Part 3

Juicy fruit salads should be served in dainty glasses or cups; and a correspondingly dainty doily on the plate underneath the glass with a delicate flower or leaf by its side, leaves nothing to be desired.

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“We do not attain perfection by striving to do something out of the common.

“Perfection is acquired by doing the common things uncommonly well.”--_Mowry._

FRUITS

FRUITS--FRESH

“Man has always thrived as he has eaten freely of fruits.”--_H. Irving Hancock._

“The best food on this planet is ripe fruit. The healthiest people on the globe are the fruit eaters of tropical countries. The great muscular Maoris of New Zealand are a frugiverous race. I have seen a boat crew of these great chocolate colored giants that would outrow the ‘crack’ university crews were they properly trained. The bread fruit of the Samoan Islands has made a race of giants. I have examined these men and women on their native soil and finer human specimens never lived.”--_Dr. Paul Edwards._

“The more we depend upon the fresh fruit just as it is plucked from the tree, the greater will be the blessing.”

“It would be well for us to do less cooking and to eat more fruit in its natural state. Eat freely of fresh grapes, apples, peaches, pears, berries and all other kinds of fruit that can be obtained.”

Fruits supply sugar, acids, mineral matter and bulk. The mineral elements of fruits are more readily assimilated than those of flesh meat and vegetables. Acid fruits aid in the digestion of nuts and other nitrogenous foods. Acid, juicy fruits keep the system clean and free from germs. They render lime and soda salts soluble, enabling the system to throw them off. They _allay_ instead of _creating_ thirst. Alcohol and tobacco cannot stay long with the individual who uses no flesh foods and partakes freely of ripe juicy fruits. Use more fruit and fewer vegetables if you would not experience thirst.

Cane sugar is not digested in the stomach but causes fermentation by hindering the digestion of other foods. The sugar of fruits (grape and fruit sugar, so-called), and that of honey are all ready for assimilation, so require less labor on the part of the body and may be used more rapidly for the repair of muscular fatigue.

The laxative effect of fruit is very important. Very ripe bananas taken when the stomach is empty often produce immediate effect. Pineapples after nitrogenous foods, ripe olives, peaches, pears and nearly all fruits are helpful.

It is better to use the juice and pulp only, of seedy fruits like blackberries and black raspberries. With many people the seeds produce hives.

The matter of bulk in the diet is an important one. The whole digestive tract suffers if there is not a fairly good bulk of food to be handled by it, yet serious results follow when a large quantity of concentrated food is consumed; consequently, fruits and green vegetables being composed largely of water supply just what is needed.

Fruit must be thoroughly ripened, sound and well matured. Many unripe fruits contain raw starch which causes trouble when they are eaten.

The largest fruit of its kind is usually the cheapest. It is poor economy to spend money and (if the fruit requires paring) time, for seeds, skins, and cores. Besides, as a rule the larger fruit is more perfectly matured, so more wholesome as well as of a finer flavor.

Do not use the skins of fruits much. They are composed largely of woody fibre and are intended only for a covering to the fruit. In the days of stomach washes, the skins of fruits were noticeably abundant in the “unswallowed” food.

For the best effect, fruits should be used without sugar. When one has accustomed himself to the use of grape fruit and oranges without sugar, the addition of it will make them positively disagreeable to his taste, besides causing rebellion in the stomach.

Since acids hinder the digestion of starch, it is better to take acid fruits at the close of a meal including starchy foods, and we should especially avoid taking starches and acids into the mouth at the same time, before the starch has been acted upon by the saliva.

There is great opportunity for the display of artistic skill in serving fresh fruits, and nothing so well repays a little effort as the combination of leaves, ferns and vines with fruits. One beautiful dish that I remember was of plums, grapes and peaches with autumn leaves; another, with rich branches of foliage plants and a variety of fruits. Grape leaves combine beautifully with fruits.

