SCIENTIFIC
FEEDING
_By_
MRS. DORA C. C. L. ROPER
D.O.
SECOND EDITION
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
R. S. KITCHENER, Printer
1914
Copyrighted 1914
by
DORA C. C. L. ROPER
All Rights Reserved
·DEDICATION·
THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED TO ALL WHO READ THEM,
WITH THE EARNEST DESIRE TO MAINTAIN HEALTH
AND PREVENT DISEASES WHICH ARE CREATED
BY WRONG AND INTEMPERATE
EATING AND DRINKING
⁂
Eat not to dullness;
Drink not to elevation.
--Benjamin Franklin
[Illustration]
Man is composed of what he has
assimilated from his spiritual
mental and physical
food
[Illustration: CONTENTS]
Page
Introduction 7
Preface 9
PART I.
Chapter I. Food. Classification and Function of Foods 13
Chapter II. Study of Foods 16
PART II.
Preparation of Foods.
Table of Measures and Weights 43
Chapter I. Green Vegetables 43
Chapter II. Legumes and Meats 43
Chapter III. Fish, Cheese and Eggs 57-64
Chapter IV. Soups 67
Chapter V. Cereals, Noodles and Dumplings 76
Chapter VI. Breads, Cakes and Puddings 84
Chapter VII. Sauces and Salad Dressings 98
Chapter VIII. Salads 104
Chapter IX. Gelatines and Toasts 111
Chapter X. Fruits, Puddings and Gruels 119
Chapter XI. Fluids 129
PART III.
Chapter I. Food Requirements.
Table of Food Requirements 139
Chapter I. 15 Sample Menus with caloric value for the average
adult.--Food for the Aged, giving 12 Sample Menus with caloric
value 140-146
Chapter II. Diet during Pregnancy 150
Chapter III. Care and Feeding of Children, including Recipes and Menus
for Infants; Menus for the Second Period; Menus for the Third Period;
Wrong and Right Management 153
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Chapter IV. Light Lunches for School Children. Nut Foods and
Sandwiches 168
Chapter V. Table of Food Combinations. 143 Menus for Breakfast. What
shall we Drink for our Meals? 172
Chapter VI. 168 Menus for Dinner 177
Chapter VII. 76 Menus for Supper 185
Chapter VIII. Poor Man’s Bill of Fare, including: Sample Menus for one
day. Bookkeeping. Menus for 56 days, with calculations as how to feed a
Family of Five (2 adults and 3 children) on $3.50 per week and on $5.00
per week 189
Menus for Thanksgiving week 213
Mixed Boiled Dinners 214
PART IV.
Disease: Prevention and Treatment.
Chapter I. Constipation. Malaria. Suggestions for Chronic Invalids.
Tuberculosis. Prevention of Tuberculosis. The House we live in.
Treatment of Tuberculosis. Rickets. Obesity 218
Chapter II. Care and Feeding of Convalescents. Vomiting. Diet.
Suggestive Menus. Additional Menus with caloric value 228
Table of Foods with caloric value 242
APPENDIX.
Chapter I. Mental Hygiene and Diet. The Immigrant. Health Hints for
Busy People 245
Chapter II. Hygiene Economy and Sanitation. Preservation of Eggs.
Dishwashing. Disinfection 251
Table
Giving average composition of common American food products 262
[Illustration]
INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SECOND EDITION
Before the manuscript for the first edition of “Scientific Feeding”
went to the press, it was reviewed by several presidents of Mothers’
Clubs and other women organizations; they realized that it would fill a
long-felt want in the home and a large number of advance subscriptions
were sent in.
After publication the gratifying demand for this work necessitated the
preparation of a second edition within a month.
DORA C. C. L. ROPER, D. O.
INTRODUCTION
This is a practical and hygienic cook book for all who consider life
and health valuable. Intelligent homekeepers, nurses, managers of
institutions and factories, all who are interested in furnishing the
most nutritious food at the least cost, or wish to distribute such a
work, will find this book worth its weight in gold.
After twenty years of persistent study, combined with praccal work
as nurse and physician in private and in institutions, beginning in
Germany, I am able to-day to present this valuable work, and hope that
it may be placed in the hands of every home-maker in the country. It
is designed for the purpose of modifying the cost of living and of
eliminating, to some degree, the hardships and drudgeries of our women.
It is excellent for school feeding, and presents the keynote to health
and longevity, helping to prevent mental, physical, and moral diseases.
The great facilities for research work in the modern laboratory offer a
wide field for the study of preventive medicine and hygiene. The world
is beginning to recognize the fact that a large number of diseases are
the result of wrong conditions. Improper eating, drinking, sleeping,
unsuitable work, excess of amusement, and wrong educational systems are
to blame for a large number of germ diseases and chronic ailments.
The body is the temple of the soul, therefore the laws of hygiene
(concerning our internal and external body) are divine. Many of the
orthodox teachings and divine laws in reference to hygiene, fasting,
and feeding are a safe guide for the prevention of disease.
It has been my object to present a practical and sane method of living,
free from fads and the teachings of one-sided extremists. All natural
foods are wholesome, if properly combined, prepared, proportioned, and
selected with care to agree with the temperament, environment, age and
climatic conditions. I have devoted a special chapter to economical
menus for people of moderate means, and have endeavored to show how it
is possible to feed a family of five on a moderate sum, without injury
to health. The amount of food and the proportions agree with what is
demanded by modern standard dietaries.
A large number of cook books have been written during the last one
hundred years to tickle the palate. Much valuable time has been wasted
and many innocent victims have paid the price for the sins of gluttony,
caused by modern methods of living.
The most learned and advanced thinkers are turning their attention more
and more to scientific dietetics. The question of feeding is one of the
most important subjects our present generation has to deal with. It
is my desire that this book may contribute to this cause, and that it
may awaken thousands of mothers and daughters to appreciation of the
dignity and importance of their life work.
PREFACE
The human body is a wonderfully complex and mysterious establishment,
presided over by life. It is composed of the dust of the earth,
organized by creative power.
The elements composing the human body are: Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon,
nitrogen, chlorine, sulphur, phosphorus, fluorine, calcium, natrium,
magnesium, silicon, iron and potassium.
Our bodies are maintained by food, air, light, activity, rest and sleep.
The union of oxygen with one or more of these elements is called
oxidation. If the process of oxidation within our bodies goes on
rapidly we feel warm and energetic; if it goes on slowly, the degree of
heat and energy is less; in fever there is rapid oxidation; in people
who suffer with chronic diseases there is incomplete and slow oxidation.
In order to produce harmony between the elements in the body, it is not
only necessary to breathe pure air, and eat wholesome foods, but it is
equally important to have those food elements, which are taken into our
body, selected in the right quantity, quality and combination. It is
further necessary to have them prepared in the mouth by mastication and
insalivation. If this is done, the chemical affinity or combining power
of the foods is satisfied, and digestion, absorption, sanguification,
circulation, oxidation, assimilation, excretion and clorification will
go on perfectly.
In order to keep our bodies in perfect health, we must understand
their laws. The structures and functions of the body are intimately
connected, and one is dependent upon the other.
Life at the beginning is a tiny cell; as it multiplies into other
cells, it forms blood vessels, nerves, muscles, bones, lungs, liver,
brain, heart, and stomach, until the body is completed. The growth of
the body is from within, before and after birth. The natural food for
the infant is mother’s milk, the next best is the milk of a wet-nurse,
whose child is about the same age as the one to be nursed. Artificial
preparations of milk from a cow, goat or donkey is the next best.
The appearance of the teeth indicates that the feeding of solid food
can be begun. The kind of food required for the child as well as for
the adult differs with different individuals. A normal and healthy
mother will be directed by her instincts, reason and judgment to choose
the right food for herself as well as for her infant.
An old saying goes, “God created foods, the devil created the cooks.”
A few thousand years ago, when the art of cooking was in its infancy,
physicians and surgeons were not in such demand as to-day. The
preparation of foods for the average household in those days consisted
mainly of boiled cereals prepared with salt and water, boiled and
roasted meats, and baked breads. Such articles, if eaten in proper
combination with raw fruits, greens, and nuts, will keep the appetite
at the normal state. The principal victims of disease in those days
were the kings, the idle rich and the very poor. Since civilization has
progressed, and the rights of man are more equalized, the whole race
is in danger of degeneration through the invention of fashionable and
artificially prepared foods.
In this age of refinement, our teeth, which were made to last as long
as our bodies, begin to decay before we are matured. Foods are ingested
into our bodies instead of being digested. Public hygienists and
technical bacteriologists work hard, trying to prevent such diseases
as diphtheria, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and many
other infectious and epidemic diseases, resulting from unclean food and
water, and imperfect sewage systems.
Even with the purest of milk, meat, and water, we can make a filthy
garbage can of our intestinal tract by the ingestion of foods which do
not harmonize chemically, the result being decomposition. Right here we
have all the dangers of modern diseases and pus formation, resulting
in appendicitis, phlebitis, ovaritis, cancer, Bright’s disease, and
all the above mentioned diseases, without having to look further for
the garbage can on the back porch or the sewage system in the yard.
The waste products from our tables, and the excretions from our bodies
would be less dangerous to health if the selection, combination, and
preparation of our food were more natural. The excretions of properly
fed animals are not so dangerous to our health; why should ours be?
The hygienic rules as taught by the orthodox Jew in reference to the
combination and preparation of foods are wise. He is not allowed to mix
milk and meat, meat and fish, and many other articles of food which do
not combine well chemically. The Jewish methods of killing animals and
the preliminary preparations--such as the watering and salting of meats
before cooking--are also more hygienic. They eliminate part of the
toxins of the meat, which have been in close contact with the air.
Since life and personal health are generally in charge of woman, the
right place for every girl under eighteen or twenty years is at home
or in school. No young girl under this age should be allowed to enter
a profession, workshop, or business college. An occupation which by
long hours of work over-develops a certain set of muscles and nerves
before maturity, will produce an abnormal development and an unstable
temperament. Co-education at this age is also harmful, the result
being premature development, and elopement marriages, or arrested
sexual development and extreme independence, or marriage and continual
suffering, owing to physical defects and lack of knowledge of the care
of the human body, and of domestic science.
Every woman is a born nurse. How valuable would it be, then, to give
every young girl, beginning at the age of twelve, a rudimentary course
in nursing and in the care of children; in the art of selecting,
combining, and preparing foods; and in the art of housekeeping. An
industrial high school course with such technical work as is suitable
for woman’s sensitive brain would develop her brain and body in every
direction and make the future woman a healthy mother of healthy
offspring. Those muscles and nerve centers which have been well
developed during puberty will be the strongest throughout life.
