2. Put it into lukewarm, soapy water to soak for a few minutes.
3. Wash on both sides by squeezing and sousing in the water.
4. Rinse in clear, lukewarm water; use several waters, if necessary, to remove the soap.
5. Pa.s.s through a loosely set wringer or squeeze the water out by hand.
6. Shake, in order to raise the woolly fibres.
7. Dry in a moderate temperature, in a wind, if possible.
CHAPTER X
FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE
FOODS
The Senior Fourth cla.s.s is the preparatory cla.s.s for entrance into the high school, and for many girls it is the final school year. For this reason the Course of this year should cover as many of the remaining household operations as possible.
The training of the previous years should have formed good habits of work and have given experience in ordinary cleaning, and in the cooking and serving of the simple food materials. Through this training the pupils should also have been impressed with the value of food, and should have learned the sources of food and of all well-known household materials.
The training of this last year, while continuing the Junior work, should also emphasize the household processes that require greater mental development to understand and greater practical skill to carry out. It is the border year between the public school and the high school, and must necessarily antic.i.p.ate the elementary science of the latter. In this year more responsibility should be given to the pupils and more originality should be expected of them. Where they have hitherto followed recipes and been given rules, they should now follow principles and deduce rules.
Of the several topics outlined in the Course for Form IV Senior, it is advisable to start with the preservation of food. Fruit and vegetables are most plentiful when the school year opens, and September is the most opportune month to preserve these for winter use. Facts concerning food preservation may have been taken incidentally in previous lessons, but now the subject should be systematically taught, so that canning, preserving, and pickling may be intelligently practised.
PRESERVATION OF FOOD
CAUSE OF DECAY
The lesson may be introduced by referring to the unusual attention given to fruit at the time of ripening. The economical housekeeper takes certain foods when they are most plentiful and preserves them for use when they are not in season. Some foods require special care to keep them from decaying. The decay is caused by the action of microscopic plants called "bacteria", which get into the food.
BACTERIA
It is difficult for any one to get a correct conception of bacteria; especially is it so for children. The teacher should be most careful not to attempt to give the cla.s.s unimportant details, but the few necessary facts should be made very clear and real. The following points should be impressed:
1. Bacteria are plants. (This fact should be kept clearly in mind.)
2. They are microscopic in size and hence the more difficult to deal with.
3. They are found everywhere that there is life--in the air, in water, in the soil.
4. They multiply very rapidly under favourable conditions.
5. Some bacteria are useful to the housekeeper; many kinds are her enemies.
6. Some of these enemies get into food and, growing there, cause a change in it--then we say the food is spoiled.
CONDITIONS OF BACTERIAL GROWTH
All plants have the same requirements. Any well-known plant may be put before the cla.s.s to help them to think of these. They must be told that microscopic plants differ from other plants in one respect; they do not need light. Hence bacterial requirements are as follows: (1) water, (2) food, (3) air (oxygen), (4) heat.
The cla.s.s should be led to see that if any one of these conditions is removed, the remaining ones are insufficient for the plant"s activity.
MEANS OF OVERCOMING BACTERIA
To the housekeeper, preserving food means overcoming bacteria. There are only two ways of doing this, either of which may be chosen:
1. Kill the bacteria in the food and exclude others.
2. Subject the food to conditions which are unfavourable for bacterial growth.
In the first way, extreme heat is used to kill the bacteria in the food, and then while hot, the food is sealed to keep out other bacteria: Example, canning.
In the second way, conditions are made unfavourable to the bacteria in the food, as follows:
1. The bacteria are deprived of water; the food is dried.
2. The bacteria are deprived of sufficient heat to be active; cold storage is used.
3. Large quant.i.ties of certain substances which are detrimental to the growth of bacteria are put into the food, and the bacteria become inactive. Examples: salt, sugar, spices, vinegar, smoke, or certain chemicals.
When the lesson is finished, the cla.s.s is ready to practise the principles it involves. The lessons on the special preservation of fruit may follow at once.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Utensils used in canning]
CANNING
As canning is the method of preservation most commonly used, practice should be given in this method. In rural schools with a limited equipment, it may be that only one jar can be prepared. In other schools, it may be impossible to provide each pupil with material for work, on account of the expense. In the latter case, the materials may all be brought from home, or each pupil may bring her own jar and fruit, and the school supply the sugar.
Instruction on the care of jars and the preparation of fruit and syrup must precede the practical work.
CARE OF JARS
1. See that the jars are air-tight; partly fill the jar with water; place rubbers, covers, and rims; screw tightly, and invert. If any water oozes out, the jar is not air-tight. Often an extra rubber will correct the trouble.
2. Wash the jars thoroughly with the aid of a small brush.
3. Sterilize the jars in every part; dip them in boiling water, or place them on a rest (folded paper or wooden slats) in a kettle, to prevent the jars from touching the bottom. Fill and surround them with tepid water, then place them over heat until the water boils. Keep them in the boiling water until ready to fill with fruit. Dip the rubber bands in boiling water, but do not allow them to remain in it. Use new rubbers each season.