Well Preserved The Well Preserved news column is prepared by Lan caster County Cooperative Extension. It includes food preservation information and questions. Featuring Cupboard Storage If you know how to store food properly and how long it will keep, you will waste fewer food dollars while keeping food looking and tasting good. Prop er storage will also help retain nutrients and keep the food safe to eat. Store foods in your coolest cabinets away from appliances which produce heat. Put dishes or pans—not food—in the cab inets over the range, near the dishwasher or by the refrigera tor exhaust. The temperature is too warm for food in those places. Foods in glass jars should be kept in a dark place to avoid the loss of vitamins that are sensitive to light. Bread keeps fresh if stored at room temperature in a cool, dry place. Refrigeration hastens staling. However, in hot humid weather, bread kept for more than two or three days should be refrigerated to retard mold growth. Store brown-and-serve breads, English muffins, and other high-moisture breads in the refrigerator. Keep hard- 4-H Offering Embryology, Food Production Education Program SPRINGFIELD (Delaware Co.) Embryology and Food PEP (Production Education Pro gram) are two of the programs being offered by Delaware Coun ty 4-H for homeschoolers and other interested groups. Both programs meet numerous Penn sylvania academic standards. For embryology, the chick hatching program, participants leant about why and what is hap pening as an embryo develops. They also learn avian (bird) anat crust breads such as French bread at room temperature and use within one or two days of purchase. Hard-crust breads are made with water rather than milk and dry quickly. Most breads are packaged in moisture and vapor-proof wraps (polyethylene bags), which are good for storage. When other containers are used to store bread, they should be rinsed with a baking soda solution after cleaning to remove odors that might be absorbed by the containers. Store flour in an airtight con tainer. Flour takes up moisture and also dries out easily. If you buy a large bag of flour, leave it in the bag and store it in a large covered container. In hot humid weather, buy flour in small amounts and keep it in the re frigerator or freezer. Flour stored in a warm place is likely to attract insects. Whole wheat flour should be stored in the re- omy, developmental processes and stages of growth, scientific processes, and hands-on experi ence with living creatures, includ ing caring for and respecting their value. 4-H provides fertile chicken eggs that are hatched in incuba tors. Each household or group re ceives eggs, student books, and teacher materials for a complete chick hatching experience. The cost of all materials plus the rental of an incubator is $4O. frigerator year round. Natural oils in whole wheat flour cause it to turn rancid quickly at room temperature. Flour absorbs odors and should not be stored near soap powders, medicines, or other items with strong odors. Brown sugar is a frustration when it is too hard to measure out. One remedy for hard brown sugar is to spread it out as best you can on a cookie sheet and heat in a slow oven (250 F to 300 F) until softened. Then remove the sugar from the oven and measure it while still warm; it will harden again when cooled. To keep brown sugar soft, put it in a plastic bag, tight fitting plastic container, or in ajar with a tight lid. Slipping an apple slice or piece of bread in with the brown sugar will keep it soft. Check it occasionally to see that the apple or bread has not dried out or become moldy. A few fruits and vegetables are suitable for cupboard stor age. Dry onions, potatoes, ruta bagas, and winter squash usually keep best in cool dark places around SOF to 60F. On ions and white potatoes will sprout in the spring; so during the spring, only buy what you can use in a week. Don’t store potatoes and onions together be cause the moisture from the po tatoes will cause the onions to spoil. Do not refrigerate sweet pota toes. Temperatures below 50F cause starch changes in sweet potatoes which alter their flavor. If you own an incubator, the cost is $25. 