GELATINES AND TOASTS.
GELATINE PREPARATIONS.
Gelatine is a valuable food for the sick. The nutritive value of
gelatine is under-estimated. While it alone cannot sustain life, it is
superior to beef tea, and if eaten with other articles which supply the
elements which it lacks, it can partially take the place of meat and
other nitrogenous foods for sick people and for people of sedentary
habits. For people who do hard labor gelatine is of little value.
FRUIT GELATINE.
To prepare fruit gelatine the acid and super-acid fruits are best, and
=no more sugar= should be used than is necessary. Gelatine preparations
must be kept on ice, or in a very cold place, and not be prepared
in large quantities, as they easily putrefy. For the sick and for
children, it should not stand longer than twenty-four hours, and it
should not be kept in metallic dishes. The best time to serve gelatine
is for the evening meal. It may be served with sterilized cream, and
zwieback or wafers.
Prepare some gelatine according to directions on package. Add to it
juice from preserved apples, cherries, raspberries, strawberries or
currants.
GELATINE PUDDING MADE WITH SOUR MILK.
Prepare some white gelatine with two cups of water. Take twice the
amount of gelatine directed and add one-half cup of sugar. Remove from
the fire, cool slightly, then add two cups of sour milk which has been
beaten, and mix all well. Flavor and set in a cool place. Serve with
sweet cream and zwieback.
WHIPPED SOUR MILK.
Beat one quart of thick, sour milk with an egg beater for 10 minutes.
Serve with zwieback in soup plates. Three-fifths tablespoonful of
powdered sugar and a little cinnamon may be added, if it is agreeable.
Whipped sour cream may be prepared the same as sour milk.
WHIPPED SWEET CREAM.
Whip one quart of sweet, thick cream with two-fifths of a tablespoonful
of powdered sugar, add a little vanilla, if desired. Serve with fruit
gelatines or ground white figs, stewed prunes, baked apples or raw
fruits, such as peaches, strawberries, raspberries or bananas.
BANANA GELATINE.
Prepare some gelatine with orange, cranberry or lemon juice. When
nearly cold, cut up some bananas and mix with the gelatine. Flavor and
set on ice, serve with whipped or sterilized cream.
PINEAPPLE GELATINE.
Prepare some gelatine with lemon or orange juice. When nearly cold, add
some fresh or canned pineapple. Serve with whipped or sterilized cream,
and zwieback.
BEER GELATINE.
Prepare with rye beer in the same way as the fruit juice. Take one pint
of beer to one pint of water. Use the imported root beer.
BLANC MANGE
Prepare some gelatine with milk, sugar and a little salt. Remove from
the fire, set on ice, and mix with boiled custard when cool. Flavor
with vanilla or bitter almond.
CALVES’ FOOT JELLY.
Wash a calf’s foot several times in hot and cold water. Bring to a boil
and pour off the first water. Bring to a boil again, add some salt, and
cook from two to three hours. Strain through a cheese-cloth. The next
day remove the fat, bring to a boil again, add one to two cups of wine,
the juice and rind of several lemons or oranges, and sufficient sugar
to counteract the sour taste. Pour into a dish which has been oiled,
and set on ice. It may be served with whipped cream or the beaten
whites of eggs, and shredded wheat or zwieback.
SNOW PUDDING.
Soak some gelatine according to directions. Add a pint of boiling
water, some tart fruit juice and the necessary amount of sugar. Let
it come to a boil, stir and strain, and let stand in a cold place
for several hours. When it begins to set, beat up the whites of two
eggs with a little salt or lemon juice, and sugar, and mix with the
gelatine. Pour into molds and set on ice. Serve with whipped cream or
custard sauce.
RICE GELATINE.
Boil one cup of rice in about three pints of water with a little salt,
for 40 minutes. Soak gelatine, half the amount directed on the package,
and when soft, add the strained rice water to it, bring to a boil,
sweeten to taste, and put into molds or cups. Serve with whipped or
sterilized cream and zwieback. Merk’s sugar of milk should be used if
prepared for the sick.
