brush downward in a wire sponge basket, or hung up on hooks. If left
around carelessly, they soon acquire the musty smell of a neglected
dishcloth.
TABLE TOPICS.
The kitchen is a chemical laboratory, in which are conducted a
number of chemical processes by which our food is converted from its
crudest state to condition more suitable for digestion and
nutrition, and made more agreeable to the palate.--_Prof. Matthew
Williams._
Half the trouble between mistresses and maids arises from the
disagreeable surroundings to which servants are confined. There is
no place more dismal than the ordinary kitchen in city dwellings. It
is half underground, ill-lighted, and unwholesome. What wonder,
then, in the absence of sunlight, there is a lack of sunny temper
and cheerful service? An ill-lighted kitchen is almost sure to be a
dirty one, where germs will thrive and multiply. Let sanitary
kitchens be provided, and we shall have more patient mistresses and
more willing servants.--_Sel._
A sluggish housemaid exclaimed, when scolded for the uncleanliness
of her kitchen, "I'm sure the room would be clean enough if it were
not for the nasty sun, which is always showing the dirty
corners."--_Sel._
If we would look for ready hands and willing hearts in our kitchens,
we should make them pleasant and inviting for those who literally
bear the "burden and heat of the day" in this department of our
homes, where, emphatically, "woman's work is never done." We should
no longer be satisfied to locate our kitchens in the most
undesirable corner of the house. We should demand ample
light,--sunshine if possible,--and justly too; for the very light
itself is inspiring to the worker. It will stir up cheer and breed
content in the minds of those whose lot is cast in this work-a-day
room.--_Sel._
Any invention on the part of the housekeeper intended to be a
substitute for watchfulness, will prove a delusion and a
snare.--_Sel._
"The first wealth is health," says Emerson.
A knowledge of sanitary principles should be regarded as an
essential part of every woman's education, and obedience to sanitary
laws should be ranked, as it was in the Mosaic code, as a religious
duty.--_Sel._
Much of the air of the house comes from the cellar. A heated house
acts like a chimney. A German experimenter states that one half of
the cellar air makes its way into the first story, one third into
the second, and one fifth into the third.
CEREALS AND THEIR PREPARATION FOR THE TABLE
Cereal is the name given to those seeds used as food (wheat, rye, oats,
barley, corn, rice, etc.), which are produced by plants belonging to the
vast order known as the grass family. They are used for food both in the
unground state and in various forms of mill products.
The grains are pre-eminently nutritious, and when well prepared, easily
digested foods. In composition they are all similar, but variations in
their constituent elements and the relative amounts of these various
elements, give them different degrees of alimentary value. They each
contain one or more of the nitrogenous elements,--gluten, albumen,
caseine, and fibrin,--together with starch, dextrine, sugar, and fatty
matter, and also mineral elements and woody matter, or cellulose. The
combined nutritive value of the grain foods is nearly three times that
of beef, mutton, or poultry. As regards the proportion of the food
elements necessary to meet the various requirements of the system,
grains approach more nearly the proper standard than most other foods;
indeed, wheat contains exactly the correct proportion of the food
elements.
Being thus in themselves so nearly perfect foods, and when properly
prepared, exceedingly palatable and easy of digestion, it is a matter of
surprise that they are not more generally used; yet scarcely one family
in fifty makes any use of the grains, save in the form of flour, or an
occasional dish of rice or oatmeal. This use of grains is far too meager
to adequately represent their value as an article of diet. Variety in
the use of grains is as necessary as in the use of other food material,
and the numerous grain preparations now to be found in market render it
quite possible to make this class of foods a staple article of diet, if
so desired, without their becoming at all monotonous.
In olden times the grains were largely depended upon as a staple food,
and it is a fact well authenticated by history that the highest
condition of man has always been associated with wheat-consuming
nations. The ancient Spartans, whose powers of endurance are proverbial,
were fed on a grain diet, and the Roman soldiers who under Caesar
conquered the world, carried each a bag of parched grain in his pocket
as his daily ration.
