800 Ways to Save & Serve :7 Well-Dressed Tips on a Rationed Wardrobe"

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printed in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort.
More care, less tear.....more mending. less spending

For Durability's Sake

Conserve materials. By with the fore thought and put off the need for replacement. These shopping secrets will help you get the most out of your purchases:

1. The best flannels, cheviots, jerseys and tweeds are those which are closely woven. Looser weaves are likely to get baggy.

2. To judge the quality of woolen material (in case you have that opportunity), squeeze it in your hand. It should feel smooth, rubbery, springy, when you open your hand. If it has a rough feeling, the grade is inferior.

3. Suits made of worsted will hold their shape better and wear longer than those of wool.

4. Fabrics with light colored dots or figures often wear out quickly because the dots have been bleached.

5. Think twice before selecting a dress or a skirt made on the bias. Remember, such clothes are more difficult and costly to alter and make over.

6. Buy dresses on which the material has been cut the long way. Crosswise cutting betrays skimping. In the long run, the most economical dress to buy is one in which is made up of pieces cut with the grain of the material. If they are cut against the grain, the dress will get out of shape easily.

7. Dress the youngsters in cotton as much as possible. Cotton is cheaper, and survives constant laundering. Also save yourself time by selecting children's clothes that haven't too many buttons and buttonholes to be replaced and repaired. The closely woven cottons wear the best, Seersucker needs no ironing.

How can you tell whether clothes linings are color-fast? Try this little trade secret: Rub a handkerchief over the lining. If any color shows on the handkerchief, look for another lining.

Care for your dresses pays in dollars-and-cents, and keep you  looking "like a million". Keep your eye on the little things. Careful darning will often hide snags, worn places, little cigarette burns. Matched patches hardly show on a print dress. Sometimes a little reinforcement of the seams and buttons on a new dress will save mending bills later. Check buttons and other trimmings before sending to the cleaner's, and sew on any loose ones, It pays to have burns and tears re-woven by the invisible process, if the garment is in good condition otherwise.

Clothes tossed or draped over chairs quickly loose shape, require more pressing and mending, wear out long before they should. Precaution: hang them up or fold neatly and put away!

-=Good Saving=-

Living off the "Fat of the Land" Part II

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printed in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort. 

I find the information refreshing and sheds a little light on how my parents and family coped with the war.  Enjoy!

Save milk, too. When emptying a milk bottle, rinse with water the milk that remains and use it for cooking, in gravy, or other foods.

To enrich milk for the kiddies, make it a practice, when empty¬ing a cream bottle, to rinse out the remains with milk (not with water), then pouring it into the milk bottle.

If milk sours, it can be used in baking, even if the recipe calls for sweet milk. Just add t, l/2 tea¬spoon of baking soda for each cup of sour milk and deduct 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Don't buy a quart of sour milk or buttermilk because you need a cupful for a special recipe. Just add 2 tablespoons vinegar to 1 cup of sweet milk and stir. Pres¬to! Sour milk.

Swiss cheese, muenster, American and similar cheeses are still tastily edible, even when dried out. Simply grate and use with spaghetti, soup or vegetables.

You'Il not waste cottage cheese during hot weather it you wrap a damp cloth around it, before put¬ting in the refrigerator. This will keep it fresh for at least five or six days.

To determine whether you are getting your money's worth when buying fresh eggs, you should know that:
1. A fresh egg sinks in water.
2. The shell should be dull and rough.
3. The yolk should be in the center. (Hold egg up to light).
4. The contents should not shake back and forth loosely.
5. The color of the egg shell has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of an egg. Buy brown or white eggs, whichever are cheaper. Don't wash eggs before storing.

Water destroys the protective film that keeps out air and odors.
Save spoilage, too, by keeping eggs in an open bowl or wire basket, and in a cool place.

Eggs kept at room temperature deteriorate rapidly. They belong in your refrigerator away from foods with penetrating odors.

Cracked eggs can be cooked in water without waste. They are just as good as any
other eggs. Add a teaspoon of salt to boiling water, immerse the egg and the contents will not ooze out.
To keep egg yolks fresh for several days, cover with cold water and store in refrigerator.

To use up leftover egg yolks, poach them till firm, then cool and put through sieve. Nice for salads, soup garnishes, canapes.

When eggs are scarce and costly, don't use them to thicken a mixture such as a sauce. Instead, use 1/2 tablespoon of corn-starch or 1 tablespoon of flour for each of the eggs required by the recipe. WARNING-don't substitute if eggs are used for leavening.

-=Good Selling=-

LIVING ON THE "FAT OF THE LAND"

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printing in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort. 

I find the information refreshing and sheds a little light on how my parents and family coped with the war.  Enjoy!

