Newspapers / The Carolina Union Farmer … / Sept. 14, 1911, edition 1 / Page 2
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TH3 CAROLINA UNION FARMER Thursday, September 14th, 1911. The Country Mome Department Conducted by Mrs. J. H. Henley, Route 1, Sanford, N. C., to whom all Matter for this Department'Should be Sent Best Methods in Cooking. By Miss Minnie W^Hopper, Waynesboro, Miss. The watchword of those who have the physical interest of the race at heart is not to cure disease but to prevent it. Should all tne theories of the health culture sect ripen into reality the next generation would see the un doing of every doctor in the land, and medical schools turned into health resorts, or else their doors forever closed. A large part of the re sponsibility of bringing about these happy re sults rests with the housewife whose duty it is to select food and see to its proper prepara tion. For a highly nutritious article of food may be rendered altogether useless and some times positively harmful to the consumer by the method of cooking it. Our text books tell us food is cooked, first, to render it more di gestible, second, to make it more palatable, and improve its appearance, third, to season and combine different foods, fourth, destroy parasites and bacteria. Alas! how few wom en in planning meals ever stop to consider these ends. Ordinarily she follows customary menus, the appetite of those for whom she is preparing the meal, or what is worse, just anything she may find convenient to lay hands upon, and cooks it by the easiest and quickest method, without considering the effect upon the food, or upon the consumer. Certainly these things should, and must be considered, but the most important thing to keep in mind is the giving of a well balanced ration so cook ed as to provide the best nourishment to the body. In other words to see that those who sit at her table are so well nourished that they are physically able to meet all Requirements of them and be able to give forth their best efforts in every attempt undertaken. To do this requires some knowledge of food and food values on the part of the housewife, and a conscientiousness in using this knowledge. Of the foods that are usually cooked the three classes are proteids, carbohydrates and fats. No matter how elaborate a menu you may sit down to, or how numberless the kind of food you eat, every one of them, with the excep tion of the water and mineral water they con tain belong to some one or perhaps all of these three classes. Most all articles of diet contain always two and usually all of these classes, but in varying proportion, and with different degrees of digestibility. Development, growt|i and vital activity all depend upon the avail ability of food in proper amounts and in pro per quality- And to properly nourish the body food must supply (i) material for build ing up and repairing the tissues (2) to pro duce heat for carrying on the mechanical work of the system (3) to give energy to enable us to do our work. Food given in the right pro portions to meet these three ends is called a balanced ration. A balanced ration for adults is usually 20 oz. per day, four oz. of which must be proteid, the remaining sixteen oz. car bohydrates and fats. The proportion of these last two classes making not so much difference except where cost, digestibility, or conven ience in getting certain things are to be con sidered. The 20 oz. of food to make one day’s ration is reckoned upon water—free ^or dry foods. When we take into consideration the amount of water in all foods and the refuse matter taken into the body we see that we con sume in bulk much more than 20 oz per day It is impossible to regulate diet according to the direct scientific calculations of their com position, and if possible, would entail an im mense amount of labor and care. Appetite for a person leading an active life and eating simple food is a good guide. Highly seasonea food and complex mixtures deprave the ap petite and make it the worst possible guide. However no matter how well trained the ap petite it cannot guide one to eat the right kind of food or the right quantity at a table where the food lacks any of the necessary food classes, or where innutritions food 'or indi gestible food is provided. One extreme is where the ignorant housekeeper does not know the difference between a proteid and a fuel food- The other is where the diet is regulated without reference to the taste of the consumer. The most sensible way is for every intelligent person, and especially every house keeper to study the proper proportion of foods and calculate with the aid of ,tables which may be found in any reliable book on dietetics, or best from the government the proper combinations of all foods commonly used, thus acquiring a general idea of food values, then to be guided in the selection of the bill of fare both by the appetite and these general ideas. Intelligence in regard to diet enables a housekeeper to provide nourishing food for less money than an ignorant house wife pays for food deficient in nourishment. We will discuss each class separately as to its function in the body, and the best method