Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
Penn State Extension
Home Economist for
Berks Co.
Local strawberries are being
picked daily and the consumer
has choices of purchasing them
in the supermarkets, roadside
stands or pick-your-own opera
tions.
Encouraged by the new food
guidelines, depicted in the food
pyramid, we are trying to eat
more fruits and vegetables. Fruit
in season locally has some big
advantages in cost, flavor, and
accessibility. One cup of straw
berries provides 150% of the
USRDA of vitamin C. Fresh, fro
zen or sliced they make just the
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right topping for cereal, waffles,
pancakes or French toast. Forget
the syrup and orange juice for a
while.
1. When you go to pick straw
berries, select the best variety for
freezing by asking the grower.
An average of one pound straw
berries makes one pint frozen
berries.
2. There are several ways to
pack fruit for freezing: Syrup
pack or dry pack. The syrup can
be either sugar syrup or pectin
syrup and the dry pack needs to
be with sugar. If these products
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L
Too Much Calcium?
COLUMBUS, Ohio Some
one asked if they could get too
much calcium by taking supple
ments and eating foods rich in
calcium.
Generally, nutritionists don’t
talk much about too much calci
um because the real problem is
people don’t get enough of it.
Still, you make a good point. If
are not used, the strawberries
will change more in color, flavor
and texture while in freezer stor
age, even if the strawberries are
frozen quickly.
To make a sugar syrup pack,
mix and dissolve 2/i cups sugar
in four cups cold water. Stir well
to dissolve. Add one cup of this
syrup per quart of prepared fruit.
To make no sugar pectin
syrup pack, combine one pack
age powdered pectin in one-cup
water. Heat to boiling and boil 1
minute. Remove from heat and
add VA cups of water. Chill be
you take calcium supplements,
and then get calcium from other
foods, you could get too much of
a good thing. That can cause kid
ney stones or calcium deposits in
the joints.
The National Academy of Sci
ences recommends no more than
2,500 milligrams a day to pre
vent calcium build-ups. Still, get
fore using. Add more water if
thinner syrup is desired. Sub
merge fruit in syrup.
To make individually quick
frozen (IQF) berries use a tray
pack: Dip berries into either one
of the syrup pack solutions, drain
and place berries individually,
not touching, on plastic wrap on
a cookie tray. Freeze in coldest
part of freezer (usually 1 hour),
then package the individually
frozen berries in freezer bags.
To make a dry pack, mix '/:-
cup dry sugar per quart of pre
pared fruit.
To package: Fill pint or quart
size freezer bags to within one
inch of top, squeeze out air easily
by dunking bag in water, being
careful not to get any water into
bag, seal, label and freeze. Before
freezing, bags may be inserted
into reusable rigid plastic freezer
containers for added protection
against punctures and leakage.
For additional food preserva
tion information, contact your
local Cooperative Extension of
fice.
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ting enough calcium is impor
tant, especially during
adolescence when bones are
growing the fastest. That’s why
the minimum recommended
amount of calcium for anyone 9
to 18 years old is 1,300 milli
grams a day. People 19 to 50
years should get 1,000 milligrams
a day, and those over 50 should
get 1,200 milligrams.
If you’re worried about too
much calcium, examine your
usual diet and do the math. Let’s
say you drink one 8-ounce glass
of milk (about 300 milligrams of
calcium) a day. You usually put
a 1-ounce slice of American
cheese (about 175 milligrams) on
your sandwich made with whole
wheat bread (20 milligrams each
slice), and your lunch bag usually
contains a cup of fruit-flavored,
low-fat yogurt (about 300 milli
grams). Broccoli is your favorite
vegetable, so it’s not unusual to
have a half-cup of that with din
ner (about 25 milligrams). Add
another 50 milligrams for that
orange you eat each evening.
Add all of that up, and you
have less than 900 milligrams of
calcium. Your total intake is
probably a bit more it’s not un
usual for a 3-ounce portion of
meat to contain 10 or 15 milli
grams of calcium. Still, a
500-milligram calcium supple
ment or calcium-fortified juice
might not be a bad addition to
this particular daily diet.