The store, the factory, the office, and the business college are no
places for a girl under twenty years of age. If for some reason she has
no desire to follow her natural calling in life, there will be plenty
of time to prepare herself for other work after the age of twenty.
If a law could be enforced to compel every woman to present a
certificate of health and maturity, and a diploma of qualification when
applying for a marriage license, much unnecessary misery, disease, and
many untimely deaths could be avoided.
The feeding as well as the mental, moral and physical training of
children is the natural profession for women. Children have in them all
the possibilities for good and evil. Mistakes during this period will
affect the child throughout its life. Thousands of infants and young
children are killed every year by wrong feeding and environment. A
large percentage of brilliant and exceptional children fill the jails
and insane asylums. Idleness, stupidity, and criminal tendencies are
=diseases=, and =diseases can be avoided by right living=. Children
with hereditary weaknesses require double care and attention; but
remember the wonderful law of nature works always toward the normal;
the good tends to overcome the bad.
If the brain of a child becomes starved by the use of sweet-meats, and
clogged by the use of rich condiments and highly seasoned food, or by
an excess of starchy foods, there is always great danger, and more so,
if the child is exceptionally bright and active. A large amount of
arterial blood is sent to the brain, and if this blood contains much
waste matter, the eliminating organs will soon be overworked and all
kinds of diseases are liable to follow, such as brain fever, softening
and subluxation of bones, epilepsy, chorea, meningitis, paralysis,
tuberculosis of the lungs, bones, and mesentery.
Many young women who, through wrong food, environment and unsuitable
educational systems, have dwarfed their bodies, find motherhood a great
burden. They have to pay the penalty for the sin that is committed
on them. Their children will not be so strong, and will have less
resisting power, and their grandchildren, if there be any, will land in
the institutions for the incurable, if the careless feeding and wrong
habits are kept up by each succeeding generation. On the other hand, if
the progress of degeneration is checked by right living, the work and
time invested will be well repaid during one generation.
PART ONE
CHAPTER I.
“THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE.”
Its Structure and Function Depend on the Building Material.
Foods are substances which, when introduced into the system, supply the
necessary material for growth, renewal and maintenance of the vital
structures. Food is anything that nourishes.
Foods must contain the same elements found in our bodies. The body
requires a combination of different food elements in proper proportion
to produce a suitable diet. Foods are divided into five classes: water,
protein, fats, carbohydrates and mineral matters.
Air and sun are also foods, but are not generally spoken of as nutrient.
WATER.
Our bodies consist of about two-thirds water. It helps to regulate
the body processes, and supplies building material. Watery fruits and
vegetables contain pure distilled water. The amount of water required
for the average individual differs greatly. If water is added to our
foods in the cooking process, a lesser amount is required for drinking.
Wholesome, non-stimulating food will call for a normal supply of water
between meals.
PROTEINS.
These are sometimes called albumen, and they supply the body with
nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus. They are great tissue builders;
they also furnish energy and heat, in combination with fats and
carbohydrates.
Sources of Proteins:
Legumes, lean meats, nuts, cheese, whites of eggs, fish, and the
glutens of the grains. Milk contains proteins in the right proportion
with fats and sugars to make it suitable as a food for infants. Oats,
wheat, and rye contain more protein than other grains, and if no other
protein foods are on hand, these can maintain health for a long time
without harm. (For combinations, see introduction of “Poor Man’s Bill
of Fare.”)
FATS.
They are obtained from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. They
supply heat and energy in the most concentrated form, and are also
flesh-builders. In diseased conditions, where economy of nerve force
is required, fats in combination with acids, minerals and gelatine can
form a substitute for part of the protein foods.
CARBOHYDRATES.
These are found in large percentage in cereals and in fruits which
contain stones and seeds, and in underground vegetables, including
the lighter starches, such as sago, agar agar, sea moss and gum. Milk
can serve as a carbohydrate for special conditions; being evenly
proportioned with fats and protein it contains little waste. A certain
amount of carbohydrate foods in the form of cereals is necessary in
our daily diet, as they are rich in lime and fat--yielding material
which is required for ligamentous and other elastic tissue. People who
live on fruits, greens and nuts, or on fruits, greens and meats only,
require a larger amount of protein food, in order to make up for the
loss of cereals.
MINERAL MATTER.
In an organic form, we find mineral matter in large proportions in
green leaf vegetables, small fruits and berries, bran, rye, green peas,
string beans, tomatoes, yolks of eggs and in all the outer skins of
legumes, grains and fruits. The importance of the mineral elements
in our foods has been little understood, so far. Of late, health
reformers are beginning to realize that many serious diseases, such as
tuberculosis, insanity and malnutrition, are the result of mineral
starvation. Three-fourths of these valuable minerals are removed from
our foods daily by modern milling, bleaching, and polishing of rice,
wheat, corn and all the other grains. Not alone the minerals, but
necessary volatile oils, acids, and ferments are removed by these
processes. Refined white flour and sugar have been on the market for
the last hundred years; and much time and health have been wasted with
the writing of fashionable cook books, and the manufacture of anemic
snow white cakes, crackers, biscuits and soft putrefying puddings and
desserts, prepared with skim milk, sugar and eggs. The deficiency of
minerals in these products has created an abnormal desire for salts,
spices, and chemically pure sugar, followed by an additional craving
for intoxicating beverages and liquors. The latter articles cannot
enter into the composition of perfect teeth and bone, or gray nervous
tissue; therefore, the result is premature death and many new diseases.
It is my desire to present in this book such food combinations as
perfect as can be produced from food material with our present methods
of milling and preliminary treatment. Many people have become so
delicate in structure that they cannot use coarse breads and cereals;
therefore, a variety of different cereal foods have been included.
Vegetable foods, such as are rich in minerals, have been added to the
breakfast foods in place of sugar and beverages. In order to supply
the body with the necessary amount of minerals, we must learn, to eat
greens for breakfast, until our so-called breakfast foods have improved
in quality.
All foods possess potential or latent energy. The sun is the great
positive element, and plants store up the sun’s energy. It is
transferred to us through the eating of plants and animal foods.
Through the process of oxidation this energy is set free in our bodies,
and appears as heat and muscular power. This energy contained in foods
is known as heat or fuel value, and is expressed in terms of a heat
unit or calorie. A calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise one
kilogram of water, one degree centigrade. This is spoken of as a large
calorie, which is used in determining the energy value of food. The
small calorie is ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of a large calorie.
The physiological fuel and energy value of the different foods is as
follows:
1 gram of Protein yields 4 Calories
1 gram of Fat yields 9 Calories
1 gram of Carbohydrates yields 4 Calories
To determine the energy value of a food or combination of foods it is
necessary to know first its composition. Then determine the weight of
protein, fat, and carbohydrate in grams and multiply these weights
accordingly.
CHAPTER II.
STUDY OF FOODS.
The average homekeeper knows little of the nutritive value and chemical
composition of the food she buys. The desire to tickle the palate
enters more into the selection of food than reason or judgment. Others,
who have studied along certain lines without the fundamental training
for this work, often make greater mistakes in the selection and
combination of foods than if they had not studied the subject at all.
It is not sufficient to know just which foods are suitable to the
individual and which are harmful; it is necessary to have a fairly well
balanced diet which contains the correct proportions of protein and
non-protein elements.
The following pages present briefs on the value and chemical nature of
different foods not mentioned in recipes:
VEGETABLE FOODS.
These are divided into several classes. They are: Legumes, cereals,
roots, bulbs, tubers, leaf, flower and fruit vegetables. All plants
are made up of a mass of cells, each consisting of a membranous wall,
enclosing a gelatinous mass, in which lie imbedded the nucleus or
center of cell activity and minute grains of starch or other material
which the plant has manufactured.
In young plants these cell walls are called cellulose; later wood cells
begin to develop. The wood cells grow into fibrous material, called
woody fibre. In poorly grown or stale vegetables this woody tissue
becomes very hard and thick, and therefore is indigestible. For this
reason it is best that all green vegetables are grown quickly and
eaten while they are fresh. When fresh they will snap crisply. Peas,
green corn and string beans will cook in one-third of the time if used
directly after gathering, instead of being kept for several days before
using.
THE LEGUMES.
The legumes are rich in vegetable protein, and differ from flesh
foods on account of being richer in protein and minerals and less
stimulating. They are free from animal intoxication.
DRIED PEAS.
Green peas are richer in minerals than yellow peas, beans or lentils,
the protein being in the form of legumin and easier to digest. They are
very purifying and should be eaten freely, especially during the cold
winter or rainy season. They are a suitable food for the brain-worker
as well as for the muscular-worker, and can be prepared in many
different ways. Yellow peas are an excellent food for muscular-workers.
DRIED BEANS.
They contain more of the protein than peas, lentils or beef. They
are therefore a very rich food and should not be consumed in large
quantities. The brown, red, and black beans are richer in iron and
minerals, and are therefore more suitable in cold weather. The hulls
of all legumes are difficult to digest, therefore it is important to
soak legumes before cooking. In countries where the water is hard, it
is well to have soft water on hand for the cooking of legumes. If rain
water cannot be obtained, boil a kettle of water each day and set aside
to cool for cooking purposes. Legumes may be soaked with hot or cold
water. Green lima beans should be put to cook in boiling water without
soaking, like all green vegetables.
LENTILS.
They are rich in iron and should be used freely in cold weather. Boiled
onions are a good addition, in place of fat meat.
GREEN PEAS AND BEANS.
Green peas differ from other green vegetables. They are richer
in protein and can serve as a meat substitute during the summer.
String-beans resemble the green leaf vegetables in their composition,
but do not contain sufficient protein to serve as a meat substitute.
They are very purifying to the liver and intestines, and should be
eaten freely by people of a bilious temperament.
CABBAGE.
Cabbage is rich in minerals. It can be made very indigestible by
careless preparation. Raw cabbage is easily digested if chopped very
fine and mixed with grated potato and mayonnaise dressing. Cooked
cabbage should be treated with acid and mixed with the yolk of an egg
if it disagrees. Some people prefer sprouts to cabbage. They resemble
each other very much in composition. Cabbage contains more water and
cellulose. It is best to use only the innermost part of cabbage, if it
disagrees.
CAULIFLOWER.
This belongs to the cabbage family. It is rich in sulphur and is one
of the most easily digested vegetables, if properly prepared. If it
disagrees, treat it with acid or serve it for breakfast instead of for
dinner.
CELERY.