One person with whom I am acquainted can use no starchy foods. The many attempts which she has made to use them invariably result in her becoming extremely weak, and helpless with rheumatism; but she thrives on a diet composed almost exclusively of acid fruits and nuts. She writes--“On my fruit and nut diet I seldom feel thirst, but after eating even starchless vegetables I suffer exceedingly from it. I find also that I do not require so much sleep as when living on another diet.” Her chief fruits are sour apples, grape fruit, oranges and mealy-ripe bananas with a few raisins, dates and figs occasionally for dessert. She is at her best when currants are ripe; and takes them every day as long as they can be obtained.

APPLES

The apple, of which there are said to be over 2000 varieties, has no equal as an “all-round” fruit; but it is at its best just pared and eaten raw. It requires thorough mastication both for digestion and enjoyment.

When you are not feeling quite at par, cut an apple in two from stem to blossom end and with a round pointed knife scrape it into a fine pulp from either side. It is most refreshing and easily digested so. Children and people whose teeth are defective can take it best that way.

The apple is the choicest salad fruit.

BANANAS

The fact that the banana is a serious cause of indigestion when just turned yellow is quite generally understood, and fruit eaters now buy them and keep them until they become not just soft, but _mellow ripe_, which will be after the skins are dark or covered with dark spots. As long as they have a “pasty” feeling in the mouth they are unfit for food because the starch is not yet changed to sugar.

Do not try to hurry the ripening process as bananas are better when ripened slowly. Keep them in the dark, in a not too cold place and give them plenty of time. Large, plump bananas are far superior to small slender ones in wholesomeness and flavor, besides being cheaper.

There is no other way of using bananas to compare with eating them “out of hand” with the skin and fibres removed; but they may be served with sugar and lemon juice for luncheon or with whipped cream for dessert.

Almond cream is very harmonious with bananas. Peeled bananas with a little almond butter accompanying each mouthful make a complete and delightful luncheon. Brazil nut butter and cream are also excellent with bananas.

BLACKBERRIES

Wild blackberries are sweeter and finer flavored than cultivated ones and eaten in small quantities from the bush are very enjoyable, but they should not be taken in large quantities with their seeds. They may be served with nut, or whipped dairy cream. With a thin syrup of sugar and water they are delicious.

CANTALOUPE

Wash, drain, chill, cut in halves and remove the seeds with a round-pointed spoon (not a sharp pointed knife) or with the fingers. Do not put ice inside as it destroys the flavor. Serve on mat of grape leaves.

CURRANTS

Wash, drain, serve on the stems plain or around a mold of sugar (made by pressing not too dry powdered or granulated sugar into a small glass, and unmolding in the center of the plate), or a spoonful of sugar, on a dainty dish. Nice, very ripe currants are especially refreshing and reviving.

=Frosted Currants=

Pick fine even bunches of currants and dip them, one at a time, into a mixture of frothed white of egg and a very little cold water. Drain them until nearly dry and roll in powdered sugar. Repeat the dip in the sugar once or twice and lay them on white paper to dry. Use as a garnish.

DATES AND NUTS

Serve dates piled on a dessert plate with halves of nuts around, or on individual dishes with a spoonful of any desired nut butter or meal in the center of the dish.

DATES AND CREAM

Slice dates and cover with nut or dairy cream. Dairy cream may be whipped and piled in center of dish with fruit around.

DATES OR FIGS AND MILK

One writer on health subjects recommends dates and milk or figs and milk as an improvement upon bread and milk. They make an excellent combination and a satisfying meal.

Nut milk or nut cream are ideal for sweet fruits.

FIGS

Serve figs with nuts and with cream, the same as dates. For Stuffed Dates and Figs, see Confections.

GOOSEBERRIES

Nice large ripe gooseberries are most enjoyable right from the bushes.

GRAPES

There is perhaps no fruit more highly recommended than the grape. One says: “It is safe to say that the juice of no other fruit or vegetable so strikingly resembles blood in its composition as the unfermented juice of grapes.”

Another: “Grapes eaten exclusively for several days bring about wonderful results in the system. From one to two pounds should be consumed daily at first, gradually increasing to eight or ten pounds.”

The “grape cures” in France and Germany are too well known to require mention. There is said to be “a life giving principle in grapes which builds tissue and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system.”

These quotations apply particularly to fresh grapes. Cooked grapes and juice do not agree with every one.

