Chapter 3

FOOD FOR THE SICK Need of care in the preparation of food for the sick What constitutes proper food for the sick Knowledge of dietetics an important factor in the education of every woman No special dishes for all cases Hot buttered toast and rich jellies objectionable The simplest food the best Scrupulous neatness in serving important To coax a capricious appetite A "purple" dinner A "yellow" dinner To facilitate the serving of hot foods Cooking utensils Gruel Long-continued cooking needed Use of the double boiler in the cooking of gruels Gruel strainer _Recipes_: Arrowroot gruel Barley gruel Egg gruel Egg gruel No. 2 Farina gruel Flour gruel Gluten gruel Gluten gruel No. 2 Gluten cream Gluten meal gruel Graham gruel Graham grits gruel Gruel of prepared flour Indian meal gruel Lemon oatmeal gruel Milk oatmeal gruel Milk porridge Oatmeal gruel Oatmeal gruel No. 2 Oatmeal gruel No. 3 Peptonized' gluten gruel Raisin gruel Rice water Preparations of milk Milk diet Advantages of Quantity of milk needed Digestibility of milk _Recipes_: Albumenized milk Hot milk Junket, or curded milk Koumiss Milk and lime water Peptonized milk for infants Beef tea, broths, etc. Nutritive value Testimony of Dr. Austin Flint _Recipes_: Beef extract Beef juice Beef tea Beef tea and eggs Beef broth and oatmeal Bottled beef tea Chicken broth Mutton broth Vegetable broth Vegetable broth No. 2 Mixed vegetable broth _Recipes for Panada_: Broth panada Chicken panada Egg panada Milk panada Raisin panada Grains for the sick _Recipes_: Gluten mush Tomato gluten Tomato gluten No. 2 Meats for the sick Importance of simple preparation _Recipes_: Broiled steak Chicken Chicken jelly Minced chicken Mutton chop Minced steak Scraped steak Eggs for the sick _Recipes_: Floated egg Gluten meal custard Gluten custard Steamed eggs Soft custard Raw egg White of egg White of egg and milk Refreshing drinks and delicacies for the sick Nature's delicacies How to serve Fruit juices _Recipes_: Acorn coffee Almond milk Apple beverage Apple beverage No. 2 Apple toast water Baked milk Barley lemonade Barley and fruit drinks Barley milk Cranberry drink Currantade Crust coffee Egg cream Egg cream No. 2 Egg cream No. 3 Egg lemonade Flaxseed coffee Gum Arabic water Hot water Hot lemonade Irish moss lemonade Orangeade Plain lemonade Slippery elm tea Toast water Tamarind water Bread _Recipes_; Diabetic biscuit Diabetic biscuit No. 2 Gluten meal gems Jellies and other desserts for the side _Recipes_: Arrowroot jelly Arrowroot blancmange Currant jelly Iceland moss jelly Iceland moss blancmange Orange whey White custard Table topics.

FOOD FOR THE AGED AND THE VERY YOUNG Requisites of food for the aged Stimulating diet not necessary Flesh food unsuitable Bill of fare Quantity of food for the aged Heavy meals a tax upon digestion Cornaro's testimony Diet for the young Causes of mortality among young children Best artificial food Use of sterilized milk. Difference between cows' milk and human milk Common method of preparing cows' milk Artificial human milk Artificial human milk No. 2 Artificial human milk No. 3 Peptonized milk Mucilaginous food excellent in gastro-enteritis Preparation of food for infants Time required for digestion of artificial food Quantity of food for infants Rules for finding the amount of food needed Table for the feeding of infants Interval between feeding Intervals for feeding at different ages Manner of feeding artificial foods Danger from unclean utensils Diet of older children An abundance of nitrogenous material important Flesh food unnecessary Experiments of Dr. Camman Testimony of Dr. Clouston Candy and similar sweets Eating between meals Education of the appetite Inherited appetites and tendencies Table topics.

FRAGMENTS AND LEFT-OVER FOODS Preserving and utilizing the left-over fragments Precautions to be observed Uses of stale bread To insure perfect preservation of fragments Preparation of zwieback and croutons Left-over grains Left-over vegetables Left-over meats Left-over milk Table topics.

THE ART OF DINING Pleasant accessories essential The dining room Neatness an essential Care of the dining room Furnishings of the dining room Table talk A pleasant custom Table manners Suggestions for table etiquette The table Its appearance and appointments The table an educator in the household A well ordered table an incentive to good manners Ostentation not necessary Setting the table The sub-cover Napkins The center piece Arrangement of dishes "Dishing up" Setting the table over night Warming the dishes The service of meals A capital idea Fruit as the first course at breakfast To keep the food hot A employed General suggestions for waiters Suggestions concerning dinner parties Proper form of invitation Arrangement and adornment of table A pleasing custom The _menu_ card Service for a company dinner Etiquette of dinner parties Table topics.

