The Farm Home and Kitchen

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 59, Issue 6, 15 December 1939, Page 545

The Farm Home and Kitchen

Contributed by the Association for . .Country: Education

Are Our Children Getting A Fair Chance?

IN our section of the November, 1938. IN our section 1939, issues of the and March, 1939, issues of the “Journal of Agriculture” it was shown that children, unless adequately fed, are , handicapped physically and mentally for the- battle of life. , The question is: Is this actually happening in ■ New “Zealand, and, if so, why? ' ' In our studies and observations of what people' are eating it has always been rather difficult for us to be sure that .the diets or menus which have been sent to us are really representative. Some . people are only too willing to let us have all the information' we ask for, but it is generally found that these are the people, who are interested in nutrition and whose meals are better than the average. But we do not so often have an opportunity to study • the \ “average” or “below-average” diets and -to observe to, what extent delicate children —children prone to colds and other infections, children with poor posture, and carious or decaying • teeth, children backward at schoolare associated with meals ■ or diets that are below average that in quantity are all right, but in quality and variety are failures. Two Weeks’ Diet Recently it was our good fortune to acquire absolutely reliable records of what 15 country school children ate as their, ordinary diet for two weeks—one. week during last summer and one' week during 'the winter. Their records made intensely interesting . study, and gave a very clear insight into the way the New Zealand child, in that particular part of ; the country at any rate, is

fed; and if they /represent the average' it is ■ very easy to understand whymore than half the young people in this country are not 100 per cent, fit. ■ The following menu was picked at random from the fifteen. It describes the meals eaten: by a girl', of 11J years for a school-week during the winter.

Some Worse ■ The others were' worse, or less like this menu —some were better, but others were worse. ■ Two of the children (one nine years old and the other twelve) began the day with ham, fried potatoes, and ,cocoa or coffee; another had fried bacon, fried potatoes, white bread, butter, and jam, and tea to drink/ The remaining 12 all had porridge. , One had nothing else, some had. toast or bread and butter, the rest had something cooked (either egg or meat). Seven had, tea to drink, three cocoa or coffee, and four, had milk. ■ One out of the 15 had a daily dose of cod-liver oil. I At 11 a.m. a few of the children did not have anything to eat,.two,had fruit, four had sandwiches, and five cake.

The lunches were very varied, but all were taken to school. Two of the children had cake and nothing else. The rest had sandwiches; a few ' actually stated white bread, but none said brown. Most l of the children had jam sandwiches, a few had meat' occasionally, .two or .three had honey, and one sometimes had egg. , In the summer tomato . sandwiches appeared frequently. Nearly, all had cake or biscuits of some kind or other —fruit .cake, ginger cake, cream cake, wine biscuits and . jam, or apple tarts

were all mentioned. Only one had : ah. apple or other fruit if or' lunch every day. One or two had it once or twice a week. In the winter they had cocoa to drink, and in the summer,, water. Afternoon tea was at any.' time from 3.30 to 4.30 p.m. In a few cases it was just fruit, but more often it was bread and jam with cakes, scones, or biscuits and tea to drink. Dinner .■ Tea or dinner was at 5.30 or 6 p.m., and was supposed to be the main meal of the day. . It varied from potatoes and sauce (Worcester or tomato) with white bread and jam and tea, to meat, potatoes, i cabbage, milk, or steamed pudding and a ' glass of ' milk. Only eight of the 15 children who took sandwiches and cake to school ’ and who mostly had just porridge and toast for

