FEEDING THE BABIES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 50, 18 February 1944, Page 3

FEEDING THE BABIES

TOMATOES AND ROSE HIPS HINTS TO MOTHERS At the request of the. Whakatane Plunkct Nurse Ave once again print details of substitutes for oranges which may be utilised by mothers for the benefit of their infant children. Supplies of oranges are erratic in many parts 1 of NeAV Zealand and when they are. procurable their cost is frequently beyond, the means of mothers who haA-e a number of small children. Tomatoes are now becoming plentiful therefore mothers should be advised to make the most of them as they are a valuable substitute for oranges or lemon;;.

Observation of the I'ollowing facts Is most important iji order to obtain the maximum Vitamin G content of tomato juicc:—

Tomatoes' .grown outside tend to liaA'e a higher Vitamin C content than those grown in glasshouses.

If the tomatoes are home grown the juice of those which have been most, exposed to the sunshine, contains more Vitamin C than that oi' those which have ripened, in a more shaciy position in the garden or on the plant.

Vitamin C estimations have been done in tomato juice prepared in many different ways and the rooked tomato juice (either l'rom stewed or grilled, tomatoes) .has' been ioiind to be richer in Vitamin C than that of. the raw squeezed j,uiee.

Preparation of Tomato Juice Slice the tomatoes, and put them 3n a saucepan to which just enough water- has been added to keep them from sticking while 'cooking. Simmer until soft (the process takes 4-5 minutes) and then strain through muslin or through a sieve when cool. As an alternative tjhe tomato may be. cut in half and grilled and the juice strained as stated. Dosage: Commence with one teaspoonful and quickly work up to the' amount recommended for age, provided the juice is well tolerated. (Experiments conducted last summer proved that the majority of babies tolerated tomato juice in the amounts advocated very well indeed; rashes were occasionally reported amongst, tlio younger inXants). Tomatoes can be given also as a vegetable for older children and they should be eaten freely as a fruit by the toddlers.

Rose Hip Preserves (1944) Simple method of preparing Rose Hip Syrup (issued by the Department of Nutritional Research.) The fruit of the wild rose or briar ro.se (rose hips, as they are' called; not to be confused, with the haws of the hawthorn) should be gathered when they are reddening which as the stage when they are richest in the Vitamin C; it is better not to have them green or too ripe: the green ones have quite an amount of the vitamin but are. harder to ileal with, and may possibly have undesirable qualities if there is too great a proportion of them: soft rose hips have lost a lot of fhelr vitamin. A few of these green ones or fully ripe ones mixed in with the others, may, however, be retained; they will.not need to be discarded.

Method of Preparation Crack open the berries, using either a wooden potato masher or mallet (or you may use a hammer covered with a rubber finger stall). For every lib of berries add 1 pints, of cold water. Leave them .soaking for 24 hours, stirring them from time to time to assist in breaking up. By the.end of a day's soaking they have usually become softened and mashed, which allows the "vitamin C to be extracted from them into the water. Squeeze the liquid through a colander pressing out as much lluid as possible from the residue. Allow the liquid to drip through a clean jelly bag, without squeezing. About a pint is usually collected.

To every pint add Hi j-ugar. Bring to the. boil, keep boiling gently for 15 minutes, fill while hot into sterile bottles, and insert sterile corks. Use new corks for preference, sterilise them by boiling in a pot with the lid on for an hour (or you may get better results if you boil thfcm for 20 minutes on three successive day-s. Or after boiling immerse them in hot Texwax until tliey just ceasir to bubble).

This syrup has the .same vahie as tlic previous recipe—i.e. four times the value of orange j,u!ee. N.B. In making rose hip syrup Ik- careful not to let the syrup come in contact. with copper or iroyt utensils. .Aluminium, enamel and wooden utensils are suitable.