For Beginners and the Best Cooks By
MILK

You will note that in connection with milk, I have advised both whole
milk and skimmed milk. The whole milk, with its natural proportion of
cream, should be given to children to drink, and so far as possible should
be used in made-up dishes for them, because the butter fat in the whole
_ milk is very valuable to the growing child.

Skimmed milk contains the other valuable solids, and so also provides
good food, and can be used to much advantage in general cooking. Butter-
milk makes a healthful beverage and is good for cooking—and contains
about the same value as the skimmed milk.

EGGS, CHEESE, MEAT, ETC.

You must not think that we are providing a very small amount of the
food dollar for these food products, because although we have made rather
a different group of them here, these foods and milk really do the same work
in the body; but because of the importance of milk, we give it a separate

place in the budget—all to itself.

3 During most parts of the year, a given sum of money will buy more
tissue-building material if spent in eggs, cheese, nut-butter, and the dry
beans and peas, than it will when spent for meat or fish. However, there
are the less costly cuts of meat to consider (if the long cooking they usually
require does not materially run up fuel cost). Fish costs vary in different
communities—in some places fish can be very economical indeed. With ©
more money to spend, more meats, etc., may be included, according to
what can be afforded.

Egg prices vary with the season and the community, and when they
are not high, eggs are a good buy; apart from serving them alone, they make
many dishes possible or more delicious—and of course the food value of an
egg is just the same whether the egg is poached or used in a pudding.

Dried beans and peas are cheap and their cost is kept down if long
soaking (over night) is used as a means of reducing cooking time (with its
fuel cost). 7 7

Cheese supplies a lot of nourishment in small bulk and it has the advan-
tage in combining with other inexpensive foods, such as macaroni and other
cereals; and it also combines well in dishes with vegetables (of which we
allow a large quantity). Cottage cheese is also fine food and belongs in
this group. |

Peanut butter can be used not only as a spread, but in simple muffins,
as a very nutritious shortening in quick breads, and to make icing, help out
with vegetable salads, etc.

The cooking methods have a great deal to do with the final economy of
your carefully selected meat dishes-and so are well worth studying.