812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 30, 2003
Well Preserved
The Well Preserved news col
umn is prepared by Lancaster
County Cooperative Extension.
It includes food preservation
information and questions.
Thawing Foods
If all the proper steps to freeze
foods safely are used and then it
is defrosted at temperatures that
foster bacteria growth, hours of
work will be in vain. Freezing
temperatures will prevent the
growth of bacteria; they do not
kill the bacteria. When the food
temperature rises above 40F, bac
teria can grow at levels to cause
food borne illness.
Grabbing a package of meat or
chicken and thawing it fast in hot
water or taking food out of the
freezer and letting it on the coun
ter to thaw all day while you are
at work are not safe practices.
According to the USD A Meat
and Poultry Hotline, foods
should never be thawed or even
stored on the counter, or defrost
ed in hot water. Food left unrefri
gerated is not at a safe tempera
ture. Even though the center of
the package may still be frozen as
it thaws on the counter, the outer
layer of the food is in the “Dan
ger Zone”, between 40 and 140
Ftemperatures at which bacteria
multiply rapidly.
“When defrosting frozen
foods, it is best to plan ahead and
thaw food in the refrigerator
where food will remain at a safe,
constant temperature at 40F or
below.
The safe ways to defrost food
is in the refrigerator, in cold
water, and in the microwave
oven.
Refrigerator thawing requires
planning ahead because of the
lengthy time involved. A large
frozen item like a turkey requires
at least a day (24 hours) for every
S pounds of weight. Even a
pound of ground meat or bone
less chicken breasts requires a full
day to thaw.
Take these variable into ac
count when thawing foods in the
refrigerator: Some areas of the re
frigerator may keep the food
colder than other areas. Food
placed in the coldest part will re
quire longer defrosting time.
Food takes longer to thaw in a re
frigerator set at 35 F than one set
at 40 F. Ground meat and poul
The King family farm includes a chicken house, left, that Neal’s dad continues to op
erate.
Kings Farm:
(Continued from Page B 2)
music and recently competed in
Lancaster County’s 4-H talent
show.
Since they live on a dairy farm,
it seems natural for the King chil
dren to show dairy animals.
Their dad is considering it very
carefully.
He said, “I’ve always kept a
closed herd. I don’t like taking
animals out and bringing them
back (which exposes the herd to
try thawed in the refrigerator
should remain useable for an ad
ditional day or two before cook
ing; red meat will remain useable
for an additional three days.
Cold water thawing is faster
than using the refrigerator, but
requires more attention. The food
must be in a leak-proof package
or plastic bag. If the bag leaks,
bacteria from the air or sur
rounding environment could be
introduced into the food. Also,
meat tissue can also absorb water
like a sponge resulting in a wa
tery product. The bag should be
submerged in cold tap water,
changing the water every 30 min
utes so it continues to thaw.
Small packages of meat or poul
try, about a pound, may defrost
in an hour or less. A 3- to
4-pound package may take 2 to 3
hours to thaw. For whole turkeys,
estimate about 30 minutes per
pound. If thawed completely, the
food must be cooked immediate
ly. Foods thawed by the cold
water method should be cooked
before refreezing.
When food is defrosted in the
microwave oven, plan to cook it
immediately after thawing be
cause some areas of the food may
become warm and begin to cook
during the defrosting process.
Holding partially cooked food is
not recommended because any
bacteria present would not have
been destroyed and may have
reached ideal temperatures for
bacteria to grow. Foods thawed
in the microwave should be cook
ed before refreezing.
If you have food preservation
questions, a home economist is
available to answer questions on
Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
call (717) 394-6851 or write Penn
State Cooperative Extension,
Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia
Rd. Rm.l, Lancaster, PA 17601.
Where The Blacktop Ends
viruses).”
Although the Kings aren’t big
vacation people, when they do go
away on vacation, they tend to
visit other farming operations.
Mary Lou said, “On our anni
versary, we visited some big
farms in the western part of the
state, and participated in a Mon
santo bus tour to visit Michigan
farms.”
Some women are appalled that
an anniversary celebration would
be work-related, but Mary Lou
Pictured at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds, from left, are Mrs. Rockingham
County Fair, Linda Shifflett; Junior Miss Rockingham County Fair, Hannah Armentrout
and Senior Miss Rockingham County Fair, and Heather Edwards. At Roanoke In January,
Edwards, will enter the Miss Virginia Association of Fairs Scholarship Pageant with her
platform of working with disabled children.
