HOUSEHOLD HINTS

Taranaki Daily News, 17 March 1928, Page 20

HOUSEHOLD HINTS

TEST YOUR TINNED FOODS. Ths recent cases of poisoning through eating tinned meat show how essential it ig that care be exercised in the selection of canned goods before the contents are consumed. The tests are easy and effective, and may be carried out in a few seconds. Start with the cap of tho tin. If you detect two holes, reject the can. This is advisable because tho second hole was necessary to allow the escape of tho fermenting gases. Had thii not been done, the tin would eventually have bulged to such an extent that hardly anyone could have failed to notice that something was wrong with it.

Always look for the golden line of resin around the edge of the solder of the cap, and compare it with that on the scam on the can. If you cannot trace it distinctly, in all probability the tin was sealed with acids. Reject it.

Be sure that there is no trace of rust round the cap on the inside of the head of the tin. If there is, you may be sure that air was inside and consequently fermentation has taken place. Reject it. It is a good, plan always to sound a tin before opening it. To do this, merely press in the bottom of the can. If the contents are in any way decomposed, you can rest assured the can will rattle like the bottom of a sewingmachinc oiler. Only when the bottom of the tin feels solid may the contents be regarded as fit for human consumption. Lastly, make it a rule that the packer’s name is on every tin of canned food you buy, and never, on any account accept a tin from which tho label has become detached. Sometimes this happens through accident. And sometimes it is a deliberate attempt to foist an inferior article on the public, perhaps at a reduced price. Cheap canned goods are dear at any price. Reject them! 1 G.H.H. CLEANING SAUCEPANS. All saucepans should be filled with cold water directly the contents are emptied out. Aluminium pans should be cleaned inside and out with sifted ashes or silver sand,, and a wire scrubber. They should be rinsed in warm water and dried inside and out. Soda must never be used for aluminium pans as it turns them black. Tin saucepans must be scrubbed iusid and out in hot water and soda with a pan brush. Then scour th.m well with a flannel on which some silver sand and soap have been rubbed, rinse in clear water, wipe with a clean dry swab and place wrong side up on a pot stand or shelf. If the pans are badly burned or stained, use a wire scrubber and sifted ashes or sand te remove the marks. A USE FOR EVERYTHING. Flowers made from fish scales are the newest fashion novelty for drees decorations, states an Englist writer. Silver scales of herrings are dried, dyed, and made into bunches of lilliputian violets or forget-me-nots. Salmon scales, exquisitely cut and tinted, are made into gay clusters of roses and anemones. “The great advantage of the fish flowers is their ability to withstand the effects of rain and damp,” said the manager of tho West London firm responsible for their output. “No costume or frock is complete to-day without its buttonhole; aud it becomes increasingly difficult to find materials for buttonholes which will be both novel and practical.

Beets peeled and diced will cook more quickly than if cooked whole, and are nice served with a butter dressing, c * • • Green peas, whose shells arc quite matured and slightly dried, tire more delicious when cooked for two hours with salt and butter and a little sugar, than fresh younger ones. » « ♦ ft In winter when dried prunes are frequently used, much labour and fuel are saved if the fruit is cooked in large quantities, sweetened and sealed iu pint cans. Other dried fruits may be prepared in the same way. » ft • # A small rug of any kind which is ; beginning to wear "will last for years if i lined with heavy overall ducking and stitched firmly. # • * ft Hours arc wasted by not having pencil and paper by the telephone. A box of small scraps of paper or a pad and pencil are indispensible. o « # ft Old silk hose if cut open and sewed together make soft dust cloths for fine furniture. ft # ft » Old bath towels are easily converted : into pan lifters, if cut in small squares and given a neat covering of bright gingham or chintz. To the corner may be sewed a snap from a child’s supporter or a brass ring and the lifter hung on a screw hook near the range. These launder very nicely. • • * • Have a drawer in the kitchen in which to keep clean white rags, where members of the family may help themselves. * ft * * Half of a grape fruit or half of a cantaloupe -fits nicely into small Japanese bowls for serving. •.• • # Ink stains on books can be removed with very little trouble, you will find, by applying a weak solution of oxalic acid and water. • a • ft Dripping candles are such a nuisance, and often spoil their candlesticks. Besides, they look untidy, and make work! But. if you put some salt round the ton of the sandle. it won’t drip at all