EXCHANGE HOMEMADE SWEETS AND CAKES THIS FESTIVE SEASON: PAU EXPERTS

LUDHIANA, OCTOBER 23:



With the commencement of festive season, the home scientists of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have advised the homemakers to give priority to festive cooking and home cleaning and decoration.

The expert, Dr Kiran Grover said that during festivals, markets are flooded with sweets, dry fruits and bakery products. Because of increase in demand, some unscrupulous traders sell spurious and adulterated food products, cautioned she, adding that these may not be prepared hygienically and sometimes contain harmful food colours and preservatives. Telling that sweets are sometimes packed in cardboard boxes derived from waste paper/rags, Dr Grover said that these boxes are likely to be infected with micro-organisms and are hazardous for consumers' health. She advised the public to avoid purchasing sweets prepared from khoya, inferior quality fat/oil, and excessive food colours. The best option is to consume and exchange dry and fresh fruits and homemade sweets/cakes to enjoy healthy festival season, she suggested, while saying that besan burfi, ladoo, petha, shakarpara, seerni, mathis, fried peanut and cake can be prepared well in advance and stored in airtight containers. This will not only save money but will also provide delicious, hygienic and nutritious food.

Dr Sukhminder Kaur stressed that not to allow children to eat from outside, especially, the colourful and decorated sweets and other eatables available on mela site as the colour and spurious khoya used in these preparations is very harmful and may even cause food poisoning. She advised to keep herbs such as tulsi, mulathi, banfashan, cinnamon and cardamom at home for use in case of cold and cough.

Referring to festive clothing and furnishings, Dr Harinder Saggu said that to give cozy feel and festive look in the rooms, add bright coloured curtains/ draperies. Select appropriate colour and designs depending upon your décor and budget too, she suggested, adding that dark colours are best for large rooms while light colours give spacious look to small rooms. Area rugs/durries can be used to cover up unattractive areas in a room, said she.

About home cleaning, Dr Surinderjit Kaur advised that for removing dirt and grease stains from polished furniture, use white vinegar (two tablespoons of white vinegar in 500 ml of water.) After cleaning, rinse with water and dry properly to avoid water marks. Asking to clean decorative accessories of glass, copper and brass, using vinegar and salt, she told that stubborn stains from glass items can be removed with washing soda.


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