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Zurich Herald, 1954-08-05, Page 7'TA LE TALKS &lo.i (.><nd.nc.+es Every. editor and columnist even'. e the conductor of so modest a column as this—is fairly deluged with what is known in the trade as "hand-outs." For the most part these are attempts by press -agents — excuse the, "public relations counsellors"— to get free mention of their pro- ducts, instead of paying adver- tising rates. However, this morning 1. re ceived, from the Bakery Goods Foundation, some material which I think should be handed along, Advertising Department or no Advertising Department. It is headed SAFEGUARDING SUM- MER MEALS. „ �. It's summertime—time for out- ings, picnics and backyard sup- pers. It's time for special summer meals, prepared ahead of time, and served out of doors. It's time for the entire fami Ey to enjoy eating to the full! But there are dangers ahead— whether you're aware of them or not. Food poisoning, in any one of its various forms, can spoil your summer fun, and even end in tragedy, unless you are •constantly on guard against it. Here are some of the facts. * * FOOD POISONING MENACE Food poisoning occurs when, by mistake, some article of food is eaten which is poisonous itself, or which has been contaminated from an outside source. Poison- ous berries, fungi mistaken for mushrooms, diseased meat a n d poisonous shell fish, have taken their toll from time to time. But the most common cases of food poisoning a r e those caused by food infections or food intoxica- tions. Illness from food infection is caused by bacteria carried into the mouth ON FOOD when it is eaten. If there are bacteria or poisonous toxins IN THE FOOD, the resultant illness is d u e to food intoxication. • We hear of cases of food poi- soning where a number of people are stricken after a church pic- nic, wedding reception or ban- quet. Yet few people realize that the same common food poisoning • bacteria (staphylococci, salmon- ellae and streptococci if you want their names!) may be present in foods prepared at home, even though the kitchen may be scru- pulously clean. The bacteria or resultant toxins : may be in the food ;whoa It;c pstr'chased Or may'. be introduced by any person handling the food as it is sold, prepared or served. There is no red warning light to flash on and off when food ooisoning bacteria lurk in your food. But there are sensible pre- cautions or danger signals which, if heeded, will prevent or dis- courage bacterial growth. Warm summer days increase the need for obeying t h e danger signs. You'll want to recognize them when they appear. * THE DANGER SIGNS: Don't trust your instincts! Usually the guilty food does not look or taste or smell spoil- ed. If you're in doubt, boil the suspicious food rapidly for sev- eral minutes BEFORE TASTING rr. Better still, discard it and eat something else. There's safety in cleanliness! Clean food, handled by clean people under sanitary conditions will seldom be guilty of causing food poisoning. Buy your food in a clean, tidy store. Wash all food, even though you plan to cook it, Make sure food is stored, prepared ,and eaten in clean sur- roundings. Public picnic tables and campsites are a wonderful invention, but they should. al- ways be covered or thoroughly cleaned before using. Especially away from home, children a n d adults should be encouraged to wash hands often, Cuts and open sores should be covered -- and of course all food should be well protected from disease -carrying flies, and insects. * * Heat and humidity Increase the Risk! Although most bacteria can be killed by very high temperatures, the average hot, humid, summer day merely provides ideal grow- ing weather for the food poison- ing types, Cooked or uncooked foods, prepared ahead of tithe, should be continuously and well refrigerated until serving time. Portable ice boxes and roadside ice vending machines are invalu- able aids to the travelling fam- ily. Time is of the Essence! No matter how favourable or unfavourable the other condi- tions, the longer the time between preparing and eating t h e food, the greater the danger of food poisoning bacteria developing, T h e minutes count, so prepare your foods as near to mealtiine as possible and keep them cold and covered until eaten. Id Time / ; °lasses Cookies T ixste Ju.r ' od Today SIX ,»o1gOT1117 M AlIDDOX 'fllV11:11VEFEf3. those ;soft molasses cookies we used to enjoy when we were children? I still love them. So de u lot of other reerh. . Maybe you do, too. So here's a recipe: Soft Molasses Cookies (Yield: 4 dozen Bookies) One Pup shortening, Pk cups unsulphured molasses, s/a cup sugar, 4 Cups sifted, all-purpose flour; 1% teaspoons salt, g teaspoons :soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 13/2 teaspoons ginger, s/r teaspoon cloves, 1 egg. Melt shortening in saucepan large enough for mixing cookies. $tir in molasses and sugar; cool. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mx in small amount of hour; beat In egg. Add remaining flour, blending until amooth. Gaill dough about 2 hours. Shape into 11/2 -inch balls. -Place on cookie sheets 'about 2 inches:, apart to allow cookies to spread during baking. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F'.) 15 minutes. While warm, spread half that cookies with confectioner's sugar glaze. Store in closely covered container, * * w :Here's another cookie with a delicate molasses flavor. lauttar-Molasses Thiusies (Yield: 18 dozen) Four cups sifted, all-purpose flour; 1% cups sugar, 11/4 cups butter or margarine, % cup unsulphured inolasses, 1 whole egg, ,plus 1 ,egg yolk; % cup sugar (optional), 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional). Sift together dour and sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until •mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine molasses aha eggs; stir into flour -butter mixture. 'Chill dough overnight. ROI out on pastry cloth sprinkled with confectioner's sugar to 1'16 -inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters; place on cookie ltfolasses cookies tante seat as wonderful today se they did back when we were children. sheets. (If desired, mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle lightly over unbaked cookies.) Bake in a moderately hot oven (400 degrees re 8 to 8 minutes, or until edges have lightly browned. Cool. Store in tightly covered container. Note. To make cookies without chilling, form dough into small balls, using '/e teaspoon of the dough. Place on cookie sheets,. flatten cookies to 1/16 -inch thick with bottom of glass covered with damp cloth. Dip bottom of glass in water when cloth sticks to dough, (These cookies will keep for a long time, but you may make a smaller quantity by cutting'the recipe in half.) •1 PL N By 1. (BUFL) The following editorial appear- ed in The British Farmer, official organ of t h e National Farmers Union, published in London, Eng- land. Not So Funny "There is little attempt by people in this country to conceal the almost universal delight at the disastrous fall in world wheat prices and to shake hands with one another because Britain re- fused to join in the International Wheat Agreement. Further falls are joyfully anti- cipated and the most sanguine are even envisaging a price war, with the United States throwing huge stocks on the world market, If farmers enjoyed the same powers of self-delusion as many economists, some of us might also be hanging out the flags. For se many of us buy more cereals than we sell and we might welcome so much cheap imported Taw ma- teria).. But few, I think, will view this with any complacency. So often the price of wheat, and certain! the price of wheat coupled with that of maize, has set the tone for world food prices generally. It was the collapse on the North American wheat price in 1929-30 that heralded the worst industrial depression this country can re- member, for in the end it im- poverished the primary producers abroad who had been our cus- tomers but could no longer buy our goods. Avoiding Disaster History, I know, never exactly repeats itself and the U.S. Govern- ment are insulating their wheat growers against the disaster that would otherwise be upon thein. But can they do this indefinite- ly? Can it insulate world trade generally against a heavy slump in food producers' incomes in other countries and the conse- quent restriction of trade? I would have said that in each case the answer was "No." Nor does it touch our friends who buy from us in Canada and Aus- tralia. Illusion of 'cheap' Food To boast of our foresight and cunning in keeping out of any work plan to maintain a fair level of wheat prices in times of tem- porary surplus looks to be un- comfortably like shuffling out of SE SENSE .. VON PILUS our international responsibilities and leaving the Americans once more to hold the baby. The irony of it is that if catas- trophe does happen and the fall in the wheat price is once more the herald of a world-wide depes- sion, none in this country . will suffer more severely than those permanent victims of the 'illusion of `cheap' f o o d, the industrial wage-earners." Effects On Canada The words of The British Far- mer should be given careful con- sider: ation by farmers in Eastern Canada who have been rejoicing at lower