LIVING ON THE "FAT OF THE LAND"
It is estimated that, before the war, we threw about two billion pounds of kitchen fats into the garbage pail. We cannot afford that any more. Save all the vegetable and animal fats you don't need - drippings from deep fat frying, meats, bacon grease, etc. Melt, strain free of extraneous particles and store in tin cans not in cardboard containers. Keep in a cool place. When you have accumulated one pound or more, sell it to your butcher at the prevailing price. This fat is urgently needed for explosives.

To avoid waste in measuring shortening, use the water-level method. For example, if you need 1/2 cup shortening, fill a measuring cup to the 1/2 mark with water. Drop in shortening, push it under the water; continue until water reaches the I-cup mark. Drain off the water. For 3/4 cup of shortening, start with 1/4 cup water; for 1/3 cup, start with 2/3 cup of water, etc.

IMPROPER CARE SPOILS SEA FOOD
Don't spend money on good sea food only to waste it through im¬proper care before cooking. At room temperature fish and all other sea foods spoil in a few hours. Cook at once or wrap in waxed paper to keep odor from other foods, and store in the cold¬est part of your refrigerator.

THE DAIRY COUNTER
Save the butter! When you mix a sandwich spread, mix the butter with the spread, instead of putting it on the bread first.

Turn one pound of butter into two with the magic of gelatine. Here's how: Cut one pound of butter into small pieces. Let stand at room temperature until soft enough to beat. Soften one envelope of unflavored gelatine in 1/4 cup of cold water. Dissolve over hot water. Add dissolved gelatine and 1/4 cup cold water to one can (14-1/2 oz.) evaporated milk. Gradually whip milk into butter with egg beater or electric mixer until milk does not sepa¬rate. Add coloring if desired. Use as a spread-not for cooking.

Here's another "butter-stretcher": One pound butter plus two cups evaporated milk equals two pounds of butter, believe it or not. Bring the butter to room tem-perature and beat to a cream¬your egg-beater will do fine! Add two cups of evaporated milk, a lit¬tle at a time. Keep on beating until all the milk is absorbed. Chill to a solid, and you're twice as butter rich as before you read this.

You can get more cream from your milk by heating it lukewarm, then chilling it suddenly. More cream will come to the surface.

No more whipped cream? Nonsense! Light cream will whip if you can afford to spend a little time. Here's how: Dissolve 1-1/2 teaspoons plain gelatine in 1/4 cup cold water; dissolve over hot water. Pour 1 cup thoroughly chilled light cream into a fairly deep narrow bowl (deep enough so that cream covers 3/4 of the beater blades). Stir dissolved gel¬atine into cream slowly. Set bowl in pan of cracked ice and water; let stand for 5 minutes, stirring around edge several times. Leave bowl in ice and water; beat 5 minutes with rotary egg beater. The cream will be light and fluffy, but not stiff enough to peak. Let stand 2 minutes; cream will stiffen enough to peak. If stored in re-frigerator, stir with a fork before using.

-=Good Selling=-

P4P Hotels Look Back at Special War Time "Ways to Save and Serve"

I was going through some items that had been my parents and came across boxes full of media from the late 30's through the 70's. One pamphlet that I found was printed in 1942 and suggest on "Ways to Save and Serve" during the wartime effort.

I enjoyed reading this and thought that other P4P'ers might enjoy the read and get a better handle on what their parents or grandparents went through during WWII.
120 Ways to Save on Food
A Word to the Wise

Government study has shown that Americans waste fully 20% of their food through spoilage and over-generous portions which are "pecked at". Practice the food savers in this book. Serve moderate helping first, second helping if wanted. This sensible practice minimizes unusable leftovers-and moderate servings look more appetizing. If your food bill is $10 per week, you can save about $100 a year, according to the Government, merely by adopting this conservation corps habit.

Don't be too bashful to add up your grocery and butcher bills before paying them. To err is human, but don't let the error be at your expense.

Plan your meals by the week with a careful eye to ration values, as well as prices. The savings you will make by such foresight will buy many a war stamp.

Canned Good Facts

Now that the lid is down on canned goods, drop your prejudice against lower-grade markings. Higher-priced markings some¬times indicate only larger, better¬shaped and "matched" contents, not greater food value.

Bulging ends on tin cans are a danger signal. The contents have probably begun to ferment and spoil. Nothing wrong, though, with cans that are merely dented.

Use the liquid from canned vegetables in soups, sauces, stews, gravies, casserole dishes, and for making white sauce for creamed vegetables.

Note from Art:

Since I'm one of those late boomers. I now realize maybe where the phrase "make sure you finish your dinner" may have come from. The line that states over generous portions are "pecked" at. Please all comments or stories are welcome.

-=Good Selling=-