The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-12-10
COOKERY.

some observations by Lover of Man-
Kind, Together with the Announce
ment Of New Feature I'm the Demo-
crat.
Among the ''six non-natural things, go much
spoken OF amongst physicians, which are the
principal causes Of this disease (of Melancholy
says Burton, "the first is diet which consists in
meat and drink, and causeth melancholy, as 1t
ofends in substance, or accidents, that il, guam
tity quality or the like" II is this that prepares
the Constitution Of the body and preparation Of
humors,' which must concur before any OF the
other causes that produce disease can operate.
There is measure of truth in this that is not
apprecatedin in this day and generation. Indeed it
| is questionable If more unwholesome food was
| ever eaten by any civilized people than by
| Americans now. Here in New Orleans there
10 some slight regard for the laws of health in
the preparation Of and manner Of consuming
our food, yet even here. in the only city in
America whore eating is regarded as anything
else than an abasement and testimony
| OF lorignal sin, to be INDUCED in solely
because it is necessary to sustain fe there s an
| indifference and ignorance upon such subjects
| that can but deserve censure while it should
arouse the utmost solicitude Of the philanthro-
| pist. AS bad diet produces dissase and melan-
choy the cure for it is in recitifying it, and the
| use only of nutritious and wholesome food.
| Crato tcld noble patient: EFF your Higbness
will keep but good diet, / will warrant you
your former health" In word, we may say to
all dyspeptics and hypochondriacs, the fox said
TO the weasel that could not get out OF the crib,
Macra caDuna repetes, q,tes naacrd subisti, eating
caused, and eating must cure it.
Even among ply sicians comparatively but lit
tie is known about this all important question,
l.~A A..
| tor OF great repute in his profession make the
| humiliating confession that 3 good nurse or
| housewife knew more OF such matters than any
doctor. And yet, by processes of analysis, it IL
the easiest matter to discover the component
parts OF any article Of food, and 1t s also known
what qualities Of food go to make blood and re-
pair the wasted tissues and what to make fat. II
would seem that knowledge of this subject
would be indispensable to q thorough medical,ed-
ucation. But this merely by parenthesis, as it is
our purpose to treat soley of that meal which is
| for strong men, and to suggest wherein we most
grievously offend against the rules of health, as
well as taste, in our eating.
The first law in this, as in all other things is
temperance. "Man aione," observed an old
philosopher, s'eats and drinks without appetite,
and useth all his pleasure without necessity, and
| thence come many inconvenience with him. For
| there is no meal whatsoever, though otherwise
| wholesome and good, but il unseasonably taken,
| or immoderately used, more than the stomach
| can well bear. it will engender crudity, aud do
| much HARM" Moreover what is eaten should
be well chewed, and not hastily gobbled, as is too
much the custom in this busy day. How we eatis
not less OF Importance than what we eat, and the
| quality OF our food, by which we mean how it is
| prepared, is OF more consequence than the guam
| tity. Some think the more they eat the more
they nourish Themselves; eat and live, as the
| proverb is. not knowing that only repairs man,
which is well concocted. not that which ia de-
voured.
| Another great fault with us is the diversity of
dishes OF which we psrtake, and which are
deemed essential to well furnished table. It is
an every day occurrence in the households of men
OF but ordinary means to find several kinds of
meats and fowl, supplemented by fsh and side
dishes, even on the breakfast table, as well as at
dinner. This is ali wrong from dietary point
| Of view, and we think not less 90 as matter of
| taste and elegance. We might take lesson In
this respect from the FfenehfaaH, wAese traai-
tional breakfast is muffin and two salt-cellars.
AS rule it is best to make meal OF one or two
dishes alone, for surely 1t can be but nurtful to
mix unfortunately in The stomach dozen diff
ferent substances, more or less, which have no
affinity for each other, and would never be min
gled together in order to be eaten. Besides, the
man who has pure and healthy palate derives
an exquisite pleasure from flavor, and he loves
to linger it. but to be enjoyed it must NOT be
destroyed by other favors, pleasant themselves,
but which rob it Of lis peculiarly by being mixed
with it.
For this reason IL is ef The utmost importance
| To preserve that order il our meals which Il
called coufses. Thus dayore th&t assimilnte are