prices of feed grains. The effects of the deteriorating wheat • price a r e becoming evident in ; rising unemployment not only in the agricultural implement in- dustry, but in other industries as well. A large share of the blame will:a; go to Canada's Minister of Trade,'?' C. 0. Howe, who insisted on a top price of $2.05 while Britain offered $2.00 last fell when the new International Wheat Agree- ment was negotiated. On account Of the difference of five cents, Britain eventually refused to sign the agreement and kept herself free to buy on a competitive mar- ket. - * , * This column welcomes criticism, constructive or destructive, and suggestions, wise or otherwise. Address all m a i 1 to .Bob Von Pills, Whitby, Ont. TELLING HIM At the time of the Jim Cor- bett -John L. Sullivan bout, Steve Brodie of Brooklyn Bridge fame predicted loudly that the cham- pion would knock Corbett out in the sixth round. Corbett's father heard of this prediction and was violently enraged. Some days later he was introduced to Bro- die. He looked him over sourly, and finally commented, "So you're the man who jumped over Brook- lyn Bridge." "Not over it," Brodie corrected him, "I jumped off it." The elder Corbett snorted. "Oh," he said smoothly. "I thought you jumped over it Any damned fool could jump oft' it." tlk &,ecii "Sponger" -- The lorgest sponge ever found in south Florida waters provides a comfortable resting place for tiny Toby Ebbets, The huge sponge was found in Biscayne Bay by Walter Thomp- son, Sr., who has been dragging the waters for sponges for 40 years. In the foreground is o normal' size sponge. Ito Freeze'Your Flea And Cakes 1 Freezing is becoming a popu- lar method of preserving pies, cakes and other pre-cooked foods. Such frozen foods are a great convenience to the housewife as a supply in the freezer simpli- fies future meal preparation. An important point to remember when freezing any food — cooked or fresh — is to use only high quality ingredients. Freezing will not improve the product; it mere- ly retains quality present prior to freezing, Miss K. D. Troup, dieti- tian at the Morden Experimental Station, points out. Considerable study has been made at the Food and Vegetable Laboratory of this Station of the best methods of freezing such foods, Freezing pies for instance is no new idea. Several genera- tions ago it was common practice to bake several weeks' supply of pies and freeze them in the back porch or attic until they were needed. Now, with the widespread use of home freezers, pies may be • frozen t h e year round, Mince, Housekeeping y "Push- f utton" What', e it's "not the heat but the humidity," what 'housewife doesn't wish she could loll in a hammock and 'do her chores by pushing buttons? This summer she can actually do some of her housework by push-button if she engages a "staff" of aerosol sprays. For instance, she can give up that tedious task of con- stantly polishing silver by spray- ing every article not in constant use with a clear plastic finish. It will keep them shiny -bright and tarnish -free all summer long. She can take the same short-cut with brass, copper and chrome. The aerosol method can be used to remove spots on clothing and upholstery, thereby reducing the size of the laundry and num- ber of trips to the dry cleaner. By pushing another button, gar- den and house plants are pro- tected from insect attack. Con- sider how much energy is saved on a hot day by just holding an insecticide spray instead of chasing flies with an old-fashioned swatter. Should one of the chil- dren return from camp with a dose of poison ivy, the druggist can supply the antidote in a con- venient cooling foam, which squirts on like whipped cream. ' One of the latest aerosol sprays is a direct answer to every house- wife's prayer. It is designed to • allow dust mops to pick up more dirt and to prevent the particles from blowing back indoors or on to drying clothes when the mops are shaken. According to the manufacturer, this is accomplish- ed through a chemical preparation that causes the fibres in the yarn to fuzz, thereby increasing the dust absorbing surface of each strand in the nop. Another new one, which may not save much energy but will certainly make things more pleas- ant during the heat, is an aerosol to banish garbage can odors. The spray is said to slow up the decay of food scraps as well as prevent rust of the can. The manufac- turer claims it will also prevent garbage from sticking to the sides of the container and will keep dogs, rats and other au:imals at a distance if a little is also directed at the outside of the garbage can. Manufacturers of aerosols are becoming