of cooking so as to enable the body to get the greatest amount of nourishment from the food taken. Proteid food is found in largest quantities in the lean of meat, white of egg, casein of milk, gluten of wheat, and in the legume of peas, beans and lentils. Its function in the body is to repair and build tissue. It also pro duces some energy because of its combustion in the body, and which could not take'place without producing heat and energy, but its de sign is to furnish building material, and it is an extravagance and waste of digestive forces to use it to furnish heat and energy. The next class carbohydrates which includes all foods containing starch and sugar, and which is found in large quantities in potatoes, all vegetables except the legumes, fruits and most cereals,'in sugar cane and beets, has for its function the supplying of -lieat and energy. It cannot build tissues. Fats are found in most nuts, cream, butter, olive oil and fat meat. Its function is to produce heat and energy just as the carbohydrates do, with this difference. Fat produces about twice as much heat as carbohydrates, requires more oxygen for its combustion and often is harder to digest. Many people especially those of sedentary habits had best get their heat and energy large ly from the carbohydrates.' Some systems di gest fat more readily than they do carbohy drates. Fats do not build tissue. If we are to cook the foods so as to get the greatest amount of good from them we must study the effect of heat upon each kind of food the result of the addition of water, and the method of applying heat. Proteid is coagulated by intense heat, becomes hard and is rendered indigestible. So it is at this point where we need to be careful in cooking the proteids. £,ean meat and eggs are both more digestible if eaten before they are cooked too thoroughl3^ There is no reason for ever cooking eggs until they are done, but many people are afraid of 'rare lean meat because of trychina or other parasites. The methods of cooking meats are roasting, boiling, baking, stewing, braising and frying. The best method is probably stewing, while frying is the worst possible method. We often hear of the “deadly frjdng pan,” and no wonder. It is responsible for more dyspeptics than any other method of cooking. As bad as frying is it is a much worse method in the hands oi some cooks than others. If^ye must fry let the grease be very hot, so that a crust is form- .ed on the outside of the meat, -and thus it re tains all juices and meat flavors. If the grease is not hot enough, it soaks in and makes soggy food. On the other hand grease heat- ed too much becomes decomposed into acids and other indigestible products. Stewing is probably the most nutritious economical and healthful way. The object of ste\ving is to cook the meat so that it will vbe juicy and tender, and to serve with it the broth in which it has been cooked, which shall also be rich in flavor and appetizing. Ob viously to put the meat in boiling water pre vents the broth from receiving its full quota of flavor and food, and at the sarrfe time to put it in cold water enriches the broth at too i great an expense of the meat. The usual method is to cut the meat in small pieces, thus exposing a greater amount of the sur face to the water. Put the pieces in milk warm water, bring the water to the simmer ing point, and allow to simmer for several hours. To allow the water to boil is to de”feal the purpose of stewing. Another argument in favor of stewing is that the cheaper cuts' of meat, that cannot be cooked any other way, make delicious stews, and are just as nutri tious and readily digested as the more expen sive cuts. Much waste and extravagance is brought about in buying the more expensive things when t^ie cheaper ones are of equal nu tritious value. In most cases we are paying for general appearance of an article or tor some extra trouble of putting it on the market rather than for an}'' real food value, or more nutrition. Vegetable protein, especially that found i^^ , peas, beans and lentils are not affected by leat as are the animal protein. They may be cooked at a much higher temperature, and re quire more water to soften the cellulose- . ^ They should always be put to cooking in boil ing water, but salt, fat and other seasonings should not be added until they are beginning to get tender. An article of diet containing 3oth proteid and starch' requires longer cook ing than do those containing a more concen- tiated form of proteid. The fireless cooket is invaluable for this class of foods. Carbor lydrates can scarcely be cooked too long or 00 much, though there is little, perhaps noth' ing, to be claimed by cooking them at a high temperature. The necessity for cooking carbohydrates for a long time and at a low temperature hes in the fact that the cell walls of the starch granules are formed of cellulose. Cellulose ic insoluble in water but is softened by application of boiling water for a long tim^* The digestive juices of man have little or no
The Carolina Union Farmer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 14, 1911, edition 1
2
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