84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 19, 1998
Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
*enn State Extension Home
Economist For Berks Co.
Holidays may be the best time
for enjoying friends and family,
but they’re the worst time for get
ting sick.
Following are a few sugges
tions for avoiding a nasty bout of
food poisoning:
• Don’t let any perishable foods
containihg meat, poultry, or eggs
sit on a buffet table few hours on
aid. Put out only what you think
will be consumed in an hour or so,
leaving the rest refrigerated. Nev
er let any of these foods stand at
room temperature for more than
two hours.
• If you will be feasting on rare
roast beef, cook it to an internal
temperature of at least 145 de
grees. Before serving the pan drip
pings, heat them to boiling. If
gravy or drippings are kept for a
second meal, boil them a few min
utes before serving.
• Be careful with the pasteur
ized eggnog, too. Either keep it on
ice, or make sure that only what
will be consumed within two
hours is left out at room tempera
ture.
• In any food preparation, but
especially with foods containing
meat, poultry, or eggs, keep your
hand and the utensils you use
a// Herbs
Plus One
■Mineral!
scrupulously clean. Be sure to
wash utensils well between uses,
especially if you have used them
with raw meat or poultry. The
same goes for counter surfaces.
• Thaw your holiday meat or
poultry in the refrigerator, not at
room temperature. Never stuff
poultry ahead of time or with
warm stuffing. For the ultimate in
safety, bake stuffing separately
from the bird. Stuffing the bird
should also be refrigerated separ
ately after cooking.
Here are some hints on how to
buy holiday foods:
• In buying any poutry for roast
ing, the USDA grade mark is es
pecially important. U.S. Grade A
Poultry will have no skin cuts or
tears that could allow the meat to
dry out during roasting.
• About turkey: Self-basting
turkeys have been injected with
butter or oil or a combination of
the two. The label will tell you.
• Whether to buy fresh or frozen
poultry is strictly a matter of what
fits best into your plans how
long you plan to keep it, how
much storage space you have.
• Ducks and geese are holiday
favorites. Buy U.S. Grade A to
make sure they have no skin cuts
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) -
On Christmas day in 1751, the
members of the Ephrata
Cloister had a celebration, but
the gathering that evening had
nothing to do with the holiday.
Instead, celibate Brothers and
Sisters joined married couples to
welcome new community mem-
or tears and are well filled-out and
meaty. Also, remember that these
birds have more natural fat than
other poultry so don’t be surprised
if there’s more fat in the roasting
pan than you’re used to.
• About roast beef: The desig
nation “Prime rib” doesn’t neces
sarily mean anything unless you
see the USDA grade mark that
says “USDA Prime” or “US
Prime.” If it says “USDA Prime”
or “US Prime” you can be sure
that you have a tender, juicy piece
of meat because it will have
abundant marbling tiny flecks
of fat within the leant.
Servings per pound;
• Turkey: 2A servings per
pound.
* Chicken: 2 servings per
pound.
• Goose: VA servings per
pound.
• Duck: 1 serving per pound.
• Rib roast: slightly less than 1
serving per pound.
New Venue
Just a few things:
■ The sides on the high capacity tank are highei
■ The shredder drum is balanced to run smoother
■ The number of moving parts are much fewer.
■ Maintenance and replacement costs are lower
■ The self-loading flaired arms make loading easier.
■ The heaUempered spring steel flails hold up better.
■ The whole operation runs quieter.
■ Your feed costs are lower; feed payability better. .
V^rmgyr
The Hay Specialist.
Ephrata Cloister Holds
Candlelight Service
hers with a special fellowship
gathering called love feast.
During this year's holiday sea
son, Ephrata Cloister will again
return to that special evening of
activity in 1751 as part of the
annual Christmas Candlelight
Tours on December 26, 27,
January 2, and 3. These special
tours begin every half hour from
6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. each
evening. Reservations for the
tours are required.
"Although guests to these
tours will not actually partake of
the fellowship meal, they will be
enlisted to help prepare for the
gathering," says Michael
Showalter, museum educator.
These special tours are pre
formed by the Cloister Chapter
of Student Historians of
Pennsylvania, local junior and
senior high school volunteers
who take on the roles of early
residents of the Cloister.
Each year Showalter, who
serves as advisor to the group,
searches the historic records
and writes a new script about
some events in Ephrata's histo
ry, He then directs the 25 stu
dents in their performance to
bring history to life. "This is a
great way to tell the stories of
Ephrata Cloister, and an impor
tant tool in teaching young peo-
6800 Bale Pr
Adjustable feed ml tort
rotate and looeen the bale
(either direction) for
uniform toting Info the
Hall shredder.
No chains to mar out; no
broken or bent bars to fix; no
gear boxes to replace; fewer
iris; less maintenance.
Food bunk option.
And, by lowering or
raising the deflector
gate, you can change
the discharge pattern
from spreading to bunk
feeding to windrowing.
pie about our heritage and our
responsibility for its preserva
tion," notes Showalter.
Visitors to these award win
ning tours will not be getting the
usual look at the historic site,
but instead, the elements of one
event. This year's story centers
on the love feast gathering and
how it helped to symbolize the
idea of community.
Founded in 1732 by Conrad
Beissel, Ephrata Cloister is one
of America's earliest communal
societies. Gathered in unique
European style buildings, the
community consisted of celibate
brothers and sisters, and a mar
ried congregation of families.
Reservations for Christmas
Candlelight tours are required
and can be made by calling the
Visitor Center beginning
December Ist. Admission for
.these special tours is $6.00 for
adults, $5.50 for senior citizens,
and $4.00 for youth age 6-12. A
special dinner and tour package
is also available by calling the
Restaurant at Doneckers (717)
738-9501. Individuals wishing
more information about the
tours, reservations, or individu
als with disabilities who need
special assistance should call
(717) 733-6600.
•cessor: