TESTS FOR PURE FOOD

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 97, 18 January 1921, Page 3

TESTS FOR PURE FOOD

HOW THE HOUSEWIFE CAN DETECT ADULTERATION.

The scarcity of some food articles and the high price of all has put a premium on adulteration. But there are same simple tests for the principal foodstuffs. which every housewife without the slightest knowledge of chemistry, says "Everyday Science,” can conduct in her own kitchen to satisfy herself that she is neither being “done nor risking the health of her househod. It is somewhat difficult to adulterate sugar in any way, but it is nevertheless done. A very simple and effective test i 8 to prepare a solution of the sugai bv boiling a few teaspoonfuls with water, and then place it in a thin, clear g ass. If vou can read good, print looking through the glass and the liquid, the sugar must be pure. If the solution is too cloudy for the print to be read e housewife can feel sure that she has obtained adulterated sugar. If bread containing alum is treated with ammonia carbonate (this chemical can lie obtained from any chemist) it will develop a very dark colour. Ifl the bread is pure and made from good flour it will maintain its original whiteness when treated in this way. Dye-stuffs in tea-leaves can be very easily discovered by a most simple test. A few of the leaves are placed in the folds of a clean cloth, and rubbed vigorously between the hands for a minute or so. If the cloth is stained you can be sure that the tea has been heavily dved. Pure tea will leave very little discolouration upon a clean cloth when rubbed in this way. An equally simple test can be made to determine the purity of coffee. It is only necessary to place a little of the ground coffee upon the surface of watei contained in a drinking-glass If the coffee grains at once sink to the bottom of the glass it is a sure indication that the coffee is seriously adulterated. On the other hand, if the grains insist on floating on the surface of the water, it is an indication that the coftee is pule and wholesome. In conducting this test the coffee should be placed on the surface of the water very carefully, a few grains at a time. . Milk is open to easy adulteration. It you suspect your supply of being watered put one drop of formalin in a quarter of an ounce of the milk, and then add a quarter of an ounce of pure sulphuric acid. If a blue colouration develops the milk contains a considerable quantity of water. The formalin and sulphuric acids used in this test can be purchased from any chemist. , , „ A very reliable and simple test for butter is to place a little in a spoon and heat it for a few minutes over a candle or alcohol lamp flame If the butter boils quietly with little bubbles rising to the surface it can be used without fear. If it splutters and crackles furiously when subjected to gentle heat it contains an impurity of some sort. Another elementary test for butter can be carried out by melting a poin of it in a small glass receptacle or test tube. Pure butter will be clear when melted. Artificial butler or he.it fly adulterated butter will produce an impure or cloudy liquid.