Other nationalities at the present time make extensive use of the
various grains. Rice used in connection with some of the leguminous
seeds, forms the staple article of diet for a large proportion of the
human race. Rice, unlike the other grain foods, is deficient in the
nitrogenous elements, and for this reason its use needs to be
supplemented by other articles containing an excess of the nitrogenous
material. It is for this reason, doubtless, that the Hindoos use
lentils, and the Chinese eat peas and beans in connection with rice.
We frequently meet people who say they cannot use the grains,--that they
do not agree with them. With all deference to the opinion of such
people, it may be stated that the difficulty often lies in the fact that
the grain was either not properly cooked, not properly eaten, or not
properly accompanied. A grain, simply because it is a grain, is by no
means warranted to faithfully fulfil its mission unless properly
treated. Like many another good thing excellent in itself, if found in
bad company, it is prone to create mischief, and in many cases the root
of the whole difficulty may be found in the excessive amount of sugar
used with the grain.
Sugar is not needed with grains to increase their alimentary value. The
starch which constitutes a large proportion of their food elements must
itself be converted into sugar by the digestive processes before
assimilation, hence the addition of cane sugar only increases the burden
of the digestive organs, for the pleasure of the palate. The Asiatics,
who subsist largely upon rice, use no sugar upon it, and why should it
be considered requisite for the enjoyment of wheat, rye, oatmeal,
barley, and other grains, any more than it is for our enjoyment of bread
or other articles made from these same grains? Undoubtedly the use of
grains would become more universal if they were served with less or no
sugar. The continued use of sugar upon grains has a tendency to cloy the
appetite, just as the constant use of cake or sweetened bread in the
place of ordinary bread would do. Plenty of nice, sweet cream or fruit
juice, is a sufficient dressing, and there are few persons who after a
short trial would not come to enjoy the grains without sugar, and would
then as soon think of dispensing with a meal altogether as to dispense
with the grains.
Even when served without sugar, the grains may not prove altogether
healthful unless they are properly eaten. Because they are made soft by
the process of cooking and on this account do not require masticating to
break them up, the first process of digestion or insalivation is usually
overlooked. But it must be remembered that grains are largely composed
of starch, and that starch must be mixed with the saliva, or it will
remain undigested in the stomach, since the gastric juice only digests
the nitrogenous elements. For this reason it is desirable to eat the
grains in connection with some hard food. Whole-wheat wafers, nicely
toasted to make them crisp and tender, toasted rolls, and unfermented
zwieback, are excellent for this purpose. Break two or three wafers into
rather small pieces over each individual dish before pouring on the
cream. In this way, a morsel of the hard food may be taken with each
spoonful of the grains. The combination of foods thus secured, is most
pleasing. This is a specially advantageous method of serving grains for
children, who are so liable to swallow their food without proper
mastication.
COOKING OF GRAINS.--All grains, with the exception of rice, and the
various grain meals, require prolonged cooking with gentle and
continuous heat, in order to so disintegrate their tissues and change
their starch into dextrine as to render them easy of digestion. Even the
so-called "steam-cooked" grains, advertised to be ready for use in five
or ten minutes, require a much longer cooking to properly fit them for
digestion. These so-called quickly prepared grains are simply steamed
before grinding, which has the effect to destroy any low organisms
contained in the grain. They are then crushed and shredded. Bicarbonate
of soda and lime is added to help dissolve the albuminoids, and
sometimes diastase to aid the conversion of the starch into sugar; but
there is nothing in this preparatory process that so alters the chemical
nature of the grain as to make it possible to cook it ready for easy
digestion in five or ten minutes. An insufficiently cooked grain,
although it may be palatable, is not in a condition to be readily acted
upon by the digestive fluids, and is in consequence left undigested to
act as a mechanical irritant.
[Illustration: A Double Boiler.]
For the proper cooking of grains the double boiler is the best and most
convenient utensil for ordinary purposes. If one does not possess a
double boiler, a very fair substitute may be improvised by using a
covered earthen crock placed within a kettle of boiling water, or by
using two pails, a smaller within a larger one containing boiling water.
A closed steamer or steam-cooker is also valuable for the cooking of
grains. Grains may be cooked in an ordinary kettle, but the difficulties
to be encountered, in order to prolong the cooking sufficiently and
prevent burning, make it the least desirable utensil for this purpose.