Celery contains valuable minerals and is soothing to the nervous
system. Celery roots are rich in fat and a healing food for people with
kidney, liver, and intestinal trouble. The green stalks of celery root
should never be thrown away. They can be tied into a bunch and cooked
with soups of meat or legumes. Celery is a very valuable food for
people with a bilious temperament.
ASPARAGUS.
This is an easily digested vegetable and resembles celery. As a food
for medicinal purposes it may be eaten raw or cooked.
CARROTS AND PARSNIPS.
They resemble each other, carrots being richer in sugar; the parsnip
contains a little gluten. They may be eaten in the raw state with good
effect.
TURNIPS.
Turnips contain some valuable minerals, but being rich in sugar and
water, they are liable to ferment in weak stomachs, especially if eaten
with lean meats, white breads or other foods, which are poor in fat.
They should not be eaten in the middle of the day by people who do
active work. If they disagree at night, they may be eaten for breakfast
in combination with fat meats or stale bread and butter. Yellow turnips
are richer in nutriment than white turnips. Raw turnips are wholesome
if they agree. Never combine turnips with other starchy foods at the
same meal, such as potatoes, rice, white flour preparations, apples or
cucumbers.
CORN.
Green corn is rich in fat and protein, and can form a perfect meal
during the summer if combined with tomatoes. Do not cook the corn if
it is agreeable raw. Canned corn should be used with care for people
with intestinal weaknesses. If used for soups it should be strained and
diluted with an equal amount of hot water before thickening.
TOMATO.
The tomato stimulates peristalsis and is a wonderful tonic for the
liver. It is one of the most perfect fruits, rich in oxalic acid and
iron, and unsurpassed as a medicinal food. It contains a vegetable
calomel and serves as a purifier for the liver in bilious conditions.
It can be prepared and combined in many different ways. It may be one
of the first articles given to a patient after an operation, serving as
a food and tonic; it counteracts the sweetish taste of the chloroform
and prevents fatty degeneration of the liver.
Whether a food is eaten raw or cooked it is important that it be ripe.
(Not ripened on the market.) For people with weak digestive organs, the
best way to serve tomatoes is in the form of sterilized strained juice
over toast in combination with milk or in the form of soup from canned
strained tomatoes. The theory that tomatoes are liable to produce
cancer is entirely unfounded. Any kind of food if eaten in excess and
wrongly combined will aid in the progress of disease, but all natural
foods rightly combined are wholesome if eaten according to needs of the
individual.
Tomatoes combine well with fatty foods,--eggs, cheese, meats and fish.
LETTUCE.
This is the most desirable greens on our tables and combines well
with almost any kind of food. Being rich in minerals and alkaloidal
extracts, it tends to render the digestive fluids alkaline and promotes
oxidation and nutrition. If lettuce is eaten in proper proportion with
other foods at the morning or noon meal, it has a sedative effect and
keeps an excitable constitution better balanced throughout the day.
People with delicate stomachs should not eat lettuce at the evening
meal. All raw salads prepared from greens and super-acid fruits are
best eaten at the beginning of the meal, or with the meat dish at the
morning or noon meal.
CUCUMBERS.
They are a valuable food and should be eaten almost daily by growing
children and anemic people, especially if much muscular work is
required. The cucumber is considered an indigestible article of food
by people with perverted appetites. The way in which the cucumber is
usually prepared in the average household renders it unfit to eat. The
extraction of the natural juice and the treatment with salt make the
cucumber tough and indigestible, and, if eaten in combination with half
a dozen other articles, it produces indigestion. Cucumbers should never
be eaten at night.
NUTS.
Nuts are high in nutritive value, and are better evenly combined
with non-protein elements than flesh foods are. They are rich in fat
and minerals, and form an ideal diet in combination with raw fruits
and greens. They are not sufficiently appreciated as a food, and
receive much unjust criticism as to their digestibility. All nuts are
wholesome. The right combination and proportion, and the time of day
when eaten, are of great importance. The kind of activity as well as
individual peculiarities have much to do with likes and dislikes or
requirements of certain foods.
ALMONDS AND BRAZIL NUTS.
These nuts feed the higher nerve centers and generate a high quality of
intelligence.
WALNUTS, PINE KERNELS AND CHESTNUTS.
These are excellent for those who wish to put on flesh. Care must be
taken not to overtax the liver. People who have been accustomed to a
large amount of bread or other starchy foods should begin with a small
amount, and substitute them for bread. If they disagree, use lemon,
cranberries, oranges or fruit salads with them. Walnuts supply the
larger nerve structures. They are well balanced in all the elements and
are excellent for people doing hard, muscular work. Sweet dried fruits
also form a good combination with nuts. Chestnuts resemble cereals on
account of being rich in starch. They contain less protein, fat and
minerals than other nuts, and therefore combine well with such foods as
supply these elements. Baked and boiled chestnuts are generally more
agreeable than raw ones. Pine nuts are rich in both protein and fat.
COCOANUTS.
They are rich in starch and fat and resemble the cereals closely.
HAZELNUTS.
They are a valuable food, but require thorough mastication.
THE PEANUT.
The peanut is a very nutritious nut, but rather difficult of digestion
for some people. It resembles beans and peas, and is sometimes classed
as a legume. Excess of nuts at one meal, or nuts which have been poorly
masticated, may cause severe disturbances of the liver and stomach. If
the teeth are poor, the nuts may be ground, but even then great care
must be exercised to insure their proper insalivation. Cooked nut foods
and all vegetarian dishes to which strained legumes, nut-butter, eggs
and other rich foods are added, should not be indulged in by people
with weak stomachs.
NUT-BUTTER.
Great care should be exercised in the preparation of foods with
nut-butter. Never spread it on bread without first diluting it with an
equal amount of water. Do not keep it on the shelf like ordinary butter
after it has been mixed with water; prepare only sufficient to last for
twenty-four hours, and keep it on ice.
FRUITS.
There are three classes of fruit: acid, sub-acid, and sweet fruits.
Fresh raw fruits, if eaten in the right proportion with other articles,
are wholesome. The habit of eating a large amount of acid fruits at
the beginning of the morning meal is not necessary. If a heavy meal
is eaten in the evening, remaining half digested in the stomach over
night and putrefying, then acid fruits will cleanse the stomach in the
morning. The better way is to go to bed with an empty stomach and there
will be no need of cleansing in the morning. People of a highly nervous
temperament should not eat the very sweet fruits at the morning or noon
meal, as at this time they are too stimulating.
Hot house fruits out of season are health destroying. Certain fruits,
such as apples, plums, tomatoes, apricots, grapes, figs, bananas
and cranberries, will keep for a long time in the natural state, if
properly preserved. Some of them can be dried and used in the winter.
Fresh fancy summer fruits are not required during the winter by healthy
individuals, neither are canned fruits, jams or jellies.
The canning of fruits during hot summer days is a health destroying
occupation and a waste of time and money. Fresh fruits prepared with
a large amount of water and sugar are little better than beer, wine
and whiskey. If such fruits are eaten with yeast bread, potatoes and a
variety of other foodstuffs, they set up fermentation and burden the
eliminating organs. A few jars of sterilized fruit juice should be
prepared and kept on hand for medicinal purposes only.
Fruits are an important article of diet, but few people know how to
use them wisely. A large percentage of deaths in young children is due
directly to the wrong use of fruits. Many forms of infantile paralysis,
intestinal disease and malnutrition in general are due to the lack of
knowledge of the scientific combination of fruits with other articles
of food, so as to furnish a wholesome meal.
Many teachers of Domestic Science and writers in monthly magazines
seem to have forgotten, entirely of what an ordinary mixed diet should
consist. Their bills-of-fare are becoming more complex all the time.
We find combinations, such as banana fritters, custard, meat, potatoes,
nuts, milk, biscuits, dates, several kinds of vegetables, puddings,
cheese, coffee, cake and ice cream, suggested for =one meal= (sometimes
less, other times more than this). Any intelligent, thinking person
must realize that such a mixture, besides being a great waste, will
turn the stomach of the strongest individual into a yeast pot. Those
with strong eliminating organs, who take plenty of out-door exercise
and recreation of some kind, may be able to throw off the excess of
poison for a long period, while others endowed with less vigor will
suffer from the effects within a short time.
People who live on cooked foods consisting mainly of meat, bread,
sugar, soups, puddings, cooked cereals, milk, etc., should realize
that they have already filled their systems with foods which contain a
large amount of water, and therefore will overburden their intestines
and kidneys by adding a liberal amount of fruits to such a dietary.
There is always great danger of fermentation and putrefaction,
especially if constipation sets in, and here we have all the dangers of
modern diseases, which begin with mal-nutrition, be it from under-or
over-feeding. Only the most perfect specimens of men and women are
safe from danger. Why? Because their instincts lead them to choose the
right articles in the right combination, and at the table they know
“when to stop,” while an individual with weak sensory nerves does not
feel the effects of satisfaction from the food until dullness, pain
or discomfort appear. It is from this latter class mostly, that we
have our health reformers, while the former class with their perfect
battery, which can turn the poorest food materials into first grade
tissue, look on us as diet cranks and faddists.
The man who ate three square meals all his life, indulged in tea,
coffee, liquor and tobacco, was never sick and lived to be 100 years
old, probably could have lengthened his years to 300, had he not been
so dangerously strong.
The menus suggested in this book are made up carefully and
scientifically, so that each individual can easily find a diet suited
to his temperament, environment, age and occupation. Nuts contain a
high percentage of protein, and therefore form an ideal dietary in
combination with fruits. Meats, eggs, cheese, cream and fish are the
next best articles suitable to combine with fruits; raw greens are an
excellent addition, but breads, puddings, sugars, beverages, mushes
and cooked vegetables are better left out at a meal if an abundance
of fruits are taken, especially at dinner, or the amount of watery
foods taken into the body during twenty-four hours will not be in the
proper proportion to the solids. Dry legumes are very rich in protein,
but being dissolved with water during the cooking process are less
suited to combine with raw fruits, especially for those suffering with
flatulence or kidney disorders. Apples, tomatoes and vegetables combine
best with legumes. Apples and tomatoes, being of the most perfect type
of foods, combine well with all classes of protein foods, including
cereals. They should be staple articles in every household. As to other
fruit combinations, study recipes and menus, and keep in mind that no
matter how valuable an article may be, excess is a poison.
Those who live mainly upon dry foods, such as uncooked cereals and
nuts, can safely make their morning and evening meal of fruits alone,
while others who live like the average, if they attempt to make a meal
of fruits alone, and continue to do active work, will soon fail in
health.
BERRIES.
All berries are rich in minerals and feed the brain cells. They contain
traces of protein. Blackberries and huckleberries are rich in volatile
oils and iron, and are of great medicinal value. They are excellent for
the evening meal in the form of gruels and drinks.
People with digestive troubles should be careful in combining raw
blackberries with other foods. They are rich in protein and may take
the place of part of the meat dish on hot summer days. They should
never be used as a dessert after a heavy meal.
STRAWBERRIES.
Strawberries are the first fruit to make their appearance in the
spring. They are rich in iron and valuable acids. As they are in
season for a long time they should not be eaten to excess, never more
than once per day. From three to eight ounces, according to age, is
sufficient for one meal. If perfectly fresh, they combine well with
fresh cream or milk. Yeast bread, red meats or legumes should not be
eaten at the same meal with strawberries. Berries which have undergone
slight decomposition should be placed in a mason fruit jar with a
little water and be sterilized. This juice will keep for several days
in a cold place and can be used for the flavoring of milk, or for
softening zwieback which is to be served with cream or milk. If the
juice has undergone fermentation reboil it before using. It may be used
for fruit puddings or fruit gruels or be mixed with other fruit juices.
In this way everything is utilized and nothing wasted.
CHERRIES.
The cherry season is short. Therefore, they should be eaten almost
daily. All varieties are wholesome. If desired, several kinds may be
mixed at one meal. They combine well with egg foods, whole wheat,
cornmeal and fish. They may be eaten at the beginning or at the end of
a meal or by themselves. People with weak stomachs should not eat them
at night.
BLACKBERRIES.
They are a valuable and nutritious fruit and can form a perfect meal
in combination with light cereal foods. They have little preservative
properties and therefore should be eaten only when perfectly fresh.
For young children or people with intestinal weakness, only the juice
should be used in the form of wine or gruels.
RASPBERRIES.
They are a light and delicious fruit. They combine well with milk, egg
foods, or nuts, and can be served morning, noon or night.
PEACHES, PEARS AND APRICOTS.
They are all three rich in sugar and cellulose, and can form a
substitute for part of the cereal foods during hot summer days. (See
recipes for Salads.)
THE PINEAPPLE.
The pineapple contains bromaline and is of medicinal value in the
treatment of certain stomach disorders. It is not a necessary article
for the table of people of moderate means.
BANANAS.
They are a very nutritious fruit and can partially replace the cereals.
If combined with green leaves, and lemon, they can form a perfect
meal. The bitter substance which is contained in the inner skin of
the banana should be scraped off with a knife and added to the bulk,
as it counteracts the sweet flavor of the banana and adds to its
digestibility. Baked bananas are not necessary for a healthy stomach.
APPLES.
They are among the most perfect of fruits. People who have difficulty
in digesting a sufficient amount of cereals should eat apples almost
daily. If raw apples disagree, they can be made agreeable by combining
them with fat meats or oil in the form of a salad. Baked apples and
apple sauce are also good, provided they are not spoiled with too much
sugar. Some apples are fibrous and muscle-feeding; others are richer in
phosphates and valuable minerals. For salads use tart apples.
GRAPES.
Grapes are a valuable fruit for the table if eaten in the right
proportion with other foods which contain fat and protein. They are
rich in sugar and tartaric acid. As a medicinal fruit they may be eaten
in large quantities by themselves.
NECTARINES.
Like the pineapple, they belong to the luxurious fruits and are adapted
for people with a large purse. They are rich in sugar and starch, with
a small amount of cellulose.
ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, LEMONS AND LIMES.
They all belong to the citric acid group, and are of all the fruits,
the richest in valuable acids, which in the process of digestion are
converted into salts, rendering the blood more alkaline. The latter
three should be used in greater quantities in countries near the coast
or in low and damp districts, especially during the rainy season. The
outer skin is rich in volatile oils and is useful in the preparation
of fruit-and-milk soups. The white rind is useful as a medicine, for
patients who suffer from malaria. A small amount of it chewed while
sipping a glass of fresh milk will greatly add to the digestibility
of the milk and serve as a germicide to the liver. The juice of
one-quarter of a lemon may be taken in connection with the skin of
one-half a lemon, in combination with a glass of milk. During fever,
the skin should be carefully expectorated.
FRUIT JELLIES.
If prepared from fruit juice and cane sugar only, they are powerful
stimulants and have little food value, for the reason that they arouse
the nerve cells to extreme activity and rapid oxidation. They furnish
no food for the nerve cells, and the nutritious elements in the other
food materials taken in combination with these jellies pass out of the
body without being assimilated, or produce congestion and inflammatory
conditions. Even natural stimulants, in the form of raw fruits, can
become harmful if taken, in excess, or in the wrong combinations,
unsuitable to the individual requirements. If the glycogen-making
function of the liver becomes overburdened, the result will be
diabetes, neuralgia or starch-poison.
COMPOTES OR STEWED FRUITS.
They are more wholesome and economical than jams and jellies, which are
prepared with large amounts of sugar.
They are best served with the meat dish or with some substantial
pudding. If served with sponge cake at the end of a meal, the digestive
juice becomes acid, and produces fermentation and mal-nutrition.
PLUMS.
Green, red and blue plums are all valuable fruits. The blue plum is
rich in iron, minerals, and sugar, and is, next to apples and tomatoes,
one of the most perfect fruits. It has great preserving qualities and
if picked on a dry, sunny day and placed carefully in straw in a dry,
cold place, will keep until Christmas. For combination, see menus and
salads.
People who have distress from eating raw plums should let them alone or
eat them in the dried state only.
FIGS AND DATES.
They have an average of thirty per cent water, are rich in sugar and
contain some protein and saline matter. They are an excellent food for
people who are fond of sweets. They are more wholesome than canned
summer fruits. However, they should not be indulged in during hot
summer days, or in the spring time when the brain needs relaxation.
THE WATERMELON.
This is the largest of the melon fruits, containing sugar, salts,
cellulose and distilled water. It is an excellent food during hot
weather. People who suffer from chronic kidney disorders should only
indulge in it in small quantities at a time, and never combine it with
mushy or other starchy foods. A few drops of lemon is a good addition,
in place of free salt.
MUSKMELON.
This fruit is also rich in sugar and cellulose. What has been said of
watermelon in reference to combination also applies to this fruit.
CRANBERRIES.
Cranberries, like gooseberries, currants and lemons, are purifying
to the blood and very valuable as a food in malarial districts.
Cranberries combine well with oatmeal, cornmeal, pork, chicken, turkey
and veal. Use no more sugar for the preparation than is absolutely
necessary to counteract the tart taste. Cranberry jelly prepared with
pure sugar is unwholesome. Raw cranberries and raw celery are a good
combination for salad.
CEREALS.
Cereals are the most perfect products of the vegetable kingdom, and
make fairly well balanced foods. They are deficient in fat, with the
exception of corn and oats. In the processes of milling and cooking,
cereals have been more abused than any other foods, by depriving
them of their valuable minerals, and by compounding them into soft
putrefying puddings or rich cakes. Concentrated or predigested cereals,
as advertised under the name of breakfast foods, cannot take the place
of ordinary rolled, whole, or steel cut cereals; they have lost
valuable salts and lime during the process of baking and they also
deprive the walls of the stomach of the normal stimulus, which is
necessary for thorough utilization.
Well boiled cereal foods in the form of dumplings, macaroni, noodles
or whole cereals are stimulating and heating to the whole alimentary
tract, they take longer to digest, and are more thoroughly utilized
by the system. Predigested cereals and zwieback are more suitable for
the evening meal, or at the end of the noon meal, when the body has
expended energy. Shredded wheat and zwieback may be used with benefit
for breakfast, if a sufficient amount of raw fruits or greens is eaten
with them, but if they are used in combination with other predigested
foods, such as milk or sugar, it gives the intestine nothing to do.
For the evening meal, toasted breads and cereals combine well with
such foods as supply the lack of lime, fats and minerals: cream,
fruit-gruels, yolks of eggs, gelatine, sago, milk and green foods.
WHEAT.
Wheat can be used the year around. In cooking cereals it is very
important to start with the right quantity of water, and allow each
starch granule to burst by fast boiling during the first twenty or
thirty minutes. After this, let it cook slowly for twenty or thirty
minutes longer, or until it is done. It is not necessary to cook
cereals for several hours in order to make them fit for the human
stomach. If well boiled cereals disagree, they are generally poorly
prepared and allowed to get pasty before the starch granules have
burst, or else they are combined with raw sugar and cream, which
produces fermentation.
RYE.
Rye is richer in minerals and contains less starch than wheat. It is
not superior to wheat, but it is one of the oldest and most perfect
foods, and is the staff of life to some of the healthiest and strongest
races of the old world. It is laxative, and because of this it is more
suitable for certain individuals than for others. Rye is a good winter
food; during the summer we have many valuable berries which supply the
system with certain minerals, therefore we require less of rye bread,
or rye preparations, during this time of the year.
Rye combines well with all starchy fruits and vegetables, which are
deficient in minerals, such as potatoes, pumpkins, squash, melons,
turnips, carrots, beets, bananas, cucumbers, rice and corn. It also
combines well with sweet fruits. Apples, pork, veal, lamb, cheese,
eggs, cream, milk, bacon and oily foods are all good additions to rye.
Boiled rye and starchy foods are unsuitable combinations.
Whole rye or wheat bread should never be eaten fresh. It should be kept
in a bread box, with good ventilation, in a dry place, or near the
stove. Sun dried bread is the best.
OATS.
Oats are rich in fat and lime, and like wheat and rye belong to the
most perfect foods. A fireless cooker is a convenient apparatus for the
preparation of oats and wheat. They should be thoroughly cooked for at
least half an hour before setting them into the fireless cooker.
RICE.
Rice, although low in protein and fat, is one of the most easily
digested of all cereals, and is especially suitable for brain workers
and people of sedentary habits. This book contains a large number of
different recipes for the preparation of rice.
SAGO AND TAPIOCA.
They are manufactured from certain palms and roots, and belong to
the lighter forms of cereals. They are easily digested if soaked for
several hours before cooking, and can be partially substituted for the
heavier cereals. Cornstarch, arrowroot, potato-flour and agar agar
belong to the same class. They are all valuable for the sick and for
young children.
BARLEY.
Barley is also rich in lime; it should take a more prominent place
among food substances than it does. Pearl barley should be soaked
with soft water before cooking. If it is to be strained, mash it up
thoroughly with a potato masher, and pour more boiling water over it
after the first liquid is strained off.
