Elementary principles of nutrition and sanitation should be taught. Simple meals should be planned with plain but well-cooked dishes. Variations should be suggested and the value of a mixed diet emphasized. Care should be taken not to waste time on points that are unrelated to the homes of the girls, except as such points may be necessary to raise their ideals. All the work should be carefully done. Sanitary handling of food and care in storage of foods should be insisted upon. Careful attention should be given to the dish washing, care of dish towels, etc., emphasizing those points in sanitation involved. The girls should be drilled faithfully in all points essential to the handling of anything that comes in contact with the food. Proper methods of sweeping and cleaning should be employed and thoroughness practiced in every detail of the work. Thorough drill in these processes should be given. The order in which the lessons are to be given will be regulated in part by the season of the year in which they occur, the locality, the foods obtainable, and any special local needs. However, care must be taken that the lessons occur in proper sequence, so that the pupils will see the relation of one to the other and will appreciate the value of each. It may be necessary to combine two lessons or to give only part of a lesson. In some of the lessons more recipes are suggested than could be prepared in a brief period. In every case the choice of recipe will have to be made by the individual teacher. Wherever possible, simple experiments to show the composition and effect of heat on food should be used. No attempt has been made to give a complete set of recipes. Those included are chosen to illustrate the subjects to be discussed in the lessons. A few have been taken from the Farmers' Bulletins and from circulars of the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture. The others have been carefully tested and used with satisfactory results. The teacher who desires to make use of a greater number of recipes will do well to supply herself with one of the textbooks listed. Level measurements should be used in the preparation of all the recipes and all the directions should be carefully followed. The first few lessons are more fully outlined than the others, furnishing suggestions for methods of procedure that can also be adapted to the later lessons. The teacher should have a detailed plan for every lesson, outlining her method of work, the leading questions for the discussion, and the home assignment which she desires to make. Foods that are in common use are suggested for the lessons outlined. There will necessarily be exceptions to their use in different localities. If foods used in the homes are harmful because of the manner in which they are prepared, the teacher should do all in her power to correct the custom, but she must be careful not to be too radical. If the lessons given are not repeated by home practice, time will be practically wasted. Simple meal service should be introduced wherever possible, and as much instruction on the furnishing and care of the kitchen should be included as time permits. By the time the course is completed, the girl should be able to keep her kitchen in sanitary condition, and she should have a knowledge of food values and of the processes of cooking sufficient to provide simple, wholesome meals for her family. For the teaching of food values, it will be helpful to secure the set of 15 food charts, that can be obtained for $1 from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. The State Department of Education or the State university, college, or normal schools, through their extension departments, may issue material that will be of help to the rural teacher in planning her lessons. The teachers will find it helpful to secure and study the Farmers' Bulletins listed below. Single copies of these bulletins can be obtained free by writing to the Division of Publications, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. FARMERS' BULLETINS. No. 34. Meats: Composition and cooking. No. 142. Principles of nutrition and nutritive value of food. No. 249. Cereal breakfast foods. No. 256. Preparation of vegetables for table. No. 293. The use of fruit as food. No. 359. Canning vegetables in the home. No. 363. The use of milk as food. No. 389. Bread and bread making. No. 391. Economical use of meat in the home. No. 487. Cheese and its economical uses in the diet. No. 535. Sugar and its value as food. No. 559. Use of corn, kafir, and cowpeas in the home. No. 653. Honey and its uses in the home. No. 712. School lunches. No. 717. Food for young children. No. 807. Bread and bread making in the home. No. 808. How to select foods. No. I. What the body needs. EQUIPMENT FOR COOKING LESSONS. The following list of utensils would provide an adequate equipment for cooking lessons. Some of the utensils should be ordered in larger numbers, if the class is large and if funds permit. If it is possible to obtain serving dishes, they should be provided for a small number of persons and used both in class practice and for social purposes. If the school is an active social center and the dishes are to be in use frequently for many people, the number provided should not be so limited. If school lunches are served, each pupil may well provide his own dishes. Dust cloths, broom, etc., have been included, so that simple lessons in housekeeping may be given. FOODS AND COOKERY. A suggestive list of textbooks for use in elementary rural schools. Austin, Bertha J.-"Domestic Science." Price, Vol. 1, 60 cents; Vol. 2, 60 cents. Lyons & Carnahan, Chicago. Conley, Emma-"Principles of Cookery." Price, 60 cents. American Book Co., New York City. Flagg, Etta P.-"A Handbook of Home Economics." Price, 75 cents. Brown & Co., Boston. Little, Jones, Mary C.-"Lessons in Elementary Cookery." Price, $1. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. Kinne, Helen, and Cooley, Anna M.-"Food and Health." Price, 65 cents. The Macmillan Co., New York City. Lincoln, Mary J.-"The School Kitchen Textbook." Price, 65 cents. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. Metcalf, Martha L.-"Food and Cookery." Price, 95 cents. Industrial Education Co., Indianapolis. Morris, Josephine-"Household Science and Arts for Elementary Schools." Price, 60 cents. American Book Co., New York City. Pirie, Emma E.-"The Science of Home Making." Price, 90 cents. Scott, Foresman & Co., Chicago. Wiliams, Mary E., and Fisher, K. R.-"Theory and practice of Cookery." Price, $1. The Macmillan Co., New York City. DETAILED LESSON PLANS FOR THE COURSE IN COOKING. LESSON I. DISCUSSION OF FOODS AND COOKING. Management of the Kitchen Stove. Cooking by Dry Heat. Baked Vegetable or Fruit. SUBJECT MATTER. Foods. The body uses food to build and repair its tissues, to provide heat and energy, and to regulate body processes. Foods differ from one another in their composition and in their ability to perform the work of the body. These differences have led to the classification of foods into five groups, which are spoken of as the five food stuffs or food principles. Cooking. While some foods can be used as they occur in nature, most foods are made more acceptable by the application of heat. Heat softens the structure of vegetables and fruits, makes tender the tissues of meat, prepares starch for digestion, develops flavor in many foods, and destroys parasites and germs that may be present in food. The five food stuffs are differently affected by heat, some require slow cooking, others require intense heat. Hence, it is necessary to study cooking that each food may be properly prepared. The stove. A knowledge of the construction of the stove and the methods whereby heat is obtained is necessary if one is to be a successful cook. For all stoves three things are necessary-fuel, a supply of oxygen, and a certain degree of heat, known as the kindling point, whereby the fire is started. The supply of oxygen is regulated by dampers and checks so arranged as to admit or cut off the draft of air. The creative dampers are doors or slides that come below the fire box. When open they admit the entrance of air, increase the draft and facilitate combustion. The oven damper is a flat plate which closes the opening into the chimney flue to decrease the drawing of the draft. When the oven damper is closed, the heat from the fire remains in the stove and passes around the oven. Checks are slides or doors higher than the fire box, which, when open, allow the cold air to pass over the fire, retarding combustion. |