Better Meals for Less Money.

by Mary Green.

PREFACE

With the steadily increasing cost of all staple foods the need of intelligent buying, cooking, and serving is greater than ever before: more money must be spent for food, or more consideration must be given to selecting and using it. For those who would continue to serve their households well, and whose allowance for food has not kept pace with prices, there is only one alternative, and that is, to use more of the cheaper foods, and to prepare and combine them so skilfully that economy shall not be a hardship. Good meals depend not so much upon expensive material as upon care and good judgment in the use of ordinary material.

The time-worn boarding-house jokes about prunes and hash mean simply that these foods, in themselves excellent, are poorly prepared and too frequently served.

It is the plan of this book to include a variety of (1) recipes which require only a small amount of meat; (2) recipes for vegetable dishes which can take the place of meat; (3) recipes for the economical use of cereals, dairy products, and other common inexpensive foods; (4) recipes for breads, cakes, and desserts requiring only a small amount of b.u.t.ter and eggs; and (5) recipes for a few relishes, condiments, and other accessories which lend variety and interest. The General Suggestions for Economy (Chapter I) are not all new, but are liable, through disuse, to be forgotten by the present generation. Spasmodic economy counts for little in the long run; only systematic and continued watchfulness is really worth while.

Economy, however, ought not to necessitate the total elimination of one's favorite cuts of steak, nor all of the little luxuries, because by the skilful planning of the majority of the meals the occasional use of these luxuries can be made possible.

This book is not intended as a complete guide to cookery; it presupposes an elementary knowledge of the care and preparation of food.

The study of Tables D and E in the Appendix is especially recommended as an aid to the better understanding of food values.

M. G.

CHAPTER I

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR ECONOMY

PLANNING MEALS

In order to buy, prepare, and serve food to the best possible advantage, an elementary knowledge of the composition and nutritive value of foods, and the necessary food requirement of the family, is essential. Many books are published on these subjects, but from the government publications alone (see page 255) an excellent working knowledge may be obtained. Only the merest outline can be given here, and this should be supplemented by further reading.

Briefly stated, food is divided into three chief cla.s.ses:[1]

(1) _Protein_, which builds and repairs the tissues.[2] It is furnished chiefly by meats, fish, cheese, milk, eggs, cereals, and legumes.

(2) _Fats_, which furnish heat and energy, but are chiefly valuable for storing a reserve supply of fat in the body. They are furnished largely by b.u.t.ter, cream, olive and similar vegetable oils, bacon and other fat meats. (3) _Carbohydrates_, which furnish heat and energy. They are supplied chiefly by potatoes and other vegetables, cereals, fruits, and sugars.

People who are eating the proper amount and kind of food should approximate the normal weight[3] for their s.e.x, age, and height. For the proper maintenance of the body, a man of average height and weight, of sedentary life,[4] requires daily food which will yield about 2,500 calories;[5] a woman of average height and weight, about 2,300 calories (more or less according to activity). Children between two and five years require from 1,200 to 1,400 calories; between five and ten years, from 1,400 to 1,900 calories; and from ten to fourteen years, from 1,900 to 2,500 calories. Girls between fourteen and seventeen years require from 2,200 to 2,600 calories; and boys between fourteen and seventeen years, from 2,500 to 3,000 calories. Of the total number of calories furnished ten per cent. should be protein, approximately 30 per cent.

fat, and 60 per cent. carbohydrates.

Before planning meals the consideration of these caloric requirements and the study of the "Caloric Value of Average Portions of Food" (Table D, page 245) and of the "Fuel Value of Raw Materials" (Table E, page 250) will help in the selection of foods to yield approximately the desired amount of nutrition. It is not necessary or desirable that the exact amount of each cla.s.s of foods should be reckoned daily; but by the general study of foods and their nutritive value, and the food requirements of the body, which vary with age, s.e.x, and conditions, the housekeeper may serve her family with the kinds and amount of food best suited to their needs. She should plan to use in a week as large a variety of food as possible, and to avoid an excess of any one cla.s.s.

With a definite idea of the needs of the family, she should take account of the stock in the ice-box and pantry, and see that every bit of food is utilized to advantage. Meals should be planned in detail at least one day in advance, and, if possible, outlined for several days ahead; though these plans must, of course, be varied slightly, at times, according to the amount of left-over material and the exigencies of supply and demand. Each day's programme should be plainly written; any special recipes to be used noted; and a list made of supplies to be ordered. To have the meals planned well in advance and the order list ready saves a deal of nervous energy, time, and money.

