furious boiling which results in rendering meat Joufih, indigestible and tasteless. It is not wSsc,lSvcn in the preparation of simple dishes, to trust to the memory or the eye alone. The various Ingredients should be weighed and measured, and then carefully and systematically prepared and cooked. Becipes proved by experience to be serviceable should always be scrupulously followed. The world is Blessed with a great variety of good foods, and by acquiring the necessary knowledge of preparing and cooking them, there would be no difficulty in having well-cooked, satisfying and wholesome food for everybody, without waste and extravagance. All food—no matter how simple—should Be well-cooked and placed on the table with taste and daintiness. Every effort should be made to see that the cooked dishes arc mode presentable, so that they please the eye as well as the palate. A dish, even if well cooked, which is badly dished, offends the eye, and has a tendency to mar the pleasure of the consumer.