HOME ECONOMICS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 14

HOME ECONOMICS.

Why People’s Tastes Differ. (Contributed.) We knew that no Uvo people look quite the same. We know that when we take prints of the markings on people’s fingers they always differ from one another. And, as people differ in their faces and in their skins, so they differ in deeper things. No two brains people have quite the same tastes. But there are other reasons why people have different tastes in eating. One person’s befiy may require a great deal cf fat and oily things—which may be less good for another person, who will like such things less. Then, again, at different ages we have different food requirements. Children are very active, and since they are small, lose their heat quickly. They, therefore, require a large proportion of food to supply them with energy and heat. Perhaps the best < f such foods is sugar. And it should be the care of each mother to see that this sugar is supplied in its best form—as a natural food, not in the form of sticky sweetmeats but by the best method of giving lots of raw ripe fruit, which is rich in natural sugar. Or some preserved fruits, like raisins and dates, are rich in sugar and can be given in puddings and sandwiches. Sugar for Strength. It is wise to give this sugar as a food tc-o! Let it be part of the regular three meals, not given as an extra holiday goody! People in New Zealand eat a lot of sugar—in fact they eat as much if not more than any other folk in the world, with the possible exception of America. And they do not eat their sugar in the right way—they eat it in the form of soft sweets requiring no chewing at all—or else they have it in tea —lots of cups of tea each day! Good strong tea, too, with little milk, and is it to be marvelled at that nearly all the children like strong sweet tea, too? Years ago the Maoris had no tea and no sugar. They ate all kinds of plants, vegetables and fruits. Often they ate them raw—chewing was fashionable those days! To-day we sometimes hear of the skulls of these old people being found. In nearly every case these old Maori men and women lived to a ripe old age and died with still perfect sets of their own fine teeth. Many New Zealanders to-day have lost the art of chewing—very many c-f them lose their own teeth in comparatively early years. Our tastes are all different from one another, but surely we can all find something palatable, which is hard to chew.