Los Angeles daily herald., 1884-11-07
Cookery and Health.

London Spectator.l
And, finally, cooking does not advance.
A new article Of diet Is occasionally added,
like the potato, or new condlmeul Ike
! pepper; but II may be doubted II a Euro
/ pean laborer's dinner Is made bit more
\ palataLle than the dinner Of an Israelite
was when the law-Riyers promulgated the
| curious notion that the r,ast meat was more
acceptable to the superior powers than meat
boiled or stewed The way to make kibab.
which Is known to the humblest In Asia,
has been lost here, and only the gypsies are
aware that meat covered with damp clay
and placed among the hot ashes, T. not only
| delicious, but much more nonrishing than
meat either baked or boiled.
| The natural way with civilized peOple,t
| they cared for nice food, would be 10 intrusi
| the preparation Of II 70 professionals, who
would learn their trade by apprenticeship,
| and necessarily improyei but, except In
| Tuscany and south France, this Is hardly
| done anywhere though It ought to be the
easiest Of arrangements. II Is only In the
making of bread that men combine, and
| they have only just begun 10 do that In
| Europe, and do not do II In Asia, nor, we be
| lfeye in most parts Of North America the
western woman making bread for her house
hold as the Mexican woman makes her thin
| cakes. Yet the world combines everywhere
| in order to get Its drinks, and the things II
| drinks gradually but quite steadily improve.
| Household brewing Is, by the mercy of
Providence, dying out, and nobody II Ger
| low the horrible stuff which our ancestors
called beer
The truth Is, man, though he cares to get
| food and has almost an insane fear Of hun
| ger, which sometimes peryerts his whole
moral nature-as In the Instance OF the hOr-
rtble liberation Of shipwrecked sailors for
cannibalism-is comparatively very indinfer-
| ent to the preparation Of his diet. He does
not, as a rule, know even what is good for
| his health, and shortens his life with half
| cooked ilour which Is deadly to the old OF
| kills OFF his children in heaps with half
llaA A.. -
case that they are distended to a degree
| which In his animals would seem to him
| dangerous or distressing. Every fifth child
| In India and Africa has a disease due ex-
| clusiyely to its diet, Man takes no trouble
| whatever to circulate knowledge on the sub
| ject; and unless he Is disgusted with an ami.
| nal, rs Western Asntlcs are with the pig or
| contracts horror such as IIindoos feel for
| eggs, seldom lays down inhexible laws in
| eating, and when he does. they are sanitary
| laws.
There are nifty lecturers in Europe and
America ON the abuse Of alcohol for one on
the abuse of food and careful instruction
on the comparative nutriment in different
| edibles, the value to health Of thorough
| cooking, the immense utility of sugar 20
| children, and the aid which certain diet
| would give to the formation OF bone, would
| be probably thrown away. We wait to be
| corrected by experts, but we do not think
| that the rather feeble efforts made by the
| education department in this direction have
,
are SO strongly approved by educated
women. Even In London II we understand
Mrs. Davenport Hills paper In Macmillan,
the majority Of those who profit by the cook
cry schools do II because they hope to be
servants and know that cooking may pay.
Here and there an exception occurs-as N
the case of the little girl whose father APP
proved her cookery-butthat seems to be the
| rule.
The multitude everywhere care little what
| they eat so that they be but filled; but they
| do care to be healthy, and above all that
their children should grow up strong" II
| they only knew, as doctors, and missonR-
ries, and experienced barrack sergeants
could tell them. what food could be made to
do for them, they. would very soon alter
| their tone, and be clamerous for knowledge.
| Suppose, as u wild suppostion, TINT they
only knew what oatmeal and milk, or even
oatmeal and gravy, would do for their future
| They know all about it In animnls,
but will not apply 1t to themselycs-
do not believe, in fact that diet can
make any difference TO hu nan beings,
| except, OF course, by uvlng plentiful
| or inadequate. Yet when we tell them that
| weedy boys grow in barracks into powerful
| men because of their food that in India
one fourth more than their kinsfolk because
they eat a little meat; or that tribe Of Hin
docs un1ble to finish a profitable job OF
earthwOrk resolved to suspend its C Astc laws
and eat meat, and in one month found its
members strong enough fer the lab0r-they
will believe, Tor they have heard these
| things before. II Is the gain to be obtained
| from good food, not the enjoyment to be
expected from II, which will ultimately
attract the millions, and we wish the work
| of persnading them that good cooking can
be made gainful could be begun.