TO PACK GRAPES

Take the late grapes, pick them carefully, spread them in a cool place in layers on shelves, let them remain two weeks, then pack in barrels with dry hard-wood sawdust. Bran will answer very well. Packed in this manner the fruit will keep good through the winter it is said. After packing, grapes should be kept in a cool, dry place.

GRAPE FRUIT

Cut in halves crosswise, remove seeds with sharp pointed knife, and separate the pulp from the bitter membrane between the sections. Serve one half to each person in peel or small glass, or serve halves after removing seeds without separating pulp. The fruit should not be cut long before serving as the juice and pulp absorb the bitter of the cut membrane. Taken at the close of the meal, grape fruit is an aid to digestion. The effect will be better without sugar. As a dessert, it is sometimes served with a tablespoonful of thick maple syrup in the center.

GRAPE FRUIT WITH MALAGA GRAPES

Prepare grape fruit as for salad, combine with halved, seeded Malaga grapes and sugar; refill cups which have been wiped dry after standing in ice water. Garnish with candied cherries or blanched almonds.

GRAPE FRUIT AMBROSIA

Mix grape fruit pulp with orange pulp, grated cocoanut and sugar. Serve, sprinkled with cocoanut, in its own cups or in glasses.

OLIVES

“When properly prepared, olives like nuts supply the place of butter and flesh meats. Oil as eaten in the olive is far preferable to animal oil or fat. It serves as a laxative. Its use will be found beneficial to consumptives and it is healing to an inflamed, irritated stomach.”

The olive contains more protein than any of the other common fruits, and with the exception of the alligator pear is the only one containing any appreciable amount of oil. Until within a few years we have been eating this valuable fruit in its unripe state, but now we get it, both imported and home grown, ripe. There is just as much difference between a ripe and green olive as between a ripe and green apple.

The ripe olive is black or dark brown in color (according to where it was grown) and has its full quota of oil. After one has eaten ripe olives for a time, the green ones will have a harsh, rank taste to him. It is also much easier to acquire a taste for the ripe olive. The large, luscious ones with meat as thick as that of a good sized plum are truly delightful.

Those hurried on to the eastern market from California before the holidays are not thoroughly ripened, but there are some growers who hold them until properly matured before gathering. Olives are better just soaked a little and eaten in that state than to be used in cooked dishes; but when used in soups or sauces, add without cooking just before serving.

Ripe olives are a valuable substitute for butter with bread, giving an emulsified oil instead of a free fat, with no germs of tuberculosis or other diseases.

The dried olives sold by Italian grocers require a long soaking and several changes of water. They, too, become stronger flavored by cooking. They are considerably cheaper than the bottled ones but much less delicate in flavor.

ORANGES

“The one thing that quickest revives a human being is orange juice.”--_Dr. Paul Edwards._

“The orange is a fruit that is distinctly health-giving. Orange juice aids greatly in reducing the amount of putrefaction in the intestines of nearly all persons who are submitted to clinical laboratory tests.”--_H. Irving Hancock, in “Good Housekeeping.”_

The white separating membrane of the orange is rather indigestible, so in many cases it is better to use the juice or pulp only.

I am going to tell you how to “drink” oranges. First, cut the orange in halves from end to end, then cut each half in three or four pieces; place each one of these oblong cups to the lips and extract the juice, rejecting the seeds and leaving all the membrane. This method is most refreshing, if not elegant. Eaten with a spoon from the halves cut across is, next to this, most satisfying, but takes more time.

In Jamaica they peel off the outer yellow skin and cut the orange across into two unequal portions. They extract the juice and pulp from the larger stem section first, and reserve the smaller, sweeter section for the last.

Again, they peel the yellow part of the rind off about one-fourth of the way down, run the knife into the peeled end and cut away a conical portion of the pulp, thus opening all of the sections of the orange. They then suck out the juice, without any burned lips as the result.

One nice way to prepare the pulp is to peel the fruit as you would an apple, cutting deep enough to remove all the white portion of the covering; then to cut all around each section of pulp, just inside the separating membrane, when you can remove the pure pulp. Serve in glass sauce-dish, or in cups,--orange, glass or china.