TOMATO GELATINE.
Strain a can of tomatoes, mix with soaked gelatine and bring to the
boiling point, adding lemon or salt, if desired. Put into molds and set
in a cool place. Serve with cold meat or fish, olives and greens.
BARLEY GELATINE.
Prepare like rice gelatine. Half rice and half barley may be used.
Dried raisins or currants may be added, if desired.
WHEAT GELATINE.
Cook three tablespoonsful of Cream of Wheat with two or three pints of
water and some salt. Boil 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and prepare like
rice gelatine. Flavor according to desire. If the rind of a lemon is
used, boil with the gelatine. This gives it an excellent flavor.
BUCKWHEAT GELATINE.
Wash the buckwheat groats several times with cold water, then soak or
put into boiling water at once. Boil from 30 to 40 minutes. Flavor to
taste. Finish like the foregoing. It is very good during the winter.
OAT GELATINE.
Wash and soak one cupful of steel cut oats in two quarts of water. Add
some bran, if desired. Boil 30 to 40 minutes with a little salt, and
drain and strain. Do not press the starch through. Prepare like rice
gelatine.
BRAN GELATINE.
Soak one cupful of bran in three pints of soft water for several hours,
or over night; one-half cupful of rylax or black crusts may be added.
Bring to a boil slowly and let simmer for 15 or 20 minutes. Soak some
gelatine, a little less than the directions call for. Add the strained
bran juice and a few dried currants which have been soaked in boiling
water. If sugar is desired, add a small tablespoonful. Let it come
almost to the boiling point, add salt, and put into molds. Serve plain
or with sterilized cold cream.
RYE GELATINE.
Prepare like bran gelatine, using less bran. Toast thoroughly brown
three or four slices of stale pompernickel and soak with the bran. If
boiling water is used for soaking, less time will be required for it.
A stick of cinnamon gives the rye a good flavor. Rylax may be used in
place of pompernickel.
PEA GELATINE.
Wash and soak over night one cupful of whole dried green peas in three
pints of soft water. The next day let them slowly come to a boil and
add cut-up onions, carrots, celery or parsley, and salt if desired.
Simmer slowly in earthen ware for one hour at least. Strain and prepare
with gelatine as directed in the foregoing. Do not press the peas hard
through a strainer; allow only a little pulp in the broth. Serve with
zwieback spread with almond butter or with a little finely ground
walnut meat.
COFFEE GELATINE.
Pour two pints of boiling water on four or five tablespoonsful of
coarsely ground coffee. Steep (not boil) for five minutes, then strain.
Soak some gelatine according to directions on package. When soft,
mix with the hot coffee, add sugar to suit the taste, and let it come
almost to the boiling point. Mix well and pour into molds or cups,
which have been rinsed in cold water. Serve with whipped or sterilized
cream, and zwieback or Nabisco.
CEREAL COFFEE GELATINE.
Prepare some strong cereal coffee according to directions on package.
Prepare like the above. A small amount of coffee may be mixed with the
cereal coffee, just before removing from the fire.
CHOCOLATE GELATINE.
Grate eight tablespoonsful of chocolate, put into a pint of cold sweet
milk, bring to a boil, and add a few tablespoonsful of sugar. Soak
some gelatine, and when soft, add one pint of hot milk and heat to the
boiling point. Then mix with the hot milk containing the chocolate,
pour into molds or cups, and set in a cool place. Serve with cream,
zwieback or Nabisco.
For invalids, it is better to prepare the gelatine and chocolate in
water instead of milk, and serve with whipped or sterilized cream.
WINE GELATINE.
Use part wine, sherry or claret. Prepare like fruit gelatine. Serve
with cream or custard sauce, and wafers.
BREAD GELATINE.
