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