breakfast had meat: or fish for the evening meal. ' Fried potatoes and sauce seems to be the most common tea dish. Only two. had any vegetable < other than potatoes during the winter. In the summer a few had tomatoes with their bread and butter. Very few had ,a pudding of any kind. ' Most . of the children had cake for the evening meal, and most had tea to drink. • . \This briefly outlines the menus, from • the 15 • school children whose :agesranged from eight to 14 years. One’s . first • ' impression ’ on reading ■ them ' through -was ' of meals consisting of potatoes, white bread and butter; jam, cake, and tea. On a closer . examination, half of .them were found to be ■ just that and nothing more, and the. other half were more, or less improved by the addition of meat and fruit, and, in one or two cases, of milk. ; . Glaring Inadequacies The inadequacies ' of the' diets were glaring! .. Not. one' child had nearly -his.., quota of 1| pints, of milk per day. In summer, when cocoa was,not served at . school, most of them had no more milk than the small amount they would have on their porridge or in’ their tea (which, by the way, none of them should have had at all.) , Few of. the children had eggs, even in the summer . when they . are more plentiful; yet the healthy child can, and should, eat an egg a day. Cheese, another excellent body-building food, was scarcely mentioned at all. It could have been used so easily in the school lunches, and would have been so much better than the' sweet jam sandwiches which really do nothing' more than temporarily satisfy, hunger. • Except for potatoes, which are really very good food, especially if■ boiled or baked in their jackets, the children, excepting two, had no vegetable"at all in 'the winter. For maximum health and vitality a child requires green vegetables as often' as possible, and root vegetables when green ones are not procurable are absolutely necessary. So, also, are raw fruits and vegetables. It is easier to get them in the summer, but it is just as important to have them every day in the winter. . Most Important Factor It must be that parents whose children /have, meals such as these cannot realise that food is the most important factor of all their child’s development.

The child who is to lay the foundation for a successful life while at school must be fit ■ to study, to play games, and to hold his own as an individual. Only, well-balanced . meals will give him this strength .and vitality. Such meals may take a little .longer to pre-pare.-but the'results more than compensate for that. ' • * It is just as important for the child at school to have the meals which provide for his growth and development as it is for. the infant. Yet we often find that, although a good start has been made with the infant’s diet, as the child gets older his meals become worse and worse. , One cannot believe that this' is. due ■to . carelessness on the part of

the mother, but rather to her not realising- the'great part played by'food in the building of strong, healthy bodies, not only for the present, but for the whole lifetime. ’ Is there any reason why a child should not have porridge ’and brown toast -and butter, a glass of milk, and perhaps, an egg for breakfastgood nourishing sandwiches and hard, nutty biscuits for lunchmeat or fish, and plenty of vegetables and milk pudding and fruit for dinner —and in between meals, raw fruit? It costs no more than meals consisting of cake, and saves >so much later on in doctors’ and dentists’ bills. '

How to Enjoy Good Hecdth

Many people over-estimate their vitality and. endurance, and frequently work (or play) themselves into a state of over-fatigue and nervous exhaustion. Probably no one. thing is the cause, and certainly, no one magic thing will cure. Good endurance, with freedom from undue fatigue is the : result of a constant building up and tearing down process that must never be neglected. The first essential is good nutrition, which means good food and good hygiene habits, not just for to-day or this week, but every day. ■ . A good health regime means both “do” and “don’t.” Look over these lists and see whether you really have earned the vitality which you would like to enjoy. - ~ DO YOU PLAN TO HAVE ARE YOU GUARDING AGAINST—EACH DAY- Irregular meal hours? A pint or more of milk? '. - “Scanty” breakfasts? A ! serving of orange or tomato? “On the run” lunches? At least one other serving of fruit? Careless posture? One serving of potato? Eye strain? At least one other-vegetable and a Insufficient sleep? raw one several • times a week? Poor ventilation in sleeping rooms? A dark bread or cereal? Constipation? Two servings chosen from: eggs,. Infections and colds? meat, fish, cheese, dried legumes? .Too strenuous exercise? Plenty of drinking water?. Emotional upsets? Some cod or halibut liver oil? Worry?

" Eat ' .What Yom ' Can, -and .Can What You Can't"

Eat what you can, and can WHAT YOU CAN’T. sounds silly, but it really is a shrewd American saying, because canning , in the U.S.A, is the most popular and successful method of preserving. foods in the home. In the regions " where ,all-the-year-round vegetable gardens are not possible because of drought or./ other causes, the farmer and his wife plan out how many -acres of . garden ' are needed to grow, in one single’ planting

practically all the small fruits and vegetables needed for the entire year’s supply , • . To arrive at this area the. housewife works back from the needs of the family. Knowing that green vegetables' and fruit will be needed every. day to give a balanced. diet, she calculates how many jars of greens and fruits are required, and, on this basis, so many rows of - spinach, beans, peas, maize, etc., . are planted.

Neighbours Help ; Then, when the vegetable crop is ready it is a matter of “eat what you can,, and can what you can’t,” and all hands help to harvest the crop and get it into the jars arid into the pantry for use during the rest of the . year. Neighbours help each other, and equipment such, as pressure /'cookers and , can-sealers are . pooled. Similarly, at the right season. there is a great slaughtering .of pigs and steers and a canning of meat for use not so much in the winter as in the hot summer weather. It certainly means a lot of hard work, but unless it is done the people find that they have a very inadequate, uninteresting and expensive diet .of grocer’s foods during the greater part of the year. In these districts, where canning has become so general, people are living more cheaply, are better fed, and are much healthier than ever before. ■ Planning Ahead

Farm women in New Zealand . were quite appalled when a visiting Texan told them of how her -neighbours worked and( put up great pantries full of canned fruit,- vegetables, soups'and so on, but. when all is said and done, we go to no end of labour to make huge stacks of ensilage and hay, and grow winter feed so that. the stock can keep in good condition through the winter, and we think nothing of it.'.? In fact, we would- think it a mighty poor farmer who did not plan ahead so that when feed was scarce there would be enough hay and roots to give the stock that .balanced winter ration which , ensures the - next season’s profit. When we realise that human beings also need a balanced ration if they are to come through a hard winter in good heart and with full vitality, we see that the efforts of these Texans are just as vital to the success and happiness of their life on the farm as is the growing of winter stock feed on ours. We are fortunate that our climate in most districts allows us to grow vegetables nearly all the year round. Hence such extensive food preservation is not necessary. .But although vegetable gardens might be keeping the table supplied with the wherewithal to. balance the ration and give a pleasing variety to winter menus, we find that in the majority of country homes there is no winter garden, and that, except for an occasional cabbage, practically no vege-

tables besides potatoes and roots are served:; . . . . • • .' Saving on Bills So it seems that if we, too, aspire tosave. on our grocers’ and chemists’ bills and enjoy an interesting variety of foods during the off-season, we must either plan to have an ; all-ear-round garden, or if this is not possible, plant a big spring garden, . and .when this is ready Eat what ‘we can and preserve what we can’t ! ” Here are some useful preserving recipes. / • ' BOTTLED RHUBARB. There 1 is more than one good way-of bottling, rhubarb: • . (1) Pack ' the rhubarb as tightly as possible. into the jars. Fill the jars to overflowing with a hot, heavy syrup made of twice as much sugar as water and cooked until" the syrup forms a thread when dropped from a . spoon. Adjust the rubbers and lids, but do not seal the jars. Boil them for 16 minutes ,in the. hot water bath. Rhubarb bottled in this way makes good sauce or filling for pies. (2) In pint jars .place a layer of sugar one-half ’inch deep, then a layer of rhubarb of equal depth,' and alternate :in this ' way . until/ the - jars' 1 are filled, having ,a.layer of sugar on top. Adjust-the rubbers and the lids and boil' the , jars' in a hot/.water bath .for 25 minutes. This makes a richer sauce than' the 'method previously described. (3) Rhubarb' will keep if sealed in clean jars .with cold water only. - HOW TO DRY PEAS. „ Shell, the peas fwhich should be fully grown but with pods that are 'still, green) and blanch them for three'.to five .minutes in boiling salt solution (One tablespoonful of : salt to two quarts of boiling water). . Lift out of the water and dry off the water with a cloth. Spread on a perforated tray to a . depth of not more than one inch, and put in .an evaporator at the initial temperature of 115 deg. F. and gradually raise this very slowly to 145 deg. F. after 1| hours, and keep it at this temperature , for a further two) hours. Stir frequently/ especially during the first two hours of . drying. Note. evaporator can be made from a box . without a bottom - and with the end knocked out. Fit it with cleats for holding trays or shelves, and make these with a wooden frame and a wire gauze bottom. Stand the , evaporator