Water is the liquid usually employed for cooking grains, but many of
them are richer and finer flavored when milk is mixed with the
water,--one part to two of water. Especially is this true of rice,
hominy, and farina. When water is used, soft water is preferable to
hard. No salt is necessary, but if used at all, it is generally added to
the water before stirring in the grain or meal.
The quantity of liquid required varies with the different grains, the
manner in which they are milled, the method by which they are cooked,
and the consistency desired for the cooked grain, more liquid being
required for a porridge than for a mush. The following table gives the
time necessary for cooking and the quantity of liquid required for the
various grains, with the exception of rice, when cooked in a double
boiler or closed steamer, to produce a mush of ordinary consistency. If
an ordinary kettle is used for cooking the grains, a larger quantity of
water will be needed:--
TABLE SHOWING PROPORTION OF GRAIN AND LIQUID REQUIRED, WITH APPROXIMATE
TIME, WHEN A DOUBLE BOILER IS USED.
Quantity of Water Hours to
Grain. Required. Cook.
Graham Grits 1 part 4 parts 3 to 5
Rolled Wheat 1 " 3 " 3 to 4
Cracked " 1 " 4-1/2 " 3 to 4
Pearl " 1 " 4 " 4 to 5
Whole " 1 " 5 " 6 to 8
Rolled Oats 1 " 3 " 3 to 4
Coarse Oatmeal 1 " 4 " 4 to 6
Rolled Rye 1 " 3 " 3 to 4
Pearl Barley 1 " 5 " 4 to 5
Coarse Hominy 1 " 5 " 6 to 10
Fine Hominy 1 " 4 " 4 to 6
Cerealine 1 " 1 part 1/2
All grains should be carefully looked over before being put to cook.
In the cooking of grains, the following points should be observed:--
1. Measure both liquid and grain accurately with the same utensil, or
with two of equal size.
2. Have the water boiling when the grain is introduced, but do not
allow it to boil for a long time previous, until it is considerably
evaporated, as that will change the proportion of water and grain
sufficiently to alter the consistency of the mush when cooked. Introduce
the grain slowly, so as not to stop the sinking to the bottom, and the
whole becomes thickened. If the grain is cooked in a double boiler, this
first boiling should be done with the inner dish directly over the fire,
and when the grain has thickened or become "set," as it is termed, the
dish should at once be placed in the outer boiler, the water in which
should be boiling. It will then require no further care during the
entire cooking, safe to keep the outer boiler filled and the water
boiling. If the grain is to be cooked in a steam-cooker, as soon as set
it may be turned into a china or an earthen dish, suitable for use on
the table, and placed at once in the steamer to complete the cooking. If
an ordinary kettle is used, it is well to place it upon an iron ring or
brick on some part of the range were it will just simmer, for the
remainder of the cooking.
3. Stir the grain continuously until it has set, but not at all
afterward. Grains are much more appetizing if, while properly softened,
they can still be made to retain their original form. Stirring renders
the preparation pasty, and destroys its appearance. Grains cooked in a
double boiler will require no stirring, and there will be little danger
of their being lumpy, underdone on top, and scorched at the bottom, as
is so often the case when cooked in a single boiler.
4. Cook continuously. If it be necessary to replenish the water in the
outer boiler at anytime, let it be done with water of boiling
temperature. If it is desired to have the mush quite thick and dry, the
boiler should be left uncovered during the latter part of the cooking.
If preferred moist, keep the cover on.
In the preparation of all mushes with meal or flour, it is a good plan
to make the material into a batter with a portion of the liquid retained
from the quantity given, before introducing it into the boiling water.
This prevents the tendency to cook in lumps, so frequent when dry meal
is scattered into boiling liquid. Care must be taken, however, to add
the moistened portion very slowly, stirring vigorously meantime, so that
the boiling will not be checked. Use warm water for moistening. The
other directions given for the whole or broken grains are applicable to
the ground products.
