Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist

by Stephen Hines

  One has a greater feeling of respect for the flour used daily, after seeing the infinite pains taken to turn out the perfect article. Every shipment of wheat to these mills, after being tested in the laboratories, is cleaned by a vacuum cleaner, ground through rollers and sifted, and then re-ground and re-shifted four times. During this process the finest, first grade flour is taken out, being sifted through 14 screens of fine, sheer silk. This first grade flour is kept for home use, the second grade being shipped to the Orient, where some of our middle-western wheat makes its final appearance in Chinese noodles.

  From the time the wheat is poured into the hoppers until, in our kitchens, we cut the string that ties the sack, the flour is not exposed to the outer air. It is not touched by human hands until we dip the flour sifter into it. After the siftings the flour, still enclosed, passes through a machine which automatically removes a small sample every half hour, to be inspected by the miller. From this machine it goes into a compartment where it is purified by a current of filtered air, then it enters the chute which fills the sacks.

  The output of this modern machine, handled by one man, is 400 sacks of flour and 125 sacks of bran, shorts and middlings every 24 hours. With the machinery in use 10 years ago, 10 or 12 men were required to produce the same amount.

  Ten years ago, too, we seeded our raisins by hand ourselves, or bribed the children to the task by giving them a share to eat. Today we buy seeded raisins in boxes, without giving a thought to how the seeding is done. You may be sure of this—these packaged raisins are clean. They are scientifically clean, sterilized by steam and packed hot. In the Food Products building I saw these machines at work. This is the process:

  Sun-dried Muscat grapes are stemmed by machinery, then sent through 26 feet of live steam, at 212 pounds pressure. From this they fall onto a steel, saw-tooth cylinder, and pass under three soft rubber rolls, which crush the raisin and loosen the seeds. They then strike a corrugated steel roll, which throws out the seeds. The raisin passes on, is lifted from the cylinder by a steel rake and dropped into paraffin-paper-lined boxes, which are closed while the raisins are still hot from the steam sterilizing.

  Steam is one of the commonest things in our kitchens. Until I went through the Food Products building I never realized how much it is used in the preparation of foods before they come to us. It sterilizes the raisins, cooks the oats before they are crushed into flakes for our breakfast oatmeal, puffs the rice, and cooks the wheat for the making of a well known wheat biscuit.

  A full sized unit of the factory which makes these biscuit is in operation near the raisin machine. In the preparation of this biscuit, after the wheat is screened and cleaned it is steam-cooked for 30 minutes, which softens the grain. It is then put into hoppers, which pour onto a corrugated steel cone, where the wheat is crushed into shreds. Each wheat berry makes a shred about 2 inches in length. These shreds fall from the cone into a narrow tray, which slowly moves back and forth on a carrier under the cone until it is full. Thirty-six layers of the shreds make the proper thickness. They are then cut into biscuit by steel knives, put on trays, and baked on revolving shelves in the oven. During all this process they are not touched by human hands. The moisture of the wheat and the heat of the baking combine to puff the biscuit to twice their former size.

  Space forbids that I should describe the scores of exhibits in this enormous building devoted to the preparation of different foods, a task which always has been considered woman’s work. I will only briefly mention the Japanese rice cakes—tiny bits of paste half an inch long and no thicker than paper. The smiling Oriental in charge drops them in to boiling olive oil, and they puff into delicious looking brown rolls 3 inches long. They look as toothsome as a homemade doughnut, but to your wild amazement, when you bite them there is nothing there.

  I must say one word about the rose cakes, delicious cakes baked in the form of a rose, and as good as they are beautiful. And I am sure nobody leaves the exposition without speaking of the Scotch scones; everybody eats them who can reach them. They are baked by a Scotchman from Edinburg, who turns out more than 4,000 of them daily. They are buttered, spread with jam, and handed over the counter as fast as four girls can do it. And the counter is surrounded by a surging mob all day long.