MARKETING

If possible, attend personally to your marketing and consider carefully the quality, quant.i.ty, and cost of your purchases in relation to the needs of your purse and your household. Ask for what you want, and try hard to get it; but in trying to buy supplies at lowest prices be sure that the time and nervous energy spent are not out of proportion to the amount of money saved.

MEAT

In considering the price of meat, the amount of bone, fat, gristle, and so forth should be taken into account. Many of the coa.r.s.er and cheaper parts contain as much nutriment as the more expensive cuts, and can, by proper cooking, be made fully as palatable. See that every bit of left-over meat is used to advantage and in a variety of ways; the rinds of bacon and salt pork when cooked with spinach or other greens, or in soups of peas or beans, add both flavor and richness.

THE STOCK POT

All tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and bones, both cooked and uncooked, and any left-over bits of meat or gravy that are not needed for other dishes, should be put into the stock pot, covered with cold water, and _simmered_ (_not boiled_) with soup vegetables and savory herbs for three or four hours.

Almost any left-over vegetable can be added, including macaroni, rice, and the sc.r.a.pings of the cereal cooker. If the family is small, the cereal cooker itself makes an excellent stock pot: to the remnants of breakfast cereal, add any soup material at hand; cover with cold water; cook slowly; strain; and, if necessary, add one or two bouillon cubes, and a few drops of kitchen bouquet. When soup stock is lacking in richness a small amount of gelatine improves the quality.

The water in which vegetables, macaroni, rice, or any meats, either fresh or salt, are cooked contains valuable mineral matter as well as flavor, and should be added wholly or in part to the stock pot. Order corned meats lightly salted so that all of the stock may be used. Be sure that all fat is removed from soup stock before using. Do not serve greasy soups. When stock must be used before the fat has had time to harden, skim off as much as possible, and remove what remains with clean blotting paper, or a lump of ice wrapped in cheesecloth.

FISH

Fresh fish is offered in variety at all seasons of the year, and is a valuable and comparatively inexpensive food; salted and smoked fish contain much protein in a concentrated form; the canned varieties are important, too, especially for the emergency shelf, as they furnish a substantial, inexpensive food which can be served in many ways at short notice.

GROCERIES

Groceries in sealed packages are, as a rule, slightly more expensive than those sold in bulk; but they are cleaner, often fresher, and more convenient to store and use.

b.u.t.tER AND OTHER SHORTENING

To the taste of the average person, there is no real equivalent for the flavor of fine creamery b.u.t.ter, but, for cooking, excellent results may be obtained by the use of cheaper shortening, beginning with the common household fats which are so often discarded. All drippings from the roasts and fat from boiled meats should be carefully strained and saved; beef and chicken fat may be used in many recipes, including those for cookies, cakes, meat sauces, soups, and made dishes; bacon fat is excellent for corn cake, meat sauces, and soups of peas, beans, or lentils; sausage fat may be used for gingerbread, cookies, poultry stuffing, and also for frying potatoes and other vegetables, for in these the spicy flavoring is not objectionable. Both bacon and sausage fat and that from soup stock are useful for basting lean roasts, fish, or meat loaf. Any surplus fat, including that of lamb and mutton, should be clarified and added to that in the frying kettle. Fat which cannot be utilized for cooking should be made into kitchen soap.

COOKING FATS--OILS

There are many excellent brands of wholesome cooking fats and oils on the market, including peanut, corn, and cottonseed oil, and compound vegetable fats. Almost any of these costs less than b.u.t.ter.

OLEOMARGARINE

The best oleomargarine is wholesome and economical, and much to be preferred to inferior grades of b.u.t.ter.

MILK

Milk, even at present prices, gives good return in food value.

Unsweetened evaporated milk, which is absolutely sterile and clean, costs no more, and in some places costs less, than fresh milk, and can be used to advantage to supplement the supply. Because of its consistency it is an excellent subst.i.tute for cream in frozen desserts.

CREAM

When eggs are relatively cheaper than cream, the stiffly beaten white of an egg may be used to advantage to mix with beaten cream. Thin cream whipped with a whip churn is lighter and less expensive than heavy cream beaten.

EGGS