9

The cheaper cuts of meat are as nutritious as the more expen-
sive joints and they can be made appetising and digestible by
careful cooking.

" Edible offal ", i.e., liver, kidney, tripe, etc., makes
nourishing and attractive dishes if carefully prepared.

Bread.

Bread should be kept in well-covered pans. All stale bread
should be used for bread puddings or baked in a cool oven
and used as rusks or crushed into crumbs which can be stored in
tins for future use.

Tables showing the seasonal availability of meat, fish, vege-
tables and fruit will be found in Appendix I.

COOKING AND SERVING FOOD FOR LARGE NUMBERS.

Soup and Vegetables.

Provided sufficient care is given to cleanliness and storage

space is adequate a stock pot is a valuable means of preventing

waste.   It should be prepared and kept in the following way: —

Use any bones, cooked or uncooked, trimmings, scraps

of meat, gristle, giblets of poultry, liquor from boiled meat,

pulse vegetables, etc.   Trim off any fat, wash the meat and

bones, put them into a pan, cover them with cold water,

add a little salt and bring slowly to the boil and skim.   Add

a few fresh vegetables and simmer gently for several hours.

Strain and set aside to cool.

When cold remove the fat and the stock is ready for use.
Stock must not be left in the pan overnight, and any not
used should be boiled up the next day. The flavour of
stock is improved by the addition of herbs, which should
be tied together and placed in a muslin bag. The following
are the herbs most commonly used:—'Parsley, thyme, mar-
joram, bay-leaf, sage.

Good soup may be made from household stock, sieved and
thickened. If desired soup cubes may be added. These do not
greatly increase the nourishment of the soup but a variety of
different flavours may be obtained in this way.

Potatoes and root vegetables are more nourishing when
steamed than when boiled.

Meats and Fats.

Stews should be thickened after they are cooked. A thickened
stew is apt to burn while cooking and large quantities are
difficult to stir. Cooking fats have a high energy value and
may be scarce. All fats from meats should be kept for clarify-
ing. Careful carving with a really sharp knife saves waste
and makes helpings more attractive. A cutting machine may be
an economy for very large numbers.