ANIMAL FOODS.
EGGS.
Eggs contain all the elements necessary for the building up of a young
animal; they also contain all the elements which can be found in the
human body. The eggs of hens are used most commonly. The chemical
combination of the whole egg and that of the brain and nervous system
have much in common. The white of the egg contains about eighty per
cent water, twelve of albumen, a small amount of fat and some salts.
For medicinal purposes, eggs should be fresh, directly from the nest.
Eggs are deficient in minerals and should be combined with foods which
are rich in minerals.
CHEESE.
Cheese is one of the most economical and nutritious of foods, and a
true meat substitute. To serve cheese after a dinner is a wasteful
extravagance, and dangerous to health. Cheese combines well with
bread, macaroni, potato and other cereals; raw greens are also a good
addition. Cooking or baking cheese makes it indigestible. Grated or
sliced is the best way to serve it. People who have difficulty in
digesting cheese should always combine it with raw apples, onions, or
tomatoes and lettuce, in the form of a salad. If it still disagrees,
leave out the cereals entirely at the meal, or use black bread with it.
A combination of cheese, eggs and milk in the form of a Welsh rarebit
makes a heavy and indigestible meal, and should only be indulged in by
people who are very strong, and exercise a great deal out of doors.
MEAT.
People who live almost entirely on cooked foodstuffs and white flour
bread, find meat a necessary article of food, and consume it in larger
quantities than would be necessary, if whole wheat bread and raw
fruits and greens were used. Under the present systems of forced and
improper feeding of animals, and the preservation of meats by cold
storage, flesh foods are becoming more dangerous. There is no need
for such an excess in the production of meat, except to satisfy our
habits. If human beings and animals are fed by force, they are not
healthy. Flesh, eggs and milk from animals which are fed by force, are
unwholesome and inferior in quality.
Under certain conditions and in cold climates, meat is a necessity,
therefore the feeding of animals should be under the observation of
health officers. We need quality more than quantity.
Pork, although condemned by many people as unfit for food, is a
wholesome article, if the animal is fed upon dry, substantial food.
Pork requires a longer time to digest than other meat, and therefore
it should not be eaten at the evening meal. Pork was considered as an
unclean food by the ancient Jews; perhaps the reason for this was that
the Jew’s system did not require pork, because of his constitution and
the climatic conditions. Fat pork is a specific food for the kidneys;
it is less stimulating and easier to oxidize than any other meat.
Beef is perhaps the most economical meat for family use. A good
quality of meat should contain both fat and lean. All meats should be
well soaked and washed before cooking. Cold meats are sometimes more
agreeable than hot meats.
Veal, lamb, chicken and game are all wholesome meats if eaten in
moderation and at the right time of the year. Fresh meats should not
be served oftener than once per day, or better still, three times
per week. The internal organs and glands, such as the lungs, liver,
kidneys, tongue and stomach, are very nutritious. Sausages, if prepared
from fresh, clean meat, and not highly seasoned, are cheaper and more
nourishing than canned meats, and often preferable to fresh meat,
which has hung a long time in a meat shop. The internal organs contain
much lime and organic salts, as they feed the glands of the body; they
should be well soaked before cooking, in order to drain the thick and
impure blood out of them.
Beefsteak, chops and roasts should be slightly salted before they
are cooked. Free salt sprinkled on meat, or other dry foods, before
serving, is injurious to the lining of the stomach and blood vessels;
lemon can be used instead. Many people have an abnormal craving for
salt. This is a symptom of anemia; the system lacks minerals. The only
way to supply the necessary elements is by taking salt in the organized
state in raw greens and fruits. Free salt can satisfy such craving
temporarily, but it creates an abnormal thirst. Raw apples, tomatoes
and all other acid fruits, in combination with greens, are the best
additions to meats.
FISH.
Fish is a valuable article of food. It is less stimulating than lean
meat, and easier to digest and oxidize; for this reason it can be
recommended for brain workers. It contains a large amount of phosphorus
and nitrogen, and if properly combined with foods which are rich in
minerals, such as apples, tomatoes, lemons and greens, fish is quickly
utilized. Fish and whole rye bread is also an excellent combination.
Fish being soft, it is necessary that it be thoroughly masticated. Fish
can become very dangerous as a food when not fresh.
MILK.
Milk is found indispensable in some cases of sickness, especially
in fevers. The greatest care should be exercised in getting clean,
fresh and perfect milk, and in keeping it in a cold, clean atmosphere
after delivery. Milk may be given as a food, raw, boiled, sterilized,
pasteurized, or peptonized, and can be modified with water or other
foods in many different ways. The best and most suitable method of
preparing it for the patient must be left to the attending physician.
The color of perfect milk is yellowish white, =not blue white=. Its
odor is pleasant. A drop of milk poured into a glass of fresh water
will go to the bottom if it is good milk. In order to ascertain if the
milk is alkaline, neutral or acid, put a small piece of red litmus
paper into it, and if it turns strongly blue the milk is alkaline. If
a blue litmus paper turns strongly red, the milk is acid. Perfect milk
should be neutral or slightly alkaline. After the milk has stood for
several hours it gradually becomes more acid.
Milk which is acid in reaction, or blue in color, is unfit as a food
for children and invalids. If a mother is uncertain as to the quality
of the milk she is feeding her child, she should have it examined by
the city chemist.
Milk, even if handled very carefully, contains many germs. Therefore,
on hot days it is better to sterilize the milk for an infant, even if
the child is in perfect health, or able to take raw milk. If the milk
can be obtained directly from the cow two or three times per day, it
may be given raw on those occasions. If it has stood a little while, it
may be heated quickly to 155 degrees F. over a hot fire, while stirring
it.
CERTIFIED MILK.
This is a high grade of sanitary milk which comes from special dairies,
where great care is taken to keep everything in perfect sanitary
condition. The cows are kept in perfect health and are fed upon food
which produces milk perfect in composition. There are, however, milkmen
who have principle enough to supply their customers with milk of good
character and perhaps of as high a grade as that from inspected dairies.
I have, in my practice, often come in contact with people who were
informed by their milkmen that certified milk required no boiling or
sterilization. Some people are impressed with the idea that certified
milk has already undergone some sort of preparation. The fact that in
these days milk laboratories can be found in many large cities, may
easily bring confusion of mind as to “what the milk is certified for,”
especially to those who are not acquainted with the preparation of milk
and do not know the difference between raw and sterilized milk, if they
buy it. Such instructions should be given by better authorities than
those who deliver milk, or the label should state “what the milk is
certified for.” Certified, or any other raw milk, which is over eight
hours old, is not a fit food for infants.
BOILED MILK AND CREAM FOR TABLE USE.
Put the desired amount of milk or cream, or mixed milk and cream, into
a clean saucepan, stir over a hot fire until it reaches the boiling
point or to about 200°F. Then pour into a pitcher and set in a pan
of cold water; stir until the milk is cold. Set on ice or in a cold
place for 24 hours. Milk prepared in this way is the only wholesome
kind to use in addition to boiled cereals and fruit puddings. It is
also often preferable to raw cream and milk, in combination with raw
fruits. If the milk is to be used on cereals for the morning meal, it
can be reheated or used directly after boiling. If hot milk is added to
cereals, the sugar will not be missed.
If boiled milk or cream has stood for 24 hours it has become unfit for
further use unless it is reboiled. If putrefaction has set in, boiled
milk can become more dangerous as a food than raw milk which has stood
for the same length of time; therefore careful handling of boiled milk
as well as other boiled foods is of the utmost importance. (See Chapter
on Hygiene and Economy, under Left-Overs.)
In many foreign countries it is a general custom in every household to
boil milk directly after delivery, for the infant as well as for table
use. To do differently means uncleanliness. Modern invention of coolers
and ice-boxes in every house, and delivery of milk in bottles, has
gradually done away with this custom. Many of our present generation
of house-wives are so little acquainted with practical housekeeping
that they consider food fit for use as long as it has not soured,
notwithstanding the many changes it has undergone on the pantry shelf.
Raw cream is fit for use only directly after it has left the separator.
Raw milk should not be considered fresh and wholesome for table use
longer than eight or ten hours after milking, and then only with the
most careful handling. Following this precaution, morning milk, which
is delivered during the day, should not be used raw later than five
or six o’clock in the evening. Remember that all milk begins to turn
acid as soon as it comes in contact with the air. The longer it stands
the more acid it will be, besides being laden with germs. The process
of cooking or scalding raw milk checks the fermenting processes and
renders the food more alkaline, especially if it is to be taken with
cereals or fruit puddings and gelatines.
Cooked milk is not a natural food, but neither are cooked cereals.
Raw milk is quickly digested, while boiled milk takes several hours
to digest, and so do boiled cereals. A combination of raw milk, or
cream, and cooked cereals will force the stomach to absorb the milk
immediately, while the remainder, poorly masticated and filled with
germs, will tend to produce an acid process rather than an alkaline.
If sugar is added to raw milk and cereals, the process of intestinal
fermentation is complete. If the glandular system and the eliminating
organs are strong, they will work harder in order to rid the system of
this excess of acid; but if the constitution is not able to stand the
strain of wasteful nervous expenditure, discomfort and disease will
be the result! Enlarged tonsils are often the first sign of danger.
We cannot invent customs of feeding that interfere with natural laws
without paying the penalty.
MISCELLANEOUS FOODS.
FATS.
Fats are derived from the animal and vegetable kingdom; they are rich
in carbon and hydrogen, but poor in oxygen. Emulsified fats are present
in cream, nuts and the yolks of eggs. Oleins are mainly found in oils
obtained from fruits, nuts and vegetables. Butter contains mainly
palmitin. Suet, from beef and mutton, consists of stearin and palmitin.
Lecithin is found in yolks of eggs and in some nuts; it is a highly
complex compound, and a food for the brain and nerve substance. Suet
and mutton fat contain much stearin, and are harder to digest by some
people than other fats. However, the digestibility of a food depends
much upon the individual requirements, and a little self study will
soon convince each what forms of fat are best suited to his needs. As a
rule, people of large bone structures require a greater amount of fat
in their food than those not so constructed.
Fats are changed into fatty acids and glycerine by the secretion of
the bile and pancreatic juice, and in combination with the intestinal
juices form soluble soaps. In acute diseases fats should be taken only
in the form of butter, milk, or cream, in limited quantities. Fatty
foods are beneficial for children suffering with scrofula or rickets,
and in all chronic, wasting diseases.