Another dainty and satisfactory way of preparing an orange is to “cut two circles through the skin around the fruit about ½ in. apart and half way between the two ends. Remove all the rind except the half-inch band. Just over one of the natural separations between the sections of the orange, cut the band with a sharp knife. All the divisions may then be carefully separated one from another, while all remain attached to the girdle of yellow rind. Oranges may be laid in layers on a fruit plate, outstretched upon the narrow piece of peeling, or they may, after the several divisions have been carefully made, be closed together again. A ribbon tied around the orange over the rind girdle will preserve the spherical form and be very pretty and ornamental. It is but the act of a moment to untie this ribbon, when the sections will all lie before one in perfect readiness to be eaten.”--_Clipping._

PEACHES

Ripe mellow peaches are incomparable both for health and palatability. They are equally good both for grown people and children, though one writer says “the ripe mellow peach is really the child’s fruit.”

A friend fold me that an old Indian came to the house when her little brother was lying at the point of death, and said, “peach juice will keep him alive.” The mother, anxious to leave nothing untried, began giving him the juice of stewed peaches, from which time he began to retain his food (the mother’s milk) and to improve in every way. When he came to be weaned, peach juice and gradually the soft halves of peaches were his sole diet for eight months; then other foods were introduced sparingly, but all his life peaches have formed a large part of his diet and he is an unusually well man.

Wash and carefully rub peaches in cold water, and rub them well with a soft cloth in wiping to remove the down, which is irritating.

Peaches should ripen on the trees; the shipped ones are often suitable for cooking only as they are gathered before they are ripe. Some varieties are sour and disagreeable, while others are sweet and luscious.

Few people know how exceedingly delightful rich juicy white peaches are.

PEACHES AND CREAM

Pare peaches just as short a time before they are to be served as possible. Cut in halves, quarters or thick slices. Do not sweeten but pass sugar and unwhipped cream with them. Almond or cocoanut cream are especially suitable for peaches.

PEACH SNOW

Add sweetened cream to stiffly-beaten whites of eggs (⅓ cup to each white) and pour over peaches just before serving. All must be cold.

Peaches combine nicely with bananas and with red raspberries. The juice of the berries may be served over the peaches instead of cream.

PINEAPPLES

The pineapple is another of the universal favorites and deservedly. Its delightful flavor is unequaled and the fresh juice contains bromelin, a remarkably active principle which aids digestion both in the stomach and in the intestinal tract. A slice or two of pineapple taken at the close of a meal gives a marked laxative effect. The use of pineapple in diphtheria is well known. I knew a very successful physician in one of our large cities who always had quantities of pineapple canned each year for use in diphtheria cases. The digestive ferment is not quite so active in the cooked fruit as in the uncooked.

SHREDDED PINEAPPLE

Use only choice large well ripened sound pineapples. Wash and drain; give the crown a twist with the hand, when it will come out easily if the fruit is ripe. Set the pineapple on a board and with a large sharp knife pare it by cutting slices down from the top all around, cut thick enough to remove all the woody covering (the fruit in connection with that has very little flavor), leaving only the deepest eyes.

After removing the eyes, take the pineapple in the left hand with the base up and shred it by picking up small pieces all around with the tines of a silver fork. It will come off easily from that end, leaving the core, which should be wrung to obtain all the juice.

Let the fruit stand in layers with sugar, ¼ to ½ cup, (or ¼ to ⅓ cup sugar, ½ to 1 tablespn. lemon juice and ¾ cup water) to each pint, for some time before serving, or, serve plain and pass sugar with it. Pineapple and strawberries or raspberries or oranges with lemon juice and sugar are nice alone, or with cake, for dessert.

PINEAPPLE AND GRAPE FRUIT

Equal quantities of prepared pineapple and grape fruit with sugar and the juice of either poured over.

Peach, orange and pineapple is another nice combination.

PINEAPPLE AND WHIPPED CREAM

Drain finely-shredded pineapple and beat with whipped cream, as much as can be used and keep the combination stiff. Serve cold in glasses.