  As I went from booth to booth they gave me samples of the breads they had made with our American flour—the little, bland Chinese girl in her bright blue pajama costume, the smiling, high-cheeked Russian peasant girl, the Hindoo in his gay turban, the swarthy, black-eyed Mexican—all of them eager to have me like their national foods. And I must say I did like most of it so well that I brought the recipes away with me, and pass them on to you:

  RUSSIAN FORREST

  One pound flour, yolks of 3 eggs, 1 whole egg, ½ cup milk. Mix well and knead very thoroughly. Cut in pieces size of walnuts; roll very, very thin. Cut the center in strips, braid together and fry in deep fat. Drain, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

  MEXICAN TAMALE LOAF

  One pound veal, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 can tomatoes (strained), 24 green olives (chopped). Boil the meat until very tender, take from the broth, cool and chop. Return to the broth, add salt to taste, add the onion and garlic chopped fine, then the tomatoes, garlic6 and chili powder. Let all come to the boiling point, then add enough yellow cornmeal to make as thick as mush, turn into molds and set aside to cool. The loaf may be served either cold or sliced and fried.

  GERMAN HONEY CAKE

  One cup honey, molasses or sirup; ½ cup sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon ginger, 2 teaspoons baking powder. Beat honey and sugar 20 minutes, then add the spices, the baking powder, and lastly the flour. Pour into well buttered baking sheets and bake 15 minutes in a moderate oven. Cover with chocolate icing and cut in squares.

  ITALIAN WHITE TAGLIARINI

  Three cups flour, ½ cup hot water, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt. Mix and knead thoroughly, roll very thin as for noodles, and cut in any desired shape. Allow to dry 1 hour and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes, drain, and serve with sauce.

  SAUCE FOR TAGLIARINI

  One-half cup olive oil, 1 large pod garlic, 1 large carrot, 1 large can tomatoes, salt and pepper, 2 large onions, 5 stalks celery, 1 cup parsley, ½ pound hamburg steak, 1⁄8 teaspoon cloves, ½ cup butter. Heat the oil in an iron skillet or kettle, then add onions and garlic chopped fine. Cook until transparent but not brown, then add the rest of the ingredients chopped fine. Cook slowly for 2 hours.

  CROISSONTS (FRENCH CRESCENTS)

  Four cups flour, 1 cup warm water, 1 cake compressed yeast, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup butter. Sift and measure the flour into a bowl, add the yeast which has been dissolved in the water, then the salt. Mix and knead thoroughly. Let rise 2 or 3 hours, then roll out 1 inch thick and lay the butter on the center. Fold the dough over and roll out four times as for puff paste, then cut in pieces as for finger rolls, having the ends thinner than the middles. Form in crescent shape, brush with egg, and bake in a moderate oven.

  CHINESE ALMOND CAKES

  Four cups flour, 1 cup lard, 1¼ cups sugar, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon baking powder. Mix and knead thoroughly. Take off pieces of dough the size of an English walnut, roll in a smooth round ball, then flatten about half. Make a depression on the top and place in it 1 almond. Place on pans, 2 inches apart, and bake a golden brown.

  UNLEAVENED BREAD, OR MATZAS

  From the earliest Bible times to the present, the Hebrew people have observed the feast of the Passover by eating unleavened bread. This bread is a hard cracker made from unfermented dough. The process of making is very simple. Mix flour and water to a very stiff dough. Roll this into a thin sheet, cut into round or square pieces, and bake in a hot oven.

  POORI

  This bread is considered by the Hindus as a luxury and usually is eaten on feast days. A rather stiff dough is made from flour, water and salt. Small cakes are cut from this dough and cooked in boiling butter.

  An
d Missouri “Showed” Them

  From A To Z—Alfalfa to Zinc—the “Show Me State” Won Honors at ‘Frisco’s Exposition

  December 5, 1915

  Missouri has taken more prizes at the International Exposition than any other state in the Union except California, and Missouri’s mines have beaten, on its own ground, the Golden State of the Forty-niners. We have “shown” them. Missouri has met all the states of the Union, all the countries of the world, in fair competition, and has made a proud record.