People who do much indoor work, or those who are not able to digest a
sufficient amount of protein or cereals, require more fats. The latter
can be made easily digestible if rightly combined and prepared in the
form of soups, warm sauces, boiled custards and mayonnaise dressing. In
this way the fat globules are equally divided in the food and can be
better emulsified than if eaten in the solid form, or in combination
with white bread or other unsuitable articles. Cream, and the lighter
nuts, combine well with sweet foods, while oils, yolks of eggs,
meat fats, and solid fats, combine well with foods which are rich in
minerals and oxygen.
People who are unable to furnish their table with expensive fats,
such as butter, olives, cream, olive oil, bacon, eggs, eel and other
delicacies, should use the cheaper forms of fats, as corn, oats,
herring, walnuts, cream-cheese, cottonseed oil, bran, leaf lard,
vegetable butter, middle rib of beef, blood and liver sausages. Meat
products, prepared from the internal organs of the animal, are rich in
lime and fat, and, if prepared from fresh meats of healthy animals,
they are often preferable to canned and cold storage products, or to
meat which hangs in a meat-shop for a week. However, every one who buys
these articles should investigate the source and manner of preparation
for himself.
SUGAR.
Artificial sugar is not a necessary article of food for the healthy
individual who is able to supply his body with fresh and dried fruits
the year round.
True candies are: figs, dates, raisins and other tropical fruits. The
delicious summer fruits are better eaten without sugar. Undoubtedly
nature did not mean for us to indulge in sweets during hot days, or
she would have provided us more plentifully with them. All the spring
fruits are tart: people who wish to improve the taste of berries add
sugar to them at the expense of health. Our forefathers, who did not
enjoy such luxuries, had better health than our present generation.
The sugar-cane in its natural state is a valuable food. It contains
gluten and minerals, such as are found in other vegetables, and if
eaten in this form it is more wholesome than refined sugar. The gluten
and minerals are destroyed by chemical processes which are necessary to
produce sugar from the cane and beet. Pure, crystalized sugar cannot
sustain life, unless it is eaten in the proper proportion, with foods
which contain gluten, minerals and fats.
Sugar which contains minerals cannot crystalize; it remains syrup,
therefore the latter is more wholesome than sugar. In order to produce
beets, which are richer in sugar and poorer in salts, certain methods
of manuring are employed. The profit gained by this method is a
financial one. The consumer is the loser.
If artificial sugar is united with cocoa or other bitter, sour,
nutritious substances it will serve as a food; therefore, sugar in
the form of a prepared food such as chocolate, gelatine and gruels is
wholesome for those who require cooked foods. If the sugar industry
were diminished, the canning and stewing of fruits would also be
diminished, and we would have fewer tea and coffee drunkards. All
this gluttony in stimulating beverages and sweet fruit sauces was
not indulged in by the masses a hundred years ago, therefore the
constitution of the average individual at that time was much stronger.
Many parents are impressed with the idea that their children require
a large amount of sweets, in order to make them grow. We cannot force
nature without paying the penalty. At maturity, we reap what has been
sown for us, or what we have sown for ourselves.
SPICES.
Spices are a species of aromatic vegetables and fruits used for the
seasoning and preservation of foods. Their flavor is pleasant and
stimulating to the mucous membrane of the mouth.
The odoriferous substances yielded from these plants are: the volatile
oils and ethers of peppermint, roses, orange flower, lavender, camphor,
lemon, bitter almond, wintergreen, cinnamon, cloves and a number of
others. They are used for perfumes, medicines, confections, and in
the art of cookery. Many of the spices used for food are dried, as
bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, vanilla beans, dried skins of lemons and
oranges. Ground spices or liquid extracts should be used sparingly.
Many of them are adulterated. Free salt and ground spices create an
abnormal desire for water and food, and they injure the mucous membrane
lining of the blood vessels and glandular structures, and obstruct the
capillaries.
People who cannot relish their food without these artificial appetizers
should fast a while, or replace them by natural stimulants, as
tomatoes, apples, lemons and greens. Few people realize the harm
that is done by the number of salt, sugar and pepper holders that are
placed on the table at every meal, to say nothing of the dozens of
boxes of ground spices that fill the kitchen shelf. A pinch of pepper
on gravies, milk soups, or other nutritious dishes, if mixed thoroughly
with the food, assists in the coagulation of soft nitrogenous foods and
prevents putrefaction, but excess of it, or if sprinkled on dry food,
is very harmful.
The best way to use spices is to buy them whole, in the fresh or dried
state, and chop, grate, or grind them when needed. Vanilla beans,
bitter almonds, bay leaves, cinnamon bark and many others may be used
whole and removed before serving.
Children’s food should never be covered with pepper or other
stimulating spices. Under our present system of living salt has become
a necessary adjunct to our food. Legumes, cereals or any other foods
which require a large amount of water for cooking need an additional
amount of salt. It should be added before the food is removed from the
fire, so that the salt will be properly dissolved and combined with
the food. Moderate amounts of preserved, salted meats and fish are
valuable as antiseptics, if combined with soft, cooked, nutritious
foods in the form of soups and gravies, or with milk foods, eggs,
cereals or legumes. Salt used in this way will not hurt the lining
of the alimentary tract and other tissues, as free salt does when it
is sprinkled on lettuce, meat, potatoes or other dry food. Never use
salted, smoked or preserved meats or fish in excess. If possible,
investigate the source and manner of preparation of preserved foods.
DESSERTS.
Desserts have only been mentioned in the form of steamed puddings,
gelatines, oranges, grapes or bread and butter in combination with
black unsweetened coffee. Artificially prepared desserts in the form
of attractive, soft puddings and other rich mixtures flatter the
palate and renew the appetite. The true enjoyment of eating is in the
satisfaction of hunger. The craving for desserts indicates a desire
to stimulate certain nerves, which force the contents of the stomach
into the intestine and destroy the digestive processes or produce
decomposition, hasten absorption, and exhilarate the brain with the
toxins hereby produced.
Those who desire to correct the habits of intoxication in themselves or
in others should consider whether the abnormal craving is for merely
physical pleasure or for the satisfaction of starved and overworked
brains and bodies, and the change should be brought about accordingly.
To drop a long acquired habit at once may prove harmless to one person
and very fatal to another.
The worn-out digestive organs need to be toned up and developed
gradually, either by stimulating fruits or fruit juices or by tonics in
the form of bran-tea and malt-coffee.
People who have vigorous appetites and strong digestive organs may eat
a few nuts at the end of the meal until the appetite has been restored
to normal. For those who like sweets, a large number of recipes have
been given for fruit salads and light cooked dishes. Many can be served
as whole meals for the evening, or in combination with milk broths or
soups.
MUFFINS AND PANCAKES.
Many people who find pancakes indigestible will do well to observe the
time when they are most agreeable. If they are made with eggs, cream,
and water, or with rich milk, and properly prepared and combined with
suitable articles, they are generally agreeable to the most sensitive
stomach.
People of sedentary habits, or those who do brain work mainly, should
not eat pancakes or muffins for breakfast.
All ingredients, as well as the vessel, should be cold. The batter
should also be made in a cold place or out of doors. The oven, the
baking pans and the oil in which the cakes are baked, should be as hot
as possible.
BREAD.
Bread made from white flour and yeast is the staff of death. Few people
realize that if they wish to use white bread as a food the proper
amount of minerals, fats and nitrogen must be added, in order to make
it a perfect food. Yeast bread, if eaten with jams and jellies in large
quantities between meals, is health destroying and dwarfs the body. It
is also unwise to eat white bread in combination with other starches,
as rice, potatoes and soft puddings. The average individual who takes
plenty of out-door exercise may get along well for years on such
mixtures and suffer no inconvenience, but people with poor eliminating
organs or chronic ailments, or those who do much indoor work, do well
to use yeast bread in moderation, especially if prepared from white
flour.
Baked and boiled cereals are more nutritious than bread. In the
fermenting process which takes place in rising bread, valuable
substances such as lime and salts are lost. It is rendered more acid,
and therefore unfit as a food for people with weak stomachs. If yeast
bread is combined with foods which render the fluids of the stomach
alkaline, it is less harmful.
SOUPS.
Many American housekeepers do not know how to prepare soups and do not
like them. The fact that people of many nations in the old world, with
smaller incomes than the average American working man, use soups daily,
once or twice, and are far superior in physical strength and endurance
to the latter, who lives mainly on beefsteak, white bread, potatoes,
sugar, tea and coffee, should convince every one that nutritious soups
are an important article of diet. Close study and persistent effort
will enable every homekeeper with small means to learn how to prepare a
soup that is palatable and nutritious. The daily use of white bread and
butter is expensive. Besides it produces diseases, imperfect bodies and
premature old age.
All who are in the habit of eating more than their systems require
and especially those who indulge in large amounts of bread at dinner,
would do well to begin their meal with a soup. Legume and cream soups
will furnish a satisfactory meal by themselves. For combinations, see
“Menus.”
PART TWO
PREPARATION OF FOODS.
TABLE OF MEASURES AND WEIGHTS.
A standard measuring cup contains 8 ounces or ¹⁄₂ pint.
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
2 tablespoons = 1 ounce
8 tablespoons = 4 ounces or ¹⁄₂ cup
16 tablespoons = 8 ounces or 1 cup
All ingredients measured by the cup, tablespoon or teaspoon are
measured level.
1 pound (English weight) = 425 grams or 16 ounces
1 pound (Metric system) = 500 ”
2 pounds (Metric system) = 1000 ”
CHAPTER I.
GREEN VEGETABLES.
Green vegetables furnish a large amount of easily digested
carbohydrates and contain much mineral matter in which meats and
cereals are deficient. That they add to the highest purity of our blood
has been proven by the fact that many blood and skin diseases have been
cured by the application of specific greens alone. However, no matter
how valuable an article is, it should be used according to the needs
of the individual. As vegetables also contain a large amount of water,
it is not wise for one who has to perform active mental or physical
labor to indulge in a large amount of cooked, especially underground,
vegetables at the noon meal. At this time of the day the system
requires the most nutritious foods in the form of proteid elements,
no matter whether the meal consists of cooked food, cold or warmed
over. Green peas and corn are best eaten at the noon meal, as they
are rich in proteid elements. Asparagus, tomatoes, string beans and
leaf greens are also suitable at this time of the day, provided some
nutritious food of the proteid class is served with them. For further
combinations, see “Left Overs” and Menus.
The blanching of vegetables, as advised by some authorities, will
always remove valuable constituents of the plant. The blanching and
ventilation of vegetables during the process of cooking is advised,
in order to make them more wholesome. All artificially prepared foods
will lose certain constituents through the process of cooking, and
this loss is generally made up by additional flavoring or sauces.
