The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-04-24
A. Neglected Art.

The preparation OF fOOd IS In many parts OF
the world considered among the fine arts, and
much as this may at first appear misplaced,
there is nevertheless no cause for contradiction,
if the art of cooking is, as it should be, con-
sidered in its relation to human health Eve
MISUNDERSTANDING to improvements in the arts
and sciences, has kept pace with the gradual
progress Of refined civilization. Mechanics
have invented the most ingenious appliances
whereby the labor in our daily avocations have
been lessened, or the results increased without
detriment to our bodily wear. Chemists have
produced innumerable compounds which have
become, from constant use, necessities to our
comfort or pursuits in life. The liberal pro-
fessions, such as law, physics, engineering, in
structions, etc., have each and all helped to
make the journey of life more easy, agreeable
aud comfortable, by smoothing the rough parts
and bringing light out of darkness. Modern
surgery and the practice of medicine, as COM
pared with that of the past, has relieved hu-
manity of untold evils to which the flesh is
heir. Agriculture and horticulture have in
material of food to such an extent that further
additions seem almost impossible All this
should, in our opinion, lengthen human life, as
it has added so vastly to its capacities for en-
joyment and hygenic improvements. But such
is the perversity of our nature, that we undo
with one hand what the other produces. Of
what avail are the labors of the agriculturist,
chemist or physician in endeavoring to produce
elements of life if our system of preparing our
food is constantly at warfare with them. Now
a-days refined civilization, as understood by
majority of the people, consist in following
foreign fashions of dress, the requirement of
social accomplishments as drawing, music, lit
erature and the art of conversation. in fact
.1t,
son, but there it ends. The very foundation of
bodily health lays in our diet; food easily di-
gested and of such nature as will make
healthy man can alone bring with it physical
and moral perfection. 4 sound mind in a SOUND
body is an old aphorism whose truth comes
home practically to the dyspeptic and debilita-
ued man whose digestion is impaired from
llprepared food cannot work with the same
satisfactory results as one whose vital functions
are perfect; sound food fits one for easy work,
brightens our intellect, and enables us to ac-
complish our usefulness in society and journey
through life without the inevitable evils conse-
quent from detective system of diet. Our
aim, if We mean to be progressive, is not only
to keep pace with the gradual improvement in
science literature or arts, buS not to forget that
some sound doctrines were known and preached
by our ancestors, and to follow these rather
than some more modern precepts, especially in
the art of cooking. There is a class of news
papers claiming to be instructors of the masses
as we'll as atfording pleasant reading. These
publications have done vast amount of good
in diffusing knowledge upon every topic,
whether sciences, arts, literature, industrial
pursuits or morals and hygiene. Still, we find
an inconsistency when comparing the "cuina-
ry" recipes with the hygienic advice given by
these leading periodicals; and in this case, 80
long as more discrimination is not given in ad
vocating rational methods Of preparing food,
so long will the usefulness of these publica-
tions be incomplete. Foreign travel has in
creased wonderfully of late years our perod-
Gals are full of trauelers experiences and notes,
contrasting the ruddy and healthy looks of the
English people with our OWL, and limiting that
the defective cooking of our American house
holds in entrusting the kitchen to Bridget or
Diana has much to account for in the matter.
But more anon.-Farmcr and Gardener.