  In agriculture alone Missouri has won the Grand Medal of Honor, 17 gold medals, 21 silver medals, 15 bronze medals, besides two honorable mentions, which go to Henry county. In education the state carried off the silver medal.

  Missouri’s mines won the Medal of Honor, 6 gold medals, 54 silver medals, and one bronze medal. Our livestock exhibitors received cash prizes amounting to $6,834 and eight ribbons. In processed fruit Missouri won the silver medal. Awards in horticulture were still to be made when this was written.

  In hospitality, too, Missouri has been a charming example to many sister states. Our beautiful Colonial Home, on a grassy terrace overlooking the Avenue of the States and the blue waters of San Francisco Bay, has won the reputation of being the most homelike and inviting at the great fair.

  The portico with its pillars, and the broad flights of steps leading up to it, gives an impression both dignified and hospitable. From it, one steps through wide glass doors into a spacious reception hall, finished in white enamel and furnished in dull blue velvet. This great room, more than 80 feet long, with a high beamed ceiling, combines with its feeling of space an effect of cosiness and comfort, given by a huge fireplace, soft-toned velvet rugs and big inviting arm-chairs.

  Large French doors of glass open from it on to a rear plaza, which fronts directly on the sparkling blue Bay, dotted with the white sails of innumerable tiny yachts. From this plaza, sheltered from the ocean winds by the wings of the building, one sees, across the expanse of water, the mountain ranges of Marin county, Tamalpais, Muir woods, and dozens of little towns. The view is inspiring and beautiful.

  A feature of the building which has been a revelation to thousands of visitors is the library in one of the wings. Its bookshelves contain more than 1,500 volumes, all written by Missouri authors. Hundreds of persons have been surprised to learn here for the first time the fact that our state has produced more successful authors than any other in the Union.

  On the lower floor of the building, besides the rooms already mentioned, are the rest-rooms, a large board-room, and offices for the commission. At the second-floor level a balcony overhangs the reception hall, and opening from it are the bedrooms for the members of the commission and their families. The advantages of architectural arrangement, as well as its beauty, have been widely praised, and it is a credit to the artistic skill of the Missourian who designed it, Senator H.H. Hohenschild of Rolla. Within a few weeks of its completion, by the McCarthy construction company of Farmington, dozens of local and national societies had requested to be allowed to hold meetings or give social affairs there. Hon. D. S. Smith, vice-chairman of the commission, who has been in charge of all Missouri’s activities at the fair, found time somehow in his crowded days to uphold the reputation of our state for hospitality.

  The popularity of the building grew, and every week since the fair began it has been the scene of at least one brilliant social or philanthropic gathering. Mrs. D. S. Smith has been a charming hostess at these affairs, acting with the official hostess, Mrs. James B. Gantt, of Jefferson City, and their popularity with the best people of the Pacific Coast has reflected no little credit upon Missouri’s social ability.

  Our showing in horticulture is very good indeed. In this department Missouri processed fruits have already taken the silver medal, and the whole exhibit is very attractive. No Missourian, I am sure, has gone through the Palace of Horticulture without feeling justifiable pride in that array of apples, nuts, vegetables, watermelons and flowers, beautifully displayed under green-latticed archways. I noticed especially the apples, which were not surpassed in size, coloring, or flavor by any shown at the fair.

  It is a pity that the ruling of the Exposition directors has prevented all states east of the Rockies from entering into competition for the awards on apples. These awards will be made only on five boxes of orchard-packed fruit, and the shipping distance makes it impossible for any but near-by states to get them to the fair in good condition. However, the people at the fair do not see the prizes, they see the fruit, and not a state in the Union has sent better fruit to the fair than Missouri.

  Their keeping qualities, too, are proved by the fact that a great many of the apples on the tables were shown last fall at the Sedalia State Fair.

  I was glad to see, also, that our watermelons were the best in the entire building, not even excepting the Burbank display, or the exhibit of the Turlock district, which is California’s great melon-growing region. Scarcely anyone who passed through our exhibit while I was there failed to notice and comment on this.