Vegetables which are cooked in very little water and kept well covered
(not ventilated), will lose less of their natural qualities, and
the injurious gases which do not escape by this process can be made
harmless through the addition of fats, in the emulsified form, as
sauces, the yolk of an egg, lemon or cream.
In the consumption of food, as well as the custom of dress and
education, some people have reached that stage of refinement where
degeneration begins. We cannot refine natural food without paying
the penalty for it, which means the producing of disease and the
shortening of life. The excessive use of refined sugar, alcohol and
other artificial stimulants, has produced a dislike for fatty foods
by many people, so that they refuse to eat sauces, or fat meats in
any form, the only fat they use being butter. While the latter is a
valuable food, it often cannot be assimilated by the system if spread
on white bread, or mixed with cooked vegetables; it generally serves
only as a lubricant. If butter is eaten in excess, especially in the
summer, it clogs the system. Some people prepare vegetables and soups
with melted butter for the sake of convenience. This is a waste, since
a tablespoonful of butter or other fat properly emulsified as directed
under butter sauces will often give more nutriment than one-quarter of
a pound of butter wasted by soaking into toast or other cooked foods.
The American method of cooking green vegetables in a large amount of
water and throwing it away, then seasoning them with butter and spices
and serving them with lean meat and white bread, produces a starvation
diet. In such a meal, the important mineral matter and the fats in
vegetables and whole wheat grains are left out, and are supplemented by
an excess of starches and water in the form of bread, beverages and
desserts. Additional fats should be added scientifically and combined
with foods which are rich in minerals and acids.
All vegetable water, especially that of canned or sterilized fruits
and vegetables, is very wholesome and antiseptic. Strained, sterilized
tomato, currant, gooseberry and strawberry juices are unsurpassed as
a liver medicine in some conditions. These same foods will lose their
medicinal value if stewed in an open kettle. They should be prepared in
Mason jars or cans. After opening, these fruit juices may be kept in
earthenware on ice for twelve hours, and served again. After this they
should be reboiled or sterilized, in order to check fermentation. For
the sick, the same precaution should be taken with keeping fruit juices
as with milk.
When using canned vegetables, never throw away the water, if it is
not to be used for dressing. Add it to soups or use it in place of
beverages. Pea, bean and asparagus water may be made very palatable if
cream is added. See preparation of legume teas under “Fluids.”
In preparing vegetables for the sick, the finest of all dressings is
the yolk of an egg and lemon juice, with a small amount of butter. The
fat in the yolk of the egg being emulsified in a perfectly natural
state, it feeds the mucous membrane of the entire alimentary tract and
blood vessels. Besides neutralizing the gas producing tendencies of the
foods, it aids in the digestive and assimilating processes and feeds
the nerve sheaths. In all chronic conditions, which are the result
of hardening of the arteries, a large amount of the yolk of eggs,
combined with lemon and oil, may be used. There are a few vegetables
which do not combine well with the yolk of an egg, such as turnips,
carrots, beets and onions. These contain a large amount of sulphur
and iron, which is also found in the yolk of the egg. Fat meats are
good additions to the last mentioned vegetables, except onions, which
are rich in oil themselves. If underground vegetables are served in
the form of purees, they should be mashed very fine or rubbed through
a colander; the butter which is added should not be allowed to boil.
Peas, beans, cauliflower and cabbage are most likely to disagree if
served with butter only. Butter sauces, cream sauces, yolks of eggs and
lemon are the best additions to make them agreeable.
Some people prefer vegetables cooked in oil. Those whose systems can
digest a large amount of fat will find them agreeable.
ARTICHOKES.
Wash them thoroughly and remove the outside leaves. Drop into salted
boiling water and cook for 20 or 30 minutes. Add a few drops of vinegar
to the water while boiling. Serve warm with a white sauce or let cool
and serve with French or mayonnaise dressing.
ASPARAGUS.
Wash and cut them into inch pieces until the hard part of the stem is
reached. Boil them for 20 minutes, or until tender. Serve warm with
butter, milk, cream, or egg sauce, or cold with French or mayonnaise
dressing. The asparagus may be scraped and tied into bundles when
boiling.
BEETS.
Remove the green tops and wash them carefully. Do not prick the skin,
as the juice will then escape and injure the color as well as the
flavor. Young beets will be tender in about one hour, older ones take
two to three hours. When done, peel and slice. Serve with a butter or
cream sauce, or plain, with butter and chopped parsley. For salad, cut
into slices and pour over them boiling vinegar, diluted with one-half
water. Add whole spices if desired.
MASHED BEETS.
Prepare like the above. When tender, peel and mash very fine with a
potato masher, and add butter and a few drops of lemon juice.
BEET GREENS.
Wash the tops and boil in a very little water until tender. A small
piece of salted or smoked lean meat may be boiled with them to give
them a better flavor. Chop fine and flavor with butter and lemon
juice. A brown butter sauce may be prepared from the water in which the
greens have been boiled; when done mix with the finely chopped greens,
and let it boil a second, and flavor with lemon.
ROASTED CARROTS.
Wash, scrape, and cut them lengthwise into halfs and quarters, then cut
crosswise into inch pieces or smaller. Cover with boiling water and
cook for 10 or 15 minutes, with a little salt. Drain off the water (add
to soups); brown some fat and flour, add to it soup stock, whey or the
water which was drained off, and roast the carrots in it until done.
Cover them tightly and add more fluid while roasting, if necessary.
Flavor with chopped parsley.
CARROT PUREE. No. 1.
Steam or cook the carrots with salt and as little water as possible. A
small piece of lean bacon or cornbeef may be added for flavoring. When
done, mash very fine with a potato masher. Flavor with butter and a
little pepper and parsley or lemon.
CARROT PUREE. No. 2.
Prepare like the above, and add one potato to three medium-sized
carrots. If the potatoes require less time to cook, add them when the
carrots are half done. This preparation may be especially recommended
for chronic invalids or for those who have a dislike for the sweet
flavor of the vegetable.
CREAMED CARROTS. No. 1.
Cook like carrot puree. When tender, make a butter sauce with the
water; add parsley and hot cream, if desired.
CREAMED CARROTS. No. 2.
Cook like number one, thicken with flour or corn starch, and add some
hot cream and parsley. Serve, like soup or vegetables, for breakfast or
supper, with dry whole wheat or black bread. Butter is not required at
the meal if cream is used. If the butter and cream are emulsified as in
sauces, they are more wholesome.
PEAS.
Wash the peas while in the pods, then shell. Boil the pods in a very
little water for 15 minutes, then take out and put the peas to boil in
the same water. Add a little salt and sugar when almost done. Prepare
further like creamed carrots. Some people prefer them with no dressing
except butter. Those who have difficulty in digesting starch and wish
to cut out the bread at the meal may use sauces or cream dressings with
their vegetables, especially in the winter.
MIXED PEAS AND CARROTS.
Put the peas on to boil, and when half done, add an equal amount of
carrots which have been cut into half inch pieces. Prepare with a
butter sauce like creamed carrots, and add chopped parsley. This will
afford a perfect meal for dinner in spring or summer. A few bread or
flour dumplings may be served with it. The latter should be cooked with
the peas 10 minutes before serving. Salted or smoked meats give them a
good flavor.
PEAS AND CODFISH (Saxon Dish).
Cook the peas with a very little water, and add meat broth while they
are boiling. Boil some fresh codfish in a separate saucepan, and when
done remove the skin and bones, cut into pieces and mix with the peas.
Prepare a butter sauce from the liquid remaining on the peas. Carrots
may be added.
PEAS WITH LAMB.
Boil the lamb with sufficient water to cover it. Add salt and onion.
When half done, put it to boil with the peas, which should have been
boiled with water in another saucepan for 10 minutes. When meat and
peas are done, remove the fat, thicken with flour and add the pea water
to make a butter sauce. Flavor with parsley. Use the meat broth for
soup or add the yolk of an egg or two, and serve in cups.
MIXED VEGETABLES (Leipsiger Dish).
Use asparagus tops, young French carrots, peas, and cauliflower. Cook
each vegetable separately with salt, in as little water as possible.
When done, drain the water from each and use for soup. Mix the
different vegetables in one dish and pour browned butter over them.
Serve with Lobster Curry. A butter sauce may be prepared from the
vegetable water in place of brown butter. Bread or flour dumplings may
be served with it. Lean meat is also a good combination.
CAULIFLOWER.
Cauliflower should be avoided by those who have delicate stomachs, at
the evening meal. It should be perfectly fresh and put into salted
water for an hour before cooking, in order to take out any hidden
insects. It should be boiled 20 to 30 minutes; if steamed it takes a
little longer. Flavor with salt and a little sugar while boiling. Serve
with brown or melted butter and lemon, or prepare a butter sauce with
soup stock and the yolk of an egg, or with cream. Season with pepper.
Serve with chipped beef or grated cheese for breakfast, or with lean
meat for dinner. Left over cauliflower may be baked in the oven with
cheese or bread crumbs, and served for breakfast. Tomato sauce is also
suitable as a dressing. Cold cheese is a better combination with the
latter than cream sauce or baked cheese.
STRING BEANS.
They are very purifying and should be eaten often, by people of a
bilious tendency. Select young string beans, pull off the string on
each side and break in pieces an inch long. Boil in slightly salted
water and prepare like green peas. They may be mixed with carrots. Ribs
of beef or lamb can be cooked with them as described in recipe for
peas. For other combinations, see “Boiled Mixed Dinners.”
SPINACH.
This is also a very valuable vegetable. Besides being rich in iron
and phosphates, it is laxative, and excellent as a medicinal food
for constipation. Wash it thoroughly. For a delicate stomach use the
leaves only. Steep in as little water as possible, chop very fine or
rub through a colander; season with pepper, salt, lemon and butter, or
prepare with a brown or white butter sauce from soup stock, or spinach
water. Gelatine may be used in place of soup stock by dissolving the
gelatine in the vegetable water. Smoked or salted lean meat may be
cooked with it for flavoring. Serve with eggs or lean meat.
SPINACH (Saxon Dish).
Boil in as little water as possible, and chop fine. Then chop fine some
well watered salt herring or other salt fish. Prepare the spinach with
a butter sauce made from soup stock, add the fish and serve on toast.
Dried bread crumbs or browned flour mixed with butter, without the
liquid, may be added to any of the green leaf vegetables.
MUSTARD GREENS.
Dandelions, yellow dock, horse radish tops and lettuce may be prepared
in the same manner as spinach.