so cOusCious of the times and -energy saving possibilities of their products, they are starting to make types that do jobs with the one squirt, For example, one of the largest developments is a spray that helps prevent a pain- ful sunburn and shoos the files away at the same time. fruit, squash and pumpkin pies freeze successfully. Fruit pies, ex- cept apple, are of higher quality, if frozen unbaked. The pie is pre- pared as for baking, but slits are not cut in the top crust. A suit- able thickener is recommended for juicy fruit pies. To bake frozen fruit pies, sim- ply unwrap, cut vents in the top crust ,and place the pie in a pre- heated oven, allowing 10 to 15 minutes extra baking time. Apple, pumpkin and squash pies are more satisfactory if baked before freez- ing. Baked pies should be cooled to room temperature before wrap- ping in aluminum foil or some other high quality moisture - vapour -proof material. A pie plate inverted over the pie will prevent the top crust from being crushed. Baked pies may be thawed in a moderate oven for twenty min- utes or at room temperature for two or three hours. With cakes, tests show that plain cake, with all its variations sat.sfaeter7 type for freez- ing. Fruit cakes al'e particu'arrY successful as frozen products since the flavour tends to mellow with storage. The storage life of angel food and sponge cakes is more limited,cake batters may be fro - "Ali and s ored vefet s`lecessfulry for a short time and the batter, when baked, will closely resemble a freshly -baked cake. When stor- age time is to exceed one month, however, cakes are generally su- perior if frozen after baking. Frostings and fillings may be ap- plied to the cake before freezing. Icing sugar frostings containing fat and fudge -type frosting freeze particularly w e 11. Baked cakes should be thawed in their original wrappings to prevent the forma- tion of moisture on the top of the cake. Tests show that products which are well wrapped in aluminum foil will retain their quality for aa long as one year. But for house- hold use it is usually desirable to keep pre-cooked items for a shorter time as the freezer space can often be used•more efficiently for other seasonal products. Mern Etiquette By ROBERTA L,lllt Q. lie it necessary for a girl to give a gift each time, if alma fits invited to several different brid- al showers in honour of the same bride-to-be? A. If she attends all the show- ers, she most certainly must bring a gift to each. However, if she has already attended ono or two of the showers, it is her• privilege to decline any add!' tional invitations. Q. When a woman enters sssx elevator and three or four men remove their hats, should she nod her acknowledgement of the courtesy? A. This is not necessary. Tho gesture is not at all personal,. Q. If one is eating a steak or something similar, isn't it alt right to cut several mouthazie at a time before eating? A. No; one should cut a single bite at a time Q. Don't you consider it veey bad manners for a dinner gues6 to be Mate? A. This is considered one of the most serious breaches of eti- quette. A guest who is late for a meal in one's home must have a very good excuse to justify any pardon. Q, Is it proper to address a wedding invitation to "Mr. and Mrs. George L. Ferguson and Family"? • A. No; if the children or other members of the family are old enough to be invited, a separate invitation must be sent to etch of them. Q. Should the dessert spoon. or fork be placed on the tables with the rest of the silver at t1io beginning of a meal? A. No; they should be brought in with the dessert plates. Q. L it good form to type a signature on a business letter:' A. Not unless it is supplement- ed by a pen signature. Some- times this is advisable when a person's slgnature is very illeg- ible. Q. If a !Wali brings a gift when calling on a girl, should she open it immediately or lay it aside until he has gone? A. She would most certainly show better manners and more appreciation if she opened it at once. Q. If all the guests at a dine ner, with the exception of onsj have refused the second helping of a certain dish, is it all right for that one peso9 to aeeept? A. Probably it would be bet- ter net to sjo so, as this wouisl natur`all3r cause a aefay in ELI: ' serving of the next course. The well-bred person is always' con- siderate of others, and that is a prime secret of popularity. Redly Acting — "That's not the way," snarls Minnie, right. sat bear at the London, England, zoo, as she gives her snub o lesson in how to get food from visitors, (lop). Minnie sits up ori hear haunches and shows her baby exactly how it's done (bottom)