  While our native-grown black walnut is perhaps not quite so aristocratic as the California English walnut, still no nut that grows equals it in richness and flavor. In our state Nature bountifully supplies this delicious nut, with no trouble or expense to us, while the Californians must plant, graft, cultivate, irrigate and spray their English variety. The jars of walnuts, hickory nuts, and hazel nuts displayed in our horticultural exhibit were for this reason a striking illustration of Missouri’s natural advantages.

  The whole display was very ably handled by Director Charles W. Steinman, of Dalton, and his assistant, John McDemott of Montgomery county, and the horticulturists of Missouri can feel that they have done the state full justice.

  Nearly 20,000 Missourians had already registered at our agricultural booth, under the great tower with its electric sign, “Missouri,” which is conspicuous from any part of the Palace of Agriculture, when this was written in November. This tower, 65 feet in height, stands in one corner of the space allotted to our state, and is the principal feature of the display. It is literally covered with Missouri corn, from the arches up to the top, an impressive spectacle which is given added point by a sign stating, “Missouri produces one-tenth of the world’s corn.” The archways themselves, through which one passes in going under the tower, are decorated with excellent specimens of oats, wheat, kafir, maize, timothy, alfalfa, tobacco and cotton, arranged attractively on a background of dull blue cloth.

  It was distinctly a pleasure to me to observe how excellently well these products compare with those grown in other states. Indeed, with the exception of the alfalfa, which of course competed with that grown under irrigation in the intensely hot California interior valleys, I saw no specimens exhibited anywhere, and even in alfalfa Missouri won a bronze medal awarded to Scott county.

  When I came through the archways under the tower and stood in the main exhibit space, I fairly jumped with surprise. There on the wall was a picture of Governor Major, more than life-size and more than life-like, made entirely of corn. I would have recognized it anywhere for Missouri’s governor, and almost anywhere for Missouri corn, so the artist who designed and worked it out may feel he has done full justice to both his subjects. Above the governor’s pictured head an American eagle, made of corn husks, oats and kafir, stood proudly out on the blue cloth background, while above the eagle the state seal was displayed, also made of grains.

  Other Missouri products were shown in glass cases, arranged in the main floor space. Except the tower with its decorations, and a skillful use of cotton, grain and grasses in trimming the rest of the exhibit, no attempt was made to produce a spectacular effect. Missouri went to the fair to show, in a business-like way, what she could do in agriculture at home, and she did it. She is bringing home the Grand Medal of Honor.

  We surprised our fellow exhibitors in the livestock section, but it was a surprise that re-acted upon the Missouri commission itself. The commission, to enc
ourage our local livestock breeders, had offered to double the amounts won by them at the Exposition. Now the members of the commission are all enthusiastic boosters for Missouri. They expected to make a good showing in livestock; indeed, they expected to make a very good showing. But, sanguine as their expectations were, they had not supposed they would be called upon to double $3,200 in prizes, as they had to do when the Exposition awards were announced. Goodness knows what would have happened to the pocketbook of the commission if the whole of our livestock had reached the fair. Five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of Missouri cattle, gathered, inspected, and ready to ship West from Kansas City, was refused by the Exposition directors, on account of a ruling quarantining the Exposition against all cattle from the Middle West. There is no doubt that if that exhibit had gone through we would have a much larger share of the livestock prizes, but as it was our breeders won enough to startle the commission, and to flatten its purse considerably.

  Our jennets7 carried off every prize offered in their class. Sixteen little beauties, exhibited by Monsees & Son, won $1,790 in prizes. It is interesting to note that the jennet who carried off all honors at the St. Louis Exposition was beaten here only by her daughter, who is now champion.

  Our saddle horses—beauties, every one of them, with their slim dainty legs, heads held high, and bright, intelligent eyes—were one of the most popular exhibits in the livestock section, and they won substantial proof of their fine qualities, $1,410 in cash prizes, and a number of ribbons.