812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday,-Juna 3, 1995 Consuming Thoughts by Fay Stridder Penn State Extension Home Economist For Berks Co. Encouraged by the new food guidelines depicted in the food pyramid, many Americans are try ing to eat tnore fruits and vegetables. One of the first fruits to appear in local markets is the luscious strawberry. With more than seven varieties grown locally, the harvest season is generally late May through late June. However, Tristar and Tribute are day-neutral strawberries. They are available mid-June and again from August through the first hard frost. Tri bute is one week later than Tristar. Locally grown fruit has some big advantages in cost, flavor and accessibility. If you decide to go pick your own strawberries, you’ll want to select the best variety for freezing and choose the best varie ty for eating fresh and/or making jams and jellies by asking the grower. Many pick-your-own farms have the Penn State bro chure called “Enjoy Nature’s Fresh Strawberries,” available for the customer. This leaflet has the most popular Pennsylvania straw berry varieties listed, along with information on the harvest season, berry characteristics and uses. Whether you pick your own or purchase picked berries, you’ll want to select fully ripe and appro priate colored strawberries with intact green caps. White or pale pink berries do not become swee H MORTON BUILDINGS, INC. Excellence —r Since 1903 3368 York Rd. Gettysburg, PA 17325 717/624-3331 Call or will* today la won Information ter after they are picked and should not be purchased. Straw berries with bruises or without caps do not store well and should not be purchased. Twelve very large berries or 36 small berries equals a pint. Ah average of 1 pound of strawberries makes 1 pint of frozen berries. One pint yields about 3V* cups whole, 2'A cups sliced, or VA cups pureed berries. Always remove bruised, rotted, or molded berries before storing. Strawberries should be refriger ated immediately after purchas ing. Never rinse the berries or remove the caps before storing. Removing the cap early can reduce flavor, texture, and nutrient quality. Strawberries can only be stored for a couple days in the refrigerator. If held longer than this, a grey mold may develop. For optimal refrigeration, place ber ries no more than two berries deep in a shallow container or tray cov ered with waxed paper or plastic wrap. When ready to use the berries remove caps and gendy wash ber ries with cool water just prior to using, One cup of unsweetened straw berries provides 150% of the USDA of vitamin C and has only 45 calories. Strawberries are high in potassium (247 mg), low in sodium (2 mg) and have 1.3-3.0 CONTACT: P.O. Box 126, Philllpsburg, NJ 08865 908/454-7900 1-800-447-7436 COLUMBUS, Ohio When it comes to food the United States has not only one of the most plentiful food supplies in the world, but one of die safest Perhaps the safest product of them all is milk. Consumers can be assured that milk is safe, be cause it’s the most monitored pro duct in the entire food supply, ac cording to the National Institutes of Health. The milk safety inspection sys tem involves a series of tests by federal and state inspectors and by the dairy industry itself to confirm the safety of all milk and dairy products. From the cow to your store, at least 10 checks, tests and grams of dietary fiber. Fresh, frozen or sliced they make just the right topping for cereal, waffles, pancakes or French toast. Forget the syrup and orange juice for a while. Also try stirring finely chopped strawber ries into softened cream cheese and spread on bagels or toast. Make a refreshing strawberry cooler by combining equal amounts of sliced strawberries, yogurt, and milk in a blender. Sweeten with honey to taste. Dip whole, rinsed strawberries into melted semi-sweet chocolate, then place on waxed paper and chill until chocolate hardens. Or try making strawberry butter by beating together Vi cup pureed strawberries, 1 tablespoon honey and 'A cup butter or margarine. Spread on toast, muffins, pan cakes, rolls, broiled chicken, or fish. Strawberries can also be used in many desserts, salads, sauces, and drinks, or just eaten plain. For additional information on freezing strawberries, contact your local Penn Slate Cooperative Extension Office and ask for the “Let’s Preserve Strawberries” fact sheet. AD ADC Celebrates 35 Years AD ADC: Mnola only, call Quality Starts On The Farm of Dairy Promotion Serving dairy farmers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania during June Dairy Month and throughout the yean - directly influences milk sales through supermarket strategies - urges consumers to drink milk through advertising campaigns - works with award-winning chefs to enhance the image of dairy products - increases milk consumption through school breakfast and lunch promotions - sponsors medical and nutrition seminars for health professionals - dispels misconceptions about dairy products through the media - generates positive dairy articles in newspapers (worth $275,000 in 1994) - increases dairy product awareness through media tours and special events - extends publicity messages through local dairy princess program AD ADC American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. 219 South West Street, Suite 100 Syracuse, NY 13202-1205 315-472-9143 inspections are made to ensure that consumers have only whole some. healthy and safe products from which to select at their local supermarket dairy case. Quality Starts On The Farm The continuing high quality of milk starts on the dairy farm. Even beyond natural pride, producers have a real incentive to produce the safest milk possible. If they don’t, they lose money. Dairy farmers work closely with their herd veterinarian to practice sound disease prevention, conduct care ful medical treatment and main tain timely accurate records. State and federal regulations require on farm cleanliness and equipment sanitation. Many dairy producers even do their own on-farm testing to further ensure milk quality. Milk delivered to the dairy plant is tested before it is unload ed. Any load that does not pass in spection is dumped without ever entering the plant. Recent studies have shown that well over 99 per cent of all milk delivered by farm ers passes inspection. FDA Supervision Two branches of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work to ensure the safety of dairy foods. The Milk Safety Branch enforces the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, the basic federal reference for all milk-testing pro grams. The FDA Center for Veter inary Medicine (C VM) reviews all animal medications to be used on milk-producing cows. Test medi cations must meet stringent CVM standards regarding effectiveness and safety before being approved. FDA doesn’t just rest there. Above and beyond all other tests, last year alone FDA also made 5,500 random tests of milk sam ples inspected by state regulators to ensure testing accuracy. In ad dition, FDA distributed 5,000 medication-specific test kits to state regulators for their use. 1960-95 Additional Protection In addition to federal testing, each of the SO states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, carries out extensive dairy safe and milk-quality tests. Each state also tests pasteurized milk and milk products. Dairy farms and dairy plants handling fluid milk production are covered by the National Conference on Inter state Milk Shipments, an organi zation of federal and state health officials and regulators, state agri cultural regulators and representa tives of the dairy industry. This group make recommendations on strengthening the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance and coordinates voluntary efforts of local, state and federal regulatory agencies as they oversee and ensure the pro duction, processing and handling of quality milk and dairy products. Finished Milk Testing As milk is processed, pasteur ized and homogenized, laboratory checks are made to evaluate the color, odor, appearance, tempera ture and taste of milk. Butterfat content is analyzed for accuracy and tests are conducted to ensure proper pasteurization. Next, a laboratory runs addi tional tests to ensure safety. Shelf like testing is conducted to ensure that the code life is correctly stat ed. Routine tests are also made to ensure package integrity and weight, and to offer a final check for the presence of animal medica tion residues or added water. Finally, there’s the ultimate test Consumer satisfaction. Each day, millions of Americans give their stamp of approval to whole some, healthy and safe milk. To learn more about the extra steps your dairy is taking to ensure your safety and to complete your satisfaction with dairy products, call Mid East United Dairy Indus try Association at 614/890-1800. 239 Schuyler Avenue Kingston, PA 18704-3378 717-283-2204
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers