IMPORTANCE OF GOOD COOKING
Reference has already been made to certain misconceptions concerning
cooking diligently circulated in recent years by various quacks. The
victim is advised that he must take large quantities of raw eggs and
milk, and at the same time is instructed to eat a number of other
specially prepared articles furnished at a stiff price and certified as
being raw by the "medical company" furnishing the "treatment." Since it
is quickly discovered by those who are entrapped by charlatans of this
kind that the only raw foods that they can take with comfort and without
disgust are milk and eggs, they naturally practically live on these
alone, and as these foods are extremely digestible and nutritious,
improvement in the patient's condition not uncommonly results.
Nevertheless, it is unquestionably true that the vast majority of foods
are greatly improved in digestibility, and are rendered much more
palatable by thorough cooking. After being properly cooked there develop
in foods certain flavors and odors that are highly appetizing, and
unquestionably aid in the subsequent digestion of the same. With but few
exceptions, foods are so altered by heat that their proper mastication
becomes much easier, and cooking, therefore, materially aids in reducing
them to a state in which they are much more readily acted upon by the
digestive juices. It should never be forgotten, also, that cooking is of
the utmost importance from the standpoint of killing bacteria and animal
parasites that may be present in food. If we were to adopt universally
the habit of eating everything raw, the general mortality would certainly
be considerably increased.
_Cooking of Starchy Foods._--Nothing in the whole art and science of
preparing food for the human being is of so much importance as the proper
cooking of starches. As a result of the heat employed, certain chemical
changes are induced in the starch-granules, as a consequence of which
they are rendered digestible. It is of fundamental importance that at
all times and under all circumstances the cooking of this class of foods
should be as thorough as is possible, for when this is not done digestive
disturbances are sure to follow, and much of the food is actually wasted.
There are but few cardinal principles in the ordinary hygiene of life
that are so commonly neglected as this, since it is the habit of a large
proportion of the American people to consume three times a day masses of
tenacious starch which has not been acted upon by heat sufficiently to
render it digestible.
Of all the different methods of cooking starches, by far the most common,
and, therefore, the most important, is the process called baking. While
it is not possible in this volume to go into the subject with the
thoroughness that it deserves, the principal points deserve some mention.
They may be briefly stated as follows:
(1) The flour must be made into a dough in which are incorporated
substances that produce a gas called carbon dioxide, which, forming
in innumerable small bubbles throughout the mass, cause the whole
to swell; when this is completed the bread is said to have
"risen." Of course the object of this is to produce a thorough
breaking up of the sticky dough--with the result that when the
bread is finally cooked it is light and fluffy, and can be readily
masticated.
(2) After the process just described has been completed the bread
should be thoroughly cooked, for reasons which have already been
explained.
(3) After cooking has been accomplished the bread should be
thoroughly dried, either by keeping it hot until this occurs, or,
what is better, permitting it to remain warm for a time and then
allowing the process to be completed in a natural way by putting
the bread aside for several days. It is necessary for bread to be
dried in order that it may be thoroughly soaked in saliva during
the process of chewing.
If the principles above enunciated be properly followed out, good
wholesome bread will result. There are, of course, many details connected
with the preparation of food known to expert cooks into which it will not
be possible for us to go here, and for which the reader is referred to
any good cook-book.
Some starchy foods such as rice and potatoes, do not lend themselves
readily to the production of breads, and are consequently usually cooked
in some other manner. It cannot be too strongly insisted upon that they
should be rather _steamed_ than boiled,--the process being usually
carried out by placing a small amount of water with them and allowing it
to boil away; we should remember also that the principles just insisted
upon in connection with making bread apply here with equal force--we
should cook thoroughly and serve both as dry as is possible.
_Cooking of Meats._--Here again it is necessary to insist upon the
necessity of thorough cooking. The error has long prevailed that raw
meats are wholesome, but within recent years it has been clearly
demonstrated that this old view is erroneous. The muscle-fibers that
constitute the bulk of the nourishment of meats are separated from each
other by a substance which cannot be acted upon by the juices of the
stomach until it has been heated to a temperature which results in the
cooking of the entire mass. It is true that the muscular substance proper
may be digested without heat--resembling in this way the white of the
egg, to which it is chemically closely related; by scraping meat with
some dull instrument the muscle fibers may be separated in a more or
less pure state--leaving the substance that requires heat in order to
become digestible behind--and after having been removed in this way, of
course, may be eaten in a raw or semi-cooked condition without ill
effects. In preparing meat it is not absolutely essential that it be
cooked until thoroughly "done"--a slight tinge of red being allowable.
_Healthful Recipes._--In an Appendix to this volume will be found a
series of recipes for the preparation of common foods, for which the
author is indebted to Dr. Mary E. Lapham, of Highlands, N. C. They will
be found extremely practicable for making not only very palatable but
thoroughly wholesome dishes; and are earnestly recommended to young
housewives, who err through ignorance, as a rule, rather than because of
carelessness or of lack of good materials. It has often been said that
the road to a man's heart lies through his stomach. It would not be
surprising to learn that this aphorism fell first from the lips of some
wise woman who had observed that in a great number of cases unhappiness
in home-life had resulted primarily from lack of home-comfort, and
chiefly from unvaried, unappetizing meals and table-service. Another
point is well worth remembering, especially by young married women: a man
whose home is pleasant and comfortable is likely to spend as much of his
time there as he can--if it is otherwise, he will seek some place that
has these desirable qualities, such as his club, or an arm-chair in some
corner saloon. Furthermore, a man who is not only abundantly, but
_nicely_ fed, has far less desire for the stimulants which lead to
drunkenness, than the man who is denied at home the properly cooked and
seasonably varied food which his system craves. No better work in the
"Temperance cause" can be done than to make an attractive home.
These are facts which many a young housewife needs to learn and keep in
mind; and it is for her benefit that Dr. Lapham has prepared her simple
but excellent cooking directions presented in the Appendix.