AFTER MEALTIME Clearing the table Washing the dishes _papier-maché_ tubs Ammonia, uses of Clean dishes not evolved from dirty dishwater Washing all dishes of one kind together Washing milk dishes Uses of the dish mop Cleaning of grain boilers and mush kettles Washing of tin dishes To clean iron ware To wash wooden ware Care of steel knives and forks Draining the dishes Dishcloths and towels To make a dish mop The care of glass and silver To keep table cutlery from rusting To wash trays and Japanned ware Care of the table linen To remove stains To dry table linen To iron table linen Washing colored table linen The garbage Table topics.

A YEAR'S BREAKFASTS AND DINNERS A perplexing problem Requisites for a well arranged _menu_ Suggestions for preparing bills of fare Table of food analyses Fifty-two weeks' breakfasts and dinners Average cost Analysis of various bills of fare Table topics.

A BATCH OF DINNERS Holiday dinners Holiday feasting Holiday dinners opposed to temperance Thanksgiving _menus_ Holiday _menus_ Picnic dinners The lunch basket, provision for Fruit sandwiches Egg sandwiches Picnic biscuit Fig wafers Suitable beverages School lunches Deficiency of food material in the ordinary school lunch Why the after dinner session of school drags wearily Simple lunches desirable Suggestions for putting up the lunch Creamy rice Neatness and daintiness essential The lunch basket Sabbath dinners A needed reform Feasting on the Sabbath, deleterious results of Simple meals for the Sabbath A Sabbath bill of fare Table topics.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE ALIMENTARY CANAL AN OVEN THERMOMETER CONVENIENT KITCHEN TABLE A DOUBLE BOILER COMPARTMENT SINK FOR DISH-WASHING OPEN COMPARTMENT SINK FOR DISH-WASHING CLOSED THE STEAM COOKER VEGETABLE PRESS LEMON DRILL THE HANDY WAITER WALL CABINET PERCOLATER HOLDER KNEADING TABLE DISH TOWEL RACK VEGETABLE BRUSH A DOUBLE BOILER SECTIONAL VIEW OF WHEAT KERNEL MEASURING CUPS BREAD PAN MEXICAN WOMEN MAKING TORTILLAS STONE METATE GEM IRONS PERFORATED SHEET IRON PAN FOR ROLLS MAKING UNFERMENTED BREAD CANNING UTENSILS BAIN MARIE CHINESE SOUP STRAINER CREAMERY ORIENTAL BUTTER MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR STRAINING STOCK GRUEL STRAINER EXTENSION STRAINER WIRE DISHCLOTH A PICNIC DINNER

INTRODUCTION.

No one thing over which we have control exerts so marked an influence upon our physical prosperity as the food we eat; and it is no exaggeration to say that well-selected and scientifically prepared food renders the partaker whose digestion permits of its being well assimilated, superior to his fellow-mortals in those qualities which will enable him to cope most successfully with life's difficulties, and to fulfill the purpose of existence in the best and truest manner. The brain and other organs of the body are affected by the quality of the blood which nourishes them, and since the blood is made of the food eaten, it follows that the use of poor food will result in poor blood, poor muscles, poor brains, and poor bodies, incapable of first-class work in any capacity. Very few persons, however, ever stop to inquire what particular foods are best adapted to the manufacture of good blood and the maintenance of perfect health; but whatever gratifies the palate or is most conveniently obtained, is cooked and eaten without regard to its dietetic value. Far too many meals partake of the characteristics of the one described in the story told of a clergyman who, when requested to ask a blessing upon a dinner consisting of bread, hot and tinged with saleratus, meat fried to a crisp, potatoes swimming in grease, mince pie, preserves, and pickles, demurred on the ground that the dinner was "not worth a blessing." He might with equal propriety have added, "and not worth eating."

The subject of diet and its relation to human welfare, is one deserving of the most careful consideration. It should be studied as a science, to enable us to choose such materials as are best adapted to our needs under the varying circumstances of climate growth, occupation, and the numerous changing conditions of the human system; as an art, that we may become so skilled in the preparation of the articles selected as to make them both appetizing and healthful. It is an unfortunate fact that even among experienced housekeepers the scientific principles which govern the proper preparation of food, are but little understood, and much unwholesome cookery is the result. The mechanical mixing of ingredients is not sufficient to secure good results; and many of the failures attributed to "poor material," "bad luck," and various other subterfuges to which cooks ignorance of scientific principles. The common method of blindly following recipes, with no knowledge of "the reason why," can hardly fail to be often productive of unsatisfactory results, which to the uninformed seem quite inexplicable.

