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Zurich Herald, 1953-07-16, Page 6BLE TM, ala e• Ancip wse A frozen -food locker is un- doubtedly e wonderful thing -- One of the greatest additions to The comfort of countless families *seer made, But, like lots of other novel- ties, these lockets can be abused, :as well as used. Recently the Editors of The Farm Journ.ai (Philadelphia) had a survey rnade—a survey which produced some interesting results, So. instead of recipes this week, here is some food for thought for all present—or in- tending -- users of frozen -food lockers. Every once in a while we hear Al woman say: "I'll never waste locker space on green beans again." Or "That chicken we :froze has a peculiar taste." And you wonder why — for frozen foods usually are pretty wonder- ful. We asked a couple of looker pant operators: "How come— why do locker users get unsatis- factory results in their frozen :foods?" Each than came up with a list of reasons—four of them exactly the same, although the operators are 1,000 miles apart. fall told, there were seven "sins" of locker users—things that may :help you get better frozen foods from your locker or freezer. Improper packaging heads the trouble lists of Simon Olson, who •was 11 years in the locker busi- ness, and Bob Madeira. (Mr. Madeira is executive secretary of the National Frozen Food Locker Institute.) "Too many old, Ieaky cartons re pressed into service long af- ter the wax has worn off. Some customers used wax paper, old bread wrappers, cereal boxes, paper bags—and yes, even news- papers—to wrap foods. None of these will keep the package air- tight to protect the food from dry- ing out during storage; so the re- volt is off - flavor and poor quality." improper processing of foods for freezing was next on both lists. Olson says: (Vegetables roust be blanched, or they'Il .have poor color and a strawlike taste-. When people aren't happy :.,bout frozen green beans, those beans probably weren't blanched end adequately chilled before packaging. Or, maybe the beans were over -blanched." r Madeira observes: "Too many people have vegetables standing around a day or two before they process them. Then they're disap- pointed that the beans, already tough by freezing time, don't come out b e a t i f u 11 y tender. Freezing doesn't improve food et uality." Choosing wrong varieties of fruits and vegetables for freez- 'Look, Nick, at the screen! Just imagine she's in your arms!" ing was the third sin listed, Some freeze better than .others. Locker managers have lists of recom- mended varieties, and are eager to help customers select right seed, It Overloading the locker, wields keeps foods from freezing fast, was sin number four. Mr. Olson explains the importance of fast freezing this way: 'When ice crystals form quickly, there's less breaking up of the food tis- sues, so less color, flavor, and food value are drawn out of the food and into the crystals, Fast freezing gives better textured, better flavored food," And don't overload your freezer when you freeze foods at home to be transferred to the locker. Put in only one-tenth of the freezer's total capacity. For instance, a freezer that holds 350 pounds will fast -freeze 35 pounds of food in a 24-hour period, « * r Remember, too, that the ice - cube section of a refrigerator is not a fast -freeze section. Ifs de- signed for storing foods. Only a few of the new, two temperature refrigerators maintain the zero temperature necessary for freez- ing. • Tossing packages helier skel- ter into the locker is poor house- keeping, says Madeira. Put the unfrozen foods against sides . of the locker — the coldest spot. Throwing them in among the al- ready frozen foods warms up these stored foods, keeps the new packages from freezing quickly —impairs quality. Madeira continues: "We real- ize that it's cold in locker rooms, so people want to get out fast. But they don't save any time by throwing things in, When they want a certain food later, they have to root through to find it." * * * Poor handling of meat by the customer was on Mr. Olson's list. When a locker user complains of poor -quality meat, the reason is likely to be unsanitary butcher- ing, such as a punctured intestine which taints the meat; or freez- ing before the animal has been chilled long enough, which leaves an "animal" taste in the meat; or wrapping chickens too soon after killing, so that they sour. * Expecting too much from the meat they ask the locker elan to cut up, is Madeira's patron -prob- lem. "They don't understand that 50 pounds of beef won't give 50 pounds of edible meat. For in- stance, one fourth of a hind -quar- ter of beef is bone and fat" (The old locker -plant joke about the woman who asked to have a quarter of beef cut into T-bone steaks isn't funny to locker men!) * * * It might pay you to check your own freezing practices against these 'seven sins": improper packaging; improper process- ing; choosing wrong var- ieties for freezing; overloading