with its open bottom over, a source of heat. Use an old kerosene burner or electric heater to provide the heat, and place a sheet of metal over it to spread the heat. Put the thermometer on the bottom , shelf, and change the shelves up and-down regularly. Sometimes dryers ■ are placed on top of a coal stove, in which case they need to have asbestos pads nailed to the legs which support them. . HOW TO BOTTLE GREEN PEAS. ' Peas should’’be bottled immediately after they : are brought from the vines and before the sugar in them has had time to change to starch. , For ~ satisfactory. results, select pods that are well developed and green. After the pods have begun to wither and the peas are. hard,, it is too late to ■ bottle them. 1 Shell, blanch (that is, pre-cook in boiling water . in a saucepan , for five minutes), strain and pack .in hot jars within one inch of the top. Add the hot water. to cover, and one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful vinegar or lemon-juice to a quart. One teaspoon of sugar may be added. Use a new rubber on each jar, screw lids on them, give one-half turn backwards to allow for expansion of the contents of the jar. Place in a water bath in sufficient water to cover the top to the depth-.'of . about one inch. : The temperature of the water,, should be the same as that, in the bottle. If this is observed there should be no fear of breakage. . Do not begin to count the time until the. water boils over the'jars., . Two > hours are- sufficient for young: peas. Allow two and a half hours for peas which have been bought and are not strictly fresh. Immediately on removing the jars from steriliser, screw down the . lids and invert them to cool. Avoid draught on the jars, but cool them as rapidly as possible. Wash the jars, thoroughly, label, and store in a cool place. ; BOTTLED CAULIFLOWER. ' ‘ ; Break the cauliflower into flowerets; If desired, place in cold brine for a short time, but do not allow to . soak. Blanch in. boiling, water five minutes and plunge. in cold water. Pack in hot jars, fill, with boiling water within one-half < inch of the ■ top, , add teaspoonful of salt for each quart, adjust rubber and lid, seal lightly, and process Ij hours. - j ’ To serve.—Heat to boiling point, pour off - water, and • add white; sauce, butter, and seasonings, V , ,

Breakfast: 1 Monday: ■ . ; Tuesday.:!’ - Wednesday: - Thursday:., Friday:. Porridge ■ Porridge • ■ Porridge ' Porridge Porridge ; ' Toast ■. ?■ Tuesday: Porridge . Toast Wednesday: Porridge 'Coast Thursday: Porridge Friday: Porridge . Toast '. ■. 11 a.m.: /yWC /; W'V'F Fruit ■ . Fruit 11 a.m.: Fruit Fruit Fruit Lunch: : ■ hi Cake .. ■ Cake Lunch: - Cake ' ' Cake . • Cake ’ 4.30 p.m. Fruit J ■ .'Fruit.'..',.'.'';/. 4.30 p.m. Fruit. Fruit. , . Fruit . " - ; Tea: / J. ' Fish ' ' Potatoes . Stew' '. ■ Soup Potatoes Potatoes Tea : Potatoes Potatoes Bread &,Butter Sauce C. ■■ 'F;:F.i; .' Jelly Jelly Tea ' Bread ■'. & Butter Bread & Butter /.Bread & Butter Tea ■ ’ Potatoes Tea Tea: Stew Potatoes Jelly Bread & Butter Tea ' . - Soup Potatoes Jelly Bread & Butter Tea ■ ■ - ■ Potatoes Bread & Butte Tea