Toast two slices of white and two slices of black bread. Pour three
pints of boiling water on them. Simmer for half an hour. Soak some
gelatine, and when dissolved, strain the bread-water and add to the
gelatine. Bring to a boil, add sugar, and flavor with a little wine or
lemon juice. Pour it into molds and cool.
BEAN GELATINE.
Prepare like pea gelatine with or without flavoring. Lima beans or
horse beans are best in summer; small white beans in the fall; red,
brown, or black beans are best in cold weather, as they are richer in
iron and minerals. They can all be served plain with toast or zwieback
and butter, cream or nut preparations. Black toast or crusts combine
better with lima and white beans than white toast or bread.
LENTIL GELATINE.
Prepare like the foregoing. Flavor richly with onions. Serve with white
toast.
TOASTS.
WATER TOAST.
Use zwieback, or toast some stale white bread over the open fire. Lay
on a plate and pour over it quickly boiling water, slightly salted, and
drain off at once. Serve plain, or spread with sweet butter, or the
yolk of an egg.
TOMATO TOAST.
Prepare like the foregoing, spreading with tomato puree in place of
butter. Drink with it rich fresh milk. This is excellent for people who
have difficulty in digesting milk. Strained hot tomato juice may be
used in place of water.
BARLEY TOAST.
Prepare like tomato toast. Use thick, barley jelly prepared from pearl
barley, or soften the toast with barley water.
RICE TOAST.
Use thick rice jelly prepared from Carolina rice. Flavor with cinnamon,
if desired.
RYE OR BRAN TOAST.
Make a strong tea from toasted black bread and bran, and prepare like
the foregoing.
PRUNE TOAST.
Soften some black or white toast with boiling water, and add a little
salt. Spread with thick prune juice. Sterilized cream may be added.
APRICOT TOAST.
Prepare the same as prune toast. Add cream or a piece of butter and the
yolk of an egg.
APPLE TOAST.
Use thick apple sauce. Prepare the same as apricot toast. The four last
recipes are excellent for constipation.
MILK TOAST.
Scald some fresh milk. Add a stick of cinnamon, if desired. Pour over
white or black toast.
CREAM TOAST. No. 1.
Prepare like water toast. Bring some fresh cream to a boil with a stick
of cinnamon. Add when the toast is soft. Use black or white toast.
CREAM TOAST. No. 2.
Prepare a white sauce from butter, salt, flour and hot water, as
directed in “Sauces.” Add one-fourth of a cup of hot cream and pour
over black toast, which has been softened with one-half cup of hot
water.
CREAM TOAST. No. 3.
Use sweet whey in place of hot water, and prepare as No. 2. The cream
may be omitted.
CELERY TOAST.
Cut some celery and cook until tender. Soften the toast with the celery
water. Prepare a plain butter sauce and add cream, if desired. Mix with
the celery and pour over the toast.
CLAM TOAST. No. 1.
Soften the toast with hot clam broth and strain, if desired. Mix the
remainder with hot cream and pour over the toast.
CLAM TOAST. No. 2.
Soften the toast with clam broth. Prepare a white sauce from the
remainder, add hot cream and pour over the toast.
OYSTER TOAST.
Prepare like the clam toast, with or without cream.
SPINACH TOAST.
Cut off the stems and select only fresh tender leaves. Cook and chop as
fine as possible, flavoring with butter and lemon juice. Soften some
black or white toast with broth or spinach water, and add the spinach.
Serve with hard boiled eggs for dinner. If it is desired for supper,
and if the patient’s stomach is delicate, use only the hard yolks.
Fried beachnut bacon may be added. If the flavor of onion is desired,
remove the onion before serving. This is good for constipation.
EGG TOAST. No. 1.
Beat one egg with three tablespoonsful of water or soup stock, and a
little salt. Let the toast soften in it and fry to a golden brown in
one-half butter and half vegetable fat or oil.
EGG TOAST. No. 2.
Use cream or unsweetened condensed milk. Beat up with eggs, salt and
cinnamon, and prepare like the foregoing. This is good for diabetic
patients.