the locker; poor housekeeping in the locker; poor handling of meat; and failure to understand meat shrinkage. Everyone is very friendly in the "no -bars" gaol at Fairmont, West Virginia. One prisoner amused himself by applying for everything in the magazines that was advertised on "money back if not satisfied" germs. But the governor finally had to draw the line. He sent up for, ten day's free trial of a gun. VIleizing With Paint-8Iazing trees with paint instead of an oxe is simplifying controlled tree cutting operations in Canadian for- ests. The paint is a highly visible brilliant yellow developed specifically for tree marking. It may be applied with an Ale- mite gun or a packsack.type pressure sprayer. Trees for felling are marked at about eye level and at the base of the trunk. Strikers Struck.—Raymond A. Geiger, right, is going to get in on any picketing that's going on around his place of business. The owner of a printing and advertising firm, Geiger pickets the pickets during the first shut-downdue to a strike in the history of the 75 -year-old Newark firm. •.P..ai it Horse SenseG. by BOB ECUS At one time Winston Church- ill was attacked in the Reuse of, Commons as unreliable, because he had switched from one party to another and back again, His., answer was: "To change is to improve; to change often is to become perfect." Human nature being what it is none of us will. over "be- come perfect," but it is with ris- ing hopes that we read the daily morning revelations in our good old friend, the Globe and Mail. We remember that not so long ago the tears were running down its editorial page, because the British did not have the dollars • to buy our farm products. At that time„ of course we could . not dream of accepting payment in any other form. We had to have dollars to be able to buy in - the United States. At least, so thought the Globe. Change of ?Iea•ts or Spotsaenz Whenever Mr. Coldwell or Percy Wright tried to draw the attention of the House of the dangers inherent in the light hearted manner in which the British markets for our farm surpluses were being abandoned, they were derided, ridiculed, and the hue and cry was: Dollars, Dollars, Dollars! Lately the attitude of the Globe seems to have changed and there is talk of regaining the British markets and even of ac- cepting sterling payments Time only will tell whether the leop- ard is changing his heart or only his spots. Probably Spots Whatever the change, it does not go so far as to accept the idea of stabilizing farm prices by government measures, In a, recent editorial "The Way Back is the Way Out" the Globe dis- cusses the "farm price ,upport program" in the United States and draws certain analogies for Canada. Speaking of "alleged surplus- es" and "stable farm prices" the editor comes to the conclusion that "the only remedy is to abandon the system that created theni, thereby letting legitimate production find legitimate mar- kets at economic prices:' Double Nelson Farmers who are in the Double Nelson of high prices for what they buy and low prices for what •they sell, realize by now that the "depression" which the Globe fears "with vicious consequences to world trade in manufactured' goods," will be caused by their reduced purchasing power, if it comes. The reduced purchasing power of the farmer in turn is a con- sequence of the price ani profit policy of the manufacturers and processors. "The only remedy" is all-out production, planned distribution in co-operation with all countries willing to co-operate, based on stabilized prices. To achieve this stability it will be necessary to call a halt to the exploitation to which the farmer is subjected at present. 'Phis could be done by control- ling the profits of the corpora, - tions with whom he has to deal, buying and selling. We offer this suggeation to farmers for discussion with their er�rididates in the coming fed- eral election. Ii' we cannot hope to become perfect, we can at least try improve. to This column welcomes sug- estions, wise or foolish, and all criticism, whether constructive or destructive and will try to answer any question. Address your letters to Bob Ellis, Sox 1, 123 - 18111 Street, New Toronto, Ont. Once A 'Ghost Town' Now Waking Up For more than 100 years the little north Cornish cove of Port Quin, :close by th.e fishing har- bour of Port Isaac, has been de- serted:' Every •man, woman and child;'" it is said, disappeared within twenty-four hours, be- aUse: Official ' 'reasons: A ` terrible Storm broke off the coast at a moment when the entire male po- pulation of the village were out fishing. One after the other, eve- ry ship of that small but proud fleet was battered to pieces, Not a Man was saved. Upon hearing the news, the story runs, the women folk be- lieved there was a curse on the place, and took to their heels. True reason: In fact, there was no story at all. But trouble was brewing. Every man in that fleet was a sf niggler on a large scale. All had gone well