PINEAPPLE AND STRAWBERRY AMBROSIA

Equal quantities ripe strawberries, shredded pineapple and cream. Whip cream, place layer of pineapple in dish, sprinkle with sugar, cover with cream, then make a layer of strawberries, sugar and cream. Continue. Have cream on top. Serve cold with sponge cake or cocoanut crisps.

PINEAPPLE AND ORANGE AMBROSIA

Drained shredded pineapple, orange pulp and juice, grated cocoanut and sugar, in layers.

RAISINS

Raisins are nutritious and valuable foods, containing sometimes as high as 61 per cent. of grape sugar and a considerable proportion of albuminoids. They are suitably combined with all kinds of bread and nuts. One thing that makes them so satisfying is that they require thorough mastication.

RASPBERRIES--RED

When necessary to wash, have cold water in a deep pan and turn the berries in, not more than a quart at a time. (Do not pour the water over the berries as that bruises them.) Rinse up and down in the water with the hands and remove quickly to a colander. Drain, pile in dish and serve at once. Lemon or currant juice poured over makes a harmonious combination. ⅓ or ½ very ripe currants may be mixed with the berries. Serve Brazil nuts or blanched almonds with these combinations.

RASPBERRIES--BLACK

Black raspberries have a peculiar spicy flavor not found in any other fruit and when plump and thoroughly ripened may be used in moderate quantities in their natural state.

STRAWBERRIES

The perfect way to serve strawberries is the French--with the hulls on, without washing. Pass sugar with them, or pile the berries around a mold of sugar on individual plates, or, set a dainty cup or glass containing sugar in the center of the plate and pile the berries around. But if the berries are very sandy, wash the same as red raspberries. Wash berries always before hulling unless obliged to let stand after hulling, then do not wash until just ready to serve. The little strawberry hullers snip the hulls out so quickly and so perfectly without staining the fingers that they seem among the indispensables of housekeeping.

ORANGE STRAWBERRIES

Put sliced berries into glasses and pour sweetened orange juice over to more than cover. Let stand in a cool place 3 or 4 hrs. to improve the color. They may be served with an uncooked meringue garnished with halves or quarters of berries or a slice of orange.

WATERMELON

The flavor of watermelon is better if cooled in water instead of on ice. To serve cut the melon in halves across and cut off pieces from the ends so that they will stand. Serve the pulp by spoonfuls, scooped out with a tablespoon. If convenient take the pieces out before sending to the table, remove the seeds and return the pieces to the shell, then keep in a cool place until serving time.

The watermelon furnishes an abundance of pure distilled water. Watermelons that are not very sweet maybe served with almond cream and sugar.

WHORTLEBERRIES

The most desirable of this family is the large purple soft pulpy sweet juicy berry growing in the swamps, and called in some parts of the country “blueberry.” It is delightful with nut or dairy cream or with sugar or in bread and milk. Its juice being so sweet it is one of the most suitable berries for sauce with cereals. In cakes puddings or pies it is equally enjoyable.

The so-called “huckleberry,” though more seedy, has a nice flavor when cooked.

FRUITS--COOKED

APPLE SAUCE

Select nice tart apples; wash, drain, cut out the blossom end of each so that the little black particles will not get on to the fruit. Pare as thin as possible. When all are pared, cut into quarters, and core by cutting from both stem and blossom end downward to the center, just below the core. After coring, throw enough quarters into the kettle (granite, porcelain or aluminum) to about cover the bottom, and turn the quarters core side down. Then arrange another layer in the same way and continue until all are in. Pour boiling water over to half cover the apples (more or less according to the juiciness of the apples), cover kettle and set over hot fire. Cook without removing cover until apples are perfectly tender; remove from fire at once, stir in a little sugar if desired and a trifle of salt. This method gives a nice white well cooked sauce with a fresh apple taste. Placing the apples as directed causes them to cook tender quickly and evenly. The salt improves the flavor unless too much is used.

STRAINED APPLE SAUCE

When apples are small or knotty, cook without paring, rub through colander and add a little sugar.

BAKED APPLE SAUCE

Place quartered apples in pudding dish as for apple sauce. Sprinkle delicately with sugar between the layers and over the top. Pour water in at the side of the dish so as to leave the sugar on the top. Cover and bake for several hours until the apples assume a rich red color.