Cookery, when based upon scientific principles, ceases to be the difficult problem it so often appears. Cause and effect follow each other as certainly in the preparation of food as in other things; and with a knowledge of the underlying principles, and faithfulness in carrying out the necessary details, failure becomes almost an impossibility. There is no department of human activity where applied science offers greater advantages than in that of cookery, and in our presentation of the subjects treated in the following pages, we have endeavored, so far as consistent with the scope of this work, to give special prominence to the scientific principles involved in the successful production of wholesome articles of food. We trust our readers will find these principles so plainly elucidated and the subject so interesting, that they will be stimulated to undertake for themselves further study and research in this most important branch of household science. We have aimed also to give special precedence of space to those most important foods, the legumes, and grains and their products, which in the majority of cook books are given but little consideration or are even left out altogether, believing that our readers will be more interested in learning the many palatable ways in which these especially nutritious and inexpensive foods may be prepared, than in a reiteration of such dishes as usually make up the bulk of the average cook book.

For reasons stated elsewhere (in the chapter on Milk, Cream, and Butter), we have in the preparation of all recipes made use of cream in place of other fats; but lest there be some who may suppose because cream occupies so frequent a place in the recipes, and because of their inability to obtain that article, the recipes are therefore not adapted to their use, we wish to state that a large proportion of the recipes in which it is mentioned as seasoning, or for dressing, will be found to be very palatable with the cream omitted, or by the use of its place of some one of the many substitutes recommended. We ought also to mention in this connection, that wherever cream is recommended, unless otherwise designated, the quality used in the preparation of the recipes is that of single or twelve hour cream sufficiently diluted with milk, so that one fourth of each quart of milk is reckoned as cream. If a richer quality than this be used, the quantity should be diminished in proportion; otherwise, by the excess of fat, a wholesome food may become a rich, unhealthful dish.

In conclusion, the author desires to state that no recipe has been admitted to this work which has not been thoroughly tested by repeated trials, by far the larger share of such being original, either in the combination of the materials used, the method employed, or both materials and method. Care has been taken not to cumber the work with useless and indifferent recipes. It is believed that every recipe will be found valuable, and that the variety offered is sufficiently ample, so that under the most differing circumstances, all may be well served.

We trust therefore that those who undertake to use the work as a guide in their culinary practice, will not consider any given recipe a failure because success does not attend their first efforts. Perseverance and a careful study of the directions given, will assuredly bring success to all who possess the natural or acquired qualities essential for the practice of that most useful of the arts,--"Healthful Cookery."

ELLA E. KELLOGG.

_Battle Creek, April 20, 1892._

Foods

The purposes of food are to promote growth, to supply force and heat, and to furnish material to repair the waste which is constantly taking place in the body. Every breath, every thought, every motion, wears out some portion of the delicate and wonderful house in which we live. Various vital processes remove these worn and useless particles; and to keep the body in health, their loss must be made good by constantly renewed supplies of material properly adapted to replenish the worn and impaired tissues. This renovating material must be supplied through the medium of food and drink, and the best food is that by which the desired end may be most readily and perfectly attained. The great diversity in character of the several tissues of the body, makes it necessary that food should contain a variety of elements, in order that each part may be properly nourished and replenished.

THE FOOD ELEMENTS.--The various elements found in food are the following: Starch, sugar, fats, albumen, mineral substances, indigestible substances.

The digestible food elements are often grouped, according to their chemical composition, into three classes; _vis._, carbonaceous, nitrogenous, and inorganic. The carbonaceous class includes starch, sugar, and fats; the nitrogenous, all albuminous elements; and the inorganic comprises the mineral elements.

_Starch_ is only found in vegetable foods; all grains, most vegetables, and some fruits, contain starch in abundance. Several kinds of _sugar_ are made in nature's laboratory; _cane_, _grape_, _fruit_, and _milk_ sugar. The first is obtained from the sugar-cane, the sap of maple trees, and from the beet root. Grape and fruit sugars are found in most fruits and in honey. Milk sugar is one of the constituents of milk. Glucose, an artificial sugar resembling grape sugar, is now largely manufactured by subjecting the starch of corn or potatoes to a chemical process; but it lacks the sweetness of natural sugars, and is by no means a proper substitute for them. _Albumen_ is found in its purest, uncombined state in the white of an egg, which is almost wholly composed of albumen. It exists, combined with other food elements, in many other foods, both animal and vegetable. It is found abundant in oatmeal, and to some extent in the other grains, and in the juices of vegetables. All natural foods contain elements which in many respects resemble _albumen_, and are so closely allied to it that for convenience they are usually classified under the general name of "albumen." The chief of these is _gluten_, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley. _Casein_, found in peas, beans, and milk, and the _fibrin_ of flesh, are elements of this class.