4-H also has incubators for purchase for $65. The following two sessions in Embryology are available: Nov. 7-22 and Nov. 26-Dec. 13. Food PEP (Production Educa tion Program) is also being of fered, which explores plant and animal agriculture. Newly re vised student books contain farm history, vocabulary, and related activities. Included is a nutrition section including the food guide **Now At Affordable "The Best Children's Books For Less!" Mahoning Outdoor Furnaces Cut Heating Cost With An Outdoor Furnace 11 ThtNutwnd Wry To Huttl Oetttnhlpo AvtlltM* In Sonw Arm. While some fruits and vege tables may start out at room temperature, longer term stor age needs to be in the refrigera tor. Ripen tomatoes at room temperature out of direct sun light. When ripe, store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Ripen bananas at room tem perature to desired maturity. Ripened bananas may be refrig erated for two to three days to prevent further ripening. Store apples in a cool place (below 60F) during the fall fol lowing harvest. After this time, apples deteriorate rapidly and should be kept in the refrigera tor. Ripen firm avocados and cantaloupe at room tempera ture. Allow three to five days for avocados; two to four days for cantaloupe. What can you do with those crackers, cereals, or snacks that get stale? Spread them onto a cookie sheet and place them in a 425 F oven for a few min utes. They will be crisp and ready to use again provided they have no off-flavors. While canned goods have a long shelf life, they don’t main tain their quality for ever. Ro tate canned goods and try not to keep canned foods more than one year. Canned fruit juices should be used within nine months. The shelf life of canned goods will be shortened when they are stored above 70F. Old canned goods may be safe to eat, but their color, flavor, tex ture, and/or nutritive value may have deteriorated. Store canned pyramid, grains and produce, as well as sections on all the animals found on the 4-H farm: cattle, swine, poultry, and sheep. A video is included with the program that costs $25 per household or group. An optional related spring field trip is avail able to the 4-H farm in Newtown Square. Call Susan Baraidi at (610) 690-7663 for information. Leave your address for registration ma terials to be sent to you. Uncle Arthur's THE BIBLE STORY and BEDTIME STORIES Also: MY BIBLE FRIENDS (Call: 717/625-2758) /b* BffacUtnX Sututie** Tft fait f jufahf NteXi! Standard Models Burn Wood, Coal Multi-Fuel Models Burn Wood, Coal, Oil, Propane, Gas or Waste Oil “Adapts To All Existing Systems” www.mahonmgoutdoorfurnace.com 800-692-5200 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 2, 2002-B5 Half Price** foods in a dry place at moder ately cool, but not freezing tem peratures. Canned goods that become frozen may experience a slight breakdown of texture, but a sin gle freezing and thawing is not serious unless the seal is broken. Danger signs for canned foods involve bulging, denting, or rusting of cans. Bulging indi cates spoilage inside the can throw it away without opening the can or tasting the food. Do not buy cans with dents on the side seam or on the top or bot tom rim. Check carefully for leakage-especially around the seam. Throw leaky cans away. Also check rusty cans for leakage as the rust may have penetrated the can. When you buy staples and canned goods, date food pack ages and use the oldest first. Buy fresh-looking packages. Dusty cans or torn labels may indicate old stock. “Spotlight on Cupboard Stor age,” a publication that includes a listing of the shelf life of com mon foods, is available on line at www.agcom.purdue.edu/ AgCom/Pubs/CFS/ CFS-423-W.pdf or you may re quest a copy by contacting Penn State Cooperative Extension, Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Road, Rm.l, Lancaster, PA 17601 or call (717) 394-6851 on Wednesdays 10 a.m.—l p.m. and ask for the food preserva tion home economist. 'w ’ 4-H HAPPENINGS New 4-H Spinning Club In Montgomery County Have an interest in learning how to spin yarn from wool? A new 4-H group is forming in Montgomery County to teach in terested persons this age-old art. The group is open to both adults and 4-H age youth (ages 8-19). On Sunday, Nov. 24, the group will carpool to Handweavers of Bucks County Show and Sale at Washington’s Crossing State Park from 1:30 to 4 p.m. A holiday party is sched uled for Sunday, Dec. 29, from 2 to 4 p.m. The spinning group is open to both adults and 4-H age youth. To par ticipate, contact the Montgomery County Cooperative Extension office in Collegeville at (610)489-4315. NOTICE: FARM OWNERS Goodville Mutual is One of the Top 5 Farm Insurance Companies in Pennsylvania. WANT TO KNOW WHY? 1 wLk Liz Martin Martin Insurance Agency 459 C N. George St. Millersville, PA 17551 (717) 872-7756 Toil Free 1-877-791-5235 www martimnsurance com Affordable>tnsurance for farm, hortte,vehicle, and small business.
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