OKRA.
Wash and remove the stems. Boil in salted water for 40 or 50 minutes.
Prepare with a butter or cream sauce.
STEWED CUCUMBERS.
Wash and peel them. Then cut into pieces and cook with as little water
as possible, until tender. Serve with fish or lean meat for dinner, or
with whole wheat or rye bread for breakfast.
CELERY ROOT.
Wash and boil the roots with the skins. When tender, peel them and cut
into slices. Prepare with a butter sauce made with soup stock or serve
with French dressing. Flavor with parsley.
BLACK CARROTS.
Wash and scrape. Boil in salt water to which a little vinegar has been
added. Prepare with a butter sauce, or mash fine. Serve with tongue,
croquettes or boiled beef.
EGG PLANT.
Cut in slices about an inch thick. Make a batter of eggs, salt and
flour; dip the slices of egg plant in the batter, and fry in hot fat.
Serve with lean meat, for dinner or supper, or serve with green salad
for breakfast.
STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS.
Cut off the stem end and remove the seeds. Fill the peppers with a
dressing such as is given in recipes for bread dumplings or meat
croquettes. Place them in a baking dish with two tablespoonfuls of oil
or fat; when brown add a little flour and some soup stock, cover the
dish and bake in an oven for about 50 minutes. The inner part of the
peppers may be mixed with the filling.
ONIONS.
For stewing use small or medium sized onions. Boil them in salt water,
drain off the water and serve with butter and lemon, or prepare a
butter or cream sauce. They are best eaten for breakfast or dinner with
some salted meat, and wheat or rye bread.
RAW ONIONS.
People who like onions and find they disagree on account of the strong
acids, should grate them and mix thoroughly with sauces, or French or
mayonnaise dressing.
FRIED ONIONS.
Chop the onions very fine in a wooden bowl. Then heat some butter and
oil and fry them until light brown and pour over steak or mix with
potatoes.
PARSLEY.
Chop enough to last for several days. Melt some butter and add the
parsley, and let boil up once. When cold put on ice. This saves time,
though it is best to prepare the parsley fresh for each meal.
MUSHROOMS.
Wash and dry them, then roll in flour and fry in fat until brown. Add
some soup stock and steep until done. Cover well. If the stock is too
thin, add a little browned flour; season and serve on toast.
RED CABBAGE.
Wash and cut in quarters. Mince very fine and put on to boil in a
little water; let it cook for 20 minutes in earthen ware, then add
three to five ounces of fat or oil, some vinegar, sugar, salt and
caraway seed. Let all cook for several hours. A few apples may be
cooked with the cabbage and taken out when done. The latter may be
served for breakfast. When the cabbage is done, thicken with browned
flour and let cook 10 minutes longer. Onion may be added if desired. A
piece of salt pork is also a good addition in place of oil.
WHITE CABBAGE. No. 1.
Prepare the same as red cabbage.
WHITE CABBAGE. No. 2.
Cut in quarters and boil in a little water with a small piece of lean
salted smoked meat, or without meat. When tender, drain and serve with
butter and the yolk of an egg and lemon, or with an egg sauce or tomato
sauce.
SPROUTS.
Remove the outside leaves and put to boil in a little salt water. When
tender, drain and season with butter and lemon. The yolk of an egg may
be added. A butter or egg sauce is also good.
COOKED CORN.
Remove the leaves and put in cold salt water for 30 minutes. Then boil
for 20 minutes. Corn is best when eaten raw. It is very nutritious and
will afford a perfect meal during the summer with tomato salad and
lettuce.
CANNED CORN.
Thicken the corn with flour and water. Add a small amount of hot cream
and season with salt and pepper or a few spoonfuls of tomato juice.
If no cream is desired, drain off the liquid and thicken like butter
sauce. Canned corn, being a rich and soft food, should not be mixed
with many other foods at the same meal. It is more suitable for the
morning or noon meal than for supper.
KOHLRABI.
Peel, slice thin, and stew in a very little water. When nearly done,
add some hot soup. Prepare with a butter sauce. Chop fine some green
leaves of the plant previously boiled and add. Serve with boiled beef.
VEGETABLE OYSTER.
Wash, scrape and boil in salt water until tender--about 40 minutes.
Prepare with butter, milk or cream sauce, or mash fine and fry like
potato balls. Season with lemon or pepper.
TURNIP PUREE.
Prepare like carrot puree. Cook with as little water as possible.
ROASTED TURNIPS.
Prepare the same as roasted carrots. They combine well with mutton.
FRIED PARSNIPS.
Scrape, wash and cut in slices, lengthwise. Boil in salt water for 5
minutes, then drain and fry in smoking hot fat. They can be turned
in batter if desired. They may be fried without cooking, like sweet
potatoes.
KALE.
This is a desirable vegetable in cold weather. It is purifying and very
valuable during the rainy season, in malarial districts. Remove the
leaves from the stems, wash and boil in salt water, using as little
water as possible. Chop very fine and prepare like spinach. A little
smoked meat may be added.
SQUASH.
If young and tender it does not require peeling. Wash, cut into small
pieces and steam. When done, mash fine and season with salt, pepper and
cream, or butter, and a few drops of lemon. It may be cut in slices and
fried in oil, or dipped in butter and fried like egg plant.
TOMATO PUREE.
Cut some fresh, firm tomatoes into several pieces. Cook in a double
boiler with as little water as possible. Rub through a sieve with a
spoon or potato masher. From 3 to 6 ounces of thick puree is sufficient
at a meal, for the average adult. For medicinal purposes, tomatoes may
be eaten in large quantities.
CANNED STEWED TOMATOES. No. 1.
They are more wholesome if not cooked. Place a can of tomatoes in hot
water to heat, drain off the liquid, and serve with meat, fish, eggs or
cheese. The liquid may be kept for soup.
STEWED TOMATOES. No. 2.
Heat a can of tomatoes, thicken with flour and water, and let boil 10
minutes. Add some butter and flavor with onion, and small amount of
sugar if desired.
STEWED TOMATOES. No. 3.
Prepare as number two, thicken with bread or cracker crumbs, instead of
flour.
STEWED TOMATOES. No. 4.
Heat a can of tomatoes. Then heat some butter and oil in a flat
saucepan, thicken with mixed flour, flavor with onion, add the tomatoes
gradually, and let boil a few minutes.
STUFFED TOMATOES.
Wash the tomatoes and cut off the upper part with a sharp knife. Scrape
out the pulp and fill the tomatoes with cold chopped meat mixed with
onion and mayonnaise dressing. Garnish with lettuce and serve with
bread and butter, or as an entree.
SAUERKRAUT.
Wash the sauerkraut in cold water several times. People with sensitive
stomachs should boil it for a short time. Then drain off the water
and put on to boil again. If no meat is served with it, use a few
tablespoons of oil, lard, butter, or goose fat. Add onions and a little
sugar or some apples for flavoring. Cook from one to two hours. Then
add a little flour dissolved in cold water, or two raw grated potatoes.
Remove the apples before serving. The latter may be eaten for breakfast
or supper. If the onions disagree, remove them before serving. Good
combinations with sauerkraut are: Pea puree, pork, bacon, liver,
liver-pudding, white fish, and oysters stewed or fried.
CABBAGE ROLLS.
Wash some large cabbage leaves. Fill them with finely chopped left-over
meat, mixed with eggs. (See recipe for croquettes.) Then tie the rolls
together with a string. Steam in a shallow dish with as little water as
possible. Serve with an egg sauce. Flavor with mace.
POTATOES.
Potatoes consist mainly of starch and water. They are more expensive
than wheat, rye, oats, barley and corn. They should not be eaten
oftener than once a day, or better three times a week. People who do
hard physical or mental work should not eat potatoes at the noon meal.
Fat meats, eggs, fish and greens combine well with potatoes; if they
are served with lean meat, some fatty substance in the form of butter,
cream or gravy should be eaten with them. Fried potatoes are not
wholesome. The best way to prepare them is to boil or bake them in the
skins, or boil or mash them in cream or buttermilk.
POTATO SALAD.
Boil or steam some potatoes with their jackets on. When done, peel
and slice them into a deep bowl while warm; then sprinkle over them a
little salt, pepper, and finely chopped or grated onion, and pour over
them some boiling hot vinegar diluted with one-half water and mixed
with melted butter or oil. Cover with a saucer and shake well; let
stand for twenty or thirty minutes. If there is too much liquid, pour
off some and mix the remainder with mayonnaise dressing and chopped
parsley, if desired.
SWEET POTATOES.
Boil the potatoes in the jackets, let cool, peel, slice, and fry in
one-half butter and one-half oil. Serve with cranberry sauce, lettuce,
and lean meat.
Sweet potatoes may be peeled and sliced in the raw state, and fried in
half oil and half butter. Serve as above. They are very suitable for
breakfast.
CREAMED POTATOES.
Select small potatoes and boil in the skins. Add some salt. When done,
peel and cut into thin slices. Bring some milk to a boil, and thicken
with corn starch dissolved in water, or prepare a butter sauce with
butter, flour and milk. Add the potatoes and some finely chopped
parsley. Serve with fish or salted preserved meat.
CRUST POTATOES.
Use small, imported German potatoes. Boil with the skins, peel and
turn in yolk of eggs and rye nuts; fry in oil and butter. Serve with
sprouts, or spinach and meat.
STEAMED POTATOES.
Peel small sized potatoes, wash and put into a steamer or colander.
When done pour into a dish, and mix with chopped parsley and fresh
butter. Serve with fish.
FRENCH FRIED POTATOES.
Peel and cut into long strips or thin slices. Put into salt water on
ice for half an hour. Fry in boiling oil.
MASHED POTATOES.
Peel, wash, and boil or steam the potatoes; when done, mash fine, and
add some hot cream or cold buttermilk, and a little salt, also a piece
of butter.
MASHED SWEET POTATOES.
Prepare the same as white potatoes.
POTATO BALLS.
Beat 2 eggs with an egg beater, mix with one cup of left-over mashed
potatoes, shape into balls and fry in hot fat. Serve with bacon, fish,
or sausage, for breakfast.
POTATO PUDDING.
Prepare the same as potato balls. Put the mass into a pudding dish and
cover with rye nuts, grated cheese, or a beaten egg mixed with rye
nuts, and bake half an hour.
POTATO AND APPLE PUREE.
Prepare as for mashed potatoes. Use apple sauce in place of milk or
cream, mix well and add a liberal piece of butter. Serve with sauer
roast, veal cutlets or sausage. It is good for breakfast with bacon.