_Fats_ are found in both animal and vegetable foods. Of animal fats, butter and suet are common examples. In vegetable form, fat is abundant in nuts, peas, beans, in various of the grains, and in a few fruits, as the olive. As furnished by nature in nuts, legumes, grains, fruits, and milk, this element is always found in a state of fine subdivision, which condition is the one best adapted to its digestion. As most commonly used, in the form of free fats, as butter, lard, etc., it is not only difficult of digestion itself, but often interferes with the digestion of the other food elements which are mixed with it. It was doubtless never intended that fats should be so modified from their natural condition and separated from other food elements as to be used as a separate article of food. The same may be said of the other carbonaceous elements, sugar and starch, neither of which, when used alone, is capable of sustaining life, although when combined in a proper and natural manner with other food elements, they perform a most important part in the nutrition of the body. Most foods contain a percentage of the _mineral_ elements. Grains and milk furnish these elements in abundance. The cellulose, or woody tissue, of vegetables, and the bran of wheat, are examples of _indigestible_ elements, which although they cannot be converted into blood in tissue, serve an important purpose by giving bulk to the food.

With the exception of gluten, none of the food elements, when used alone, are capable of supporting life. A true food substance contains some of all the food elements, the amount of each varying in different foods.

USES OF THE FOOD ELEMENTS.--Concerning the purpose which these different elements serve, it has been demonstrated by the experiments of eminent physiologists that the carbonaceous elements, which in general comprise the greater bulk of the food, serve three purposes in the body;

1. They furnish material for the production of heat;

2. They are a source of force when taken in connection with other food elements;

3. They replenish the fatty tissues of the body. Of the carbonaceous elements,--starch, sugar, and fats,--fats produce the greatest amount of heat in proportion to quantity; that is, more heat is developed from a pound of fat than from an equal weight of sugar or starch; but this apparent advantage is more than counterbalanced by the fact that fats are much more difficult of digestion than are the other carbonaceous elements, and if relied upon to furnish adequate material for bodily heat, would be productive of much mischief in overtaxing and producing disease of the digestive organs. The fact that nature has made a much more ample provision of starch and sugars than of fats in man's natural diet, would seem to indicate that they were intended to be the chief source of carbonaceous food; nevertheless, fats, when taken in such proportion as nature supplies them, are necessary and important food elements.

The nitrogenous food elements especially nourish the brain, nerves, muscles, and all the more highly vitalized and active tissues of the body, and also serve as a stimulus to tissue change. Hence it may be said that a food deficient in these elements is a particularly poor food.

The inorganic elements, chief of which are the phosphates, in the carbonates of potash, soda, and lime, aid in furnishing the requisite building material for bones and nerves.

PROPER COMBINATIONS OF FOODS.--While it is important that our food should contain some of all the various food elements, experiments upon both animals and human beings show it is necessary that these elements, especially the nitrogenous and carbonaceous, be used in certain definite proportions, as the system is only able to appropriate a certain amount of each; and all excess, especially of nitrogenous elements, is not only useless, but even injurious, since to rid the system of the surplus imposes an additional task upon the digestive and excretory organs. The relative proportion of these elements necessary to constitute a food which perfectly meets the requirements of the system, is six of carbonaceous to one of nitrogenous. Scientists have devoted much careful study and experimentation to the determination of the quantities of each of the food elements required for the daily nourishment of individuals under the varying conditions of life, and it has come to be commonly accepted that of the nitrogenous material which should constitute one sixth of the nutrients taken, about _three ounces_ is all that can be made use of in twenty-four hours, by a healthy adult of average weight, doing a moderate amount of work. Many articles of food are, however, deficient in one or the other of these elements, and need to be supplemented by other articles containing the deficient element in superabundance, since to employ a dietary in which any one of the nutritive elements is lacking, although in bulk it may be all the digestive organs can manage, is really starvation, and will in time occasion serious results.

It is thus apparent that much care should be exercised in the selection and combination of food materials. The table on page 484, showing the nutritive values of various foods, should be carefully studied. Such knowledge is of first importance in the education of cooks and housekeepers, since to them falls the selection of the food for the daily needs of the household; and they should not only understand what foods are best suited to supply these needs, but how to combine them in accordance with physiological laws.