GRAINS FOR BREAKFAST.--Since hasty preparation will not suffice for
the grains, they cannot be conveniently cooked in the morning in time
for breakfast. This difficulty may be obviated by cooking the day
previous, and reheating in the following way:--
Place the grain, when sufficiently cooked, in the refrigerator or in
some place where it will cool quickly (as slow cooling might cause
fermentation), to remain overnight. If cooked in a porcelain-lined or
granite-ware double boiler, it may be left undisturbed, if uncovered. If
cooked in tin or iron, turn the grain into a large earthen or china
dish. To heat in the morning, fill the outer boiler with boiling water,
place the inner dish containing the grain therein, and steam until
thoroughly heated. No stirring and no additional liquid will be
necessary, and if placed upon the stove when beginning the preparations
for breakfast, it will be ready for serving in good season. If the grain
has been kept in an earthen dish, it may best be reheated by placing
that inside the steam cooker or an ordinary steamer over a kettle of
boiling water.
Cracked wheat, pearl wheat, oatmeal, and other course grain preparations
to be reheated, require for cooking a half cup of water in addition to
the quantity given in the table. For rolled wheat, rolled oats, rolled
rye, and other crushed grains, no more is needed. Grains may be used for
breakfast without reheating, if served with hot milk or cream. If one
has an Aladdin oven, the problem of grains for breakfast may be easily
solved by cooking them all night, and if started late in the evening,
they may be thus cooked over a single burner oil stove with the flame
turned low.
GRAINS AN ECONOMICAL FOOD.--While grains are pre-eminently among
the most nutritious of foods, they are also among the most economical,
the average price being from five to seven cents a pound, and even less
when purchased in bulk. If it be objected that they require much fuel to
secure the prolonged cooking necessary, we would say that a few cents'
worth of oil a week and a small lamp stove will accomplish the cooking
in a most efficient manner. For a hot-weather food there are few
articles which give greater satisfaction and require less time and labor
on the part of the housewife than grains, cooked by the aid of a small
lamp stove.
WHEAT.
DESCRIPTION.--Wheat is the most important of the grain foods. It is
probably a native of Southwestern Asia, though like most grains
cultivated from the earliest periods, its history is extremely obscure.
Wheat is of two principal kinds, characterized as soft and hard wheat,
though there are hundreds of named varieties of the grain. The
distinction between many of these is due to variation in the relative
proportions of starch and nitrogenous matter. Some contain not more than
eight per cent of nitrogenous elements, while others contain eighteen or
twenty per cent, with a corresponding decrease in carbonaceous elements.
This difference depends upon the soil, cultivation, season, climate, and
other conditions under which the grain is produced.
The structure of the wheat grain consists of an external tegument of a
hard, woody nature, so coherent that it appears in the form of scales or
bran when the wheat is ground, and an inner portion, more soft and
friable, consisting of several cellular layers. The layer nearest the
outer husk contains vegetable fibrin and fatty matter. The second layer
is largely composed of gluten cells; while the center comprising the
bulk of the grain, is chiefly made up of starch granules with a small
proportion of gluten.
The structure of a wheat kernel is well illustrated in the
accompanying cut. As will be seen, the different food elements are
situated in different parts of the grain, and not uniformly distributed
throughout its structure. The outer husk of the berry is composed wholly
of innutritious and indigestible matter, but the thin layers which lie
next this outer covering contain the larger proportion of the
nitrogenous elements to be found in the entire kernel. The central
portion consists almost wholly of farinaceous matter.
[Illustration: Sectional View of Wheat Kernel.]
Phosphates and other mineral matter are present to some extent
throughout the entire grain, but preponderates in the external part.
Here is also found a peculiar, soluble, active principle called
diastase, which possesses the power of converting starch into sugar. The
dark color and marked flavor of Graham bread is undoubtedly due to the
influence of this element.
Until within a few years the unground grain was rarely used as an
article of food, but people are beginning to appreciate its
wholesomeness, and cracked, rolled, and pearled wheats are coming
rapidly into favor. Cracked wheat is the grain cleaned and then cut into
two or more pieces; in rolled wheat the grains are mashed between
rollers, by which process they are thoroughly softened in every part,
and are then easily cooked. Pearl wheat is the whole grain cleaned and
dressed. The whole grain is also cooked sometimes in its natural state.
PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Few articles of food show greater
difference between good and poor cooking than the various grains. Dry,
harsh, or underdone, they are as unwholesome as unpalatable. Like most
of the grains, wheat, with the exception of new wheat boiled whole,
should be put into boiling water and allowed to cook continuously but
slowly until done. Any of the unground preparations require prolonged
cooking. The average length of time and the approximate amount of water
needed in cooking _one cupful_ of the various wheat preparations in a
double boiler is stated on page 82.
_RECIPES._
PEARL WHEAT.--Heat a quart of water to boiling in the inner dish of
a double boiler, and stir into it one cup or one-half pint of pearl
wheat. Let it boil rapidly until thickened and the wheat has ceased
settling, then place in the outer boiler, in which the water should be
boiling, and cook continuously from three to four hours.
CRACKED WHEAT.--Cracked wheat may be cooked in the same manner as
pearl wheat, by using four and one-half parts of water to one of grain.
The length of time required to cook it thoroughly is about the same as
for pearl wheat.
ROLLED WHEAT.--This preparation of wheat requires only three parts
water to one of wheat. It should be cooked in the same way as pearled
wheat, but requires only three hours' cooking.
BOILED WHEAT (sometimes called frumenty).--Select newly-cut wheat,
well rubbed or threshed out. Look it over carefully, wash, and put to
cook in five times its measure of cold water. Let it come to a boil, and
cook gently until the grains burst open, and it can be readily mashed
between the thumb and finger. This will require from four to ten hours,
depending upon the age and variety of the wheat used. When done, it
should be even full of a rich, thick liquor. If necessary, add more
boiling water, but stir as little as possible. It may be served with
cream, the same as other wheat preparations. It is also excellent served
with lemon and other fruit sauces.
WHEAT WITH RAISINS.--Raisins or Zante currants may be added to any
of the foregoing recipes, if desired. The raisins or currants should be
well steamed previously, however, and stirred in lightly and evenly just
before dishing. If cooked with the grain, they become soft, broken, and
insipid. Figs, well steamed and chopped, may be added in the same way.
WHEAT WITH FRESH FRUIT.--Fresh whortleberries, blueberries, and
blackberries stirred into any of the well-cooked wheat preparations just
before serving, make a very desirable addition. A most delicious dish
may be prepared by stirring into well-cooked cracked wheat a few
spoonfuls of rather thick cream and some fresh wild blackberries. Serve
hot.
MOLDED WHEAT.--Cracked wheat, rolled wheat, or pearl wheat, cooked
according to the foregoing recipes, and turned into molds until cold,
makes a very palatable dessert, and may be served with sugar and cream
or with fruit juice. Bits of jelly placed on top of the molds in the
form of stars or crosses, add to the appearance. Molded grains are also
very nice served with fresh berries, either mashed or whole, arranged
around the mold.
FINER MILL PRODUCTS OF WHEAT.
The grain of wheat is inclosed in a woody envelope. The cellular layers
just beneath contain the largest proportion of nitrogenous matter, in
the form of gluten, and are hard of pulverization, while the starchy
heart of the grain is easily crumbled into fine dust. Thus it will be
readily understood that when the grain is subjected to an equal
pulverizing force, the several portions will be likely to be crushed
into particles of different sizes. The outer husk being toughest, will
be the least affected, the nitrogenous or glutenous portion will be much
finer, while the brittle starch will be reduced to powder. This first
simple product of grinding is termed wheat meal, unbolted, or Graham
flour, and of course contains all the elements of the grain. In ordinary
milling, however, this is subjected to various siftings, boltings, or
dressings, to separate the finer from the coarser particles, and then
subdivided into various grades of flour, which vary much in composition
and properties. The coarser product contains the largest proportion of
nutrients, while in the finer portions there is an exclusion of a large
part of the nitrogenous element of the grain. The outer portions of the
wheat kernel, which contain the greater part of the nitrogenous element,
are darker in color than the central, starchy portion. It will be
apparent, then, that the finer and whiter the flour, the less nutriment
it is likely to contain, and that in the use of superfine white flour
the eye is gratified at the expense of the body.