Disabled Children Is Platform For
Miss Rockingham County Fair Queen
GAY BROWNLEE
Virginia Coorespondent
HARRISONBURG, Va.
Heather Edwards, 19, Senior
Miss Rockingham County Fair,
has a heart for disabled children.
That is why the topic of disabled
children was her platform for the
Miss Rockingham County Fair
Pageant, where six ypphg women
competed for the honbr.
She titled her platform “Look
Their Way,” in relation to the
Peer Tutor Program at the Spot
swood High School, where
throughout her junior and senior
years, she devoted several hours a
day to tutoring disabled children.
With Edwards, the royal line
of Rockingham County Fair
queens was represented in Han
nah Armentrout, Junior Miss
said, “I enjoy seeing how other
farm families live. It’s a chance
to get ideas on how to improve
our farm.”
Even the best-laid plans don’t
always turn out as expected. This
week, it started raining again
when their hay was ready to bale.
“Part of farming is taking the
good with the bad,” Mary Lou
said. “We are blessed to be able
to farm. We give God the credit
we couldn’t be successful with
out him.”
Rockingham County Fair, and
Linda Shifflett, Mrs. Rock
ingham County Fair. The trio
worked with a strong commit
ment greeting fairgoers with
bright, sunny smiles.
On Aug. 3 in the big exhibit
hall, they and the other contest
ants had been judged during in
terviews, evening gown, and cas
ual wear competitions. They had
to speak briefly on an issue that
was meaningful to themselves.
Like the three musketeers they
attended various scheduled
events together, especially all the
livestock shows. They granted in
terviews to the broadcast media
and showed gracious hospitality
to thousands of visitors. That was
the real test of their sincerity,
ability, and fair knowledge.
Edwards said the duties were
demanding, but fun. “We were
always fashionably late,” she
said, grinning.
The young woman had not re
alized the extent of hard work
and dedication required to hold a
county fair, but seeing it unfold
day by day was an eye-opening
experience that doubled her ap
preciation for the organizers,
workers, and record keepers.
When asked her reasons for
participating, Edwards said: ‘I
wanted to have a good experience
for my own self-confidence.”
Besides the gifts of a crown,
trophy, and sash, her cash award
was $5OO and she has a commit
ment at Roanoke in January
2004 to participate in the Miss
Virginia Association of Fairs
Scholarship Pageant.
Edwards is employed at the
Cloud Nine Day Spa after gradu
ating in 2003 from the Virginia
School of Massage.
“I want to incorporate mas
sage therapy and disabled chil
dren,” she said. “The sense of
touch (to disabled children) is so
important.”
With this goal in mind at the
fair, she encountered a number of
disabled citizens and to their de
light, interacted with them com
fortably.
Hannah Armentrout wanted to
participate in the junior division
to have a better opportunity to
learn what really goes on at the
fair. She was interested to see
what past queens have done, she
said.
The 14-year old daughter of
Kent and Karen Armentrout,
Linville, said although she has al
ways been Involved with the fair,
particularly with her dad’s vege
table exhibits, by being a junior
miss, she learned so much more
about the event than she knew
earlier.
The cash award for junior miss
was $lOO.
Linda Shifflett, Bridgewater,
the wife of Jay Shifflett and
mother of four children, has al
ways been a supporter of the fair.
After six days she, too came away
with a broader appreciation for
behind-the-scenes activities that
visitors who just come for a good
time, seldom if ever, see.
Shifflett reported the Mrs.
Rockingham Fair competition
had 11 contestants. One question
she was asked to answer had to
do with qualities that are most
valuable to a marriage. She
named, “honesty and dependabil
ity.”
She believes firmly that a hus
band and wife must be “true
friends together.”
Her older children were cred
ited for their tremendous support
during the week-long fair. Other
wise, spending every day at the
fair would not have been easy.
“My older children helped
with the younger ones,” she said.
The children are Drew, 14;
Kali, 13; Coale, 6; and Tone, 3.
Judges for the pageant were
Garry Viar, Lynchburg; Valerie
Lucas, Shenandoah; Kimberly
Bright, Harrisonburg; Stanford
Moats, Waynesboro; and Sam
Perkins, Staunton.