for a time, .with many kegs landed and stored away in secret hide-outs. Then one day news was re- ceived that the Preventive Men were on their trail, Whereupon the Port Quin folk decided to leave without more ado, scat- tering in little family groups all • over Cornwall. So Port Quin became a ghost, With every house arid cdttage empty, roofs fell in and walls col- lapsed, and weeds grew through the floors. Now, 100 years later, the cot- tages which were not beyond re- pair have been restored. With its homes freshly painted and gardens created out of the wild- erness of weeds, the "ghost" of :Port Quin is gradually coming to life again. The .Man ':`ho Guarded Churchill "Constable, if I have done wrong, you have your remedy, but you have absolutely no right to talk to me like that. Please take his number, Thompson." Those words were spoken by Sir Winston Churchill in the days when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was driving his own car from London to his house in Kent in company with ex -De- tective -Inspector W. H Thomp- son, who was detailed to guard. Sir Winston from 1921 until 1929, during his visit to the U,S,A, in 1931-32, and from August, 1939, u li t i l the end of the war in Europe. Apparently a policeman on duty that day, when Sir Winston was driving his car, signalled him to stop, but instead of pull- ing up 'Sir Winston pulled over to his near side and partly mounted the kerb in order to let a bus pass him, But "he had reckoned without the constable, who darted be- hind the bus and stopped us, as he was perfectly entitled to do." And then the fireworks began. The policeman gave Sir Winston a piece of his mind. More than that, according to Mr, Thompson, for he tells us that "as a police officer myself I was more than startled by the violence of the expressions of this policeman. ".He abused Mr. Churchill roundly and employed some very objectionable language." But the Prime Minister listen- ed until the policeman ran out of breath, and then "he • stuck out his jaw and replied •savagely" — I have quoted.. One can't help feeling sorry for that arm of th elaw. Of course, he'd been rude, and had probably lost his temper, but when he realised who he'd. been "ticking off" he appeared hor- ror-struck. When they reached the out- skirts of Weste:ham. Mr. Thomp- son heard his distinguished driver muttering to himself. "He was right. Yes, he was right. 1 should have been more careful." Ansi Sir Winston went on to say: "I deserves) all he said, you know, although there was no need for him. to be so violent about it." And the policeman was not re- ported for saying rude things to Sir Winston Churchill. Mr. Thompson tells us that sometimes during a blitz on Lon- don, Sir Winston would watch the bombing and take reckless chances. Once he remarked: "When my time is due, it will -come." And• he once refused to get into an armoured car. "I must take my chances with the rest," he remarked firmly, On another occasion he was standing with Sir John Ander- son watching the searchlights when his C.I.D. guard heard a whistling noise and went into action. He must be the only than alive who can say that he has thrown his arms round a "Prime Minister and "flung hin, with all my strength behind the door." The PM was :Curious, "Don't do that!" he roared. He probably said more than that, but Mr. Thompson is very discreet, anti we are left guessing! Once, at Palm Beach, Sir Win= stop wanted to go bathing with- out a costume, thinking the beach he was using was private. Thomp- son suggested that he could be seen through glasses, "If they are so much. interes- ted, it is their own fault what they see," growled the P.M. And when he heard that sharks had been seen within a few yards of the shore, he wisecracked: "My bulk must have frightened them away!" This book :is a treasure house of good stories about the P.M. You should read it.—"Sixty Min- utes With Winston Churchill," by W. H. Thompson. Pants' to Match -A full -skirted summer play suit with matching pants are modelled by Elean- ore Cruze, The outfit hos a bil- lowing petticoat and o clever, strapless bodice. Miss Cruze has the title of "Miss Santa Barbara" of 1953, Sure Hard to Swallow—It's not often that Dad and son both experience the misery of a tonsillectomy on the same day, as did Cecil Riggs and his son, Dennis, 5, The "team," feeling mis- erable, shared the same bed after the ordeal. Double ice-cream and aspirin was the order of the day. These Homes ,Are for the Birds « « e Most birds nest in ordinary places. At least they are ordinary for birds. But in every grcup we are liable to find a few individualists with the urge to try something different. However, w hen seen from a bird's-eye view, perhaps thesepecvliar places are not so different after all. �yrcY r�fC,nn :r These robins nest'in secure safety A blue joy proudly displays a, -phis lady robin picked, e, ca as long as no one kicks the union label, Popper is a work•. bucket, , ing &ban;,. • of \Eire,