Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-03
HOT BREAD.
.-,,, IT. Use Is Undesirable and On.
W." healthy.

.-,,, It's Use Is Undesirable ana On.
W." healthy.
Physicians often recommend for sick
%ncople oatmeal or graham pudding,
made by stirring the meal into water
and boiling a few minutes, as one of
the first things to be eaten when the
stomach will not bear hearty food.
Why is the meal thus prepared any
more easily digested than new bread or
hot mullins, which are considered I'M
healthy? Is not the same chemical
change necessary in the one as the
other, which a only take place by
standing several hours after cooking?
The two cases are by no means SINH
lar. The oatmeal or graham flour is
made digestsble by boiling, the starch
eranules being ruptured so that their
contents are more easily acted upon by
the digestive fluids. nthe making and
baking of bread the same change is ac-
complished. The difference between
hot new bread and that which is older
is essentially the same as between
"hcavy'' and eight" bread. 1t is its
"lightness'' or porosity which gives the
bread Its ready d~igestability. When
new, it is softer. for the steamo Of the wa
ter itcontains; and thismakesit difficult
of m%astication and liable to form a
close and cloggy mass, which. on pass
ing into the stomach, is less easily pen
ctrated and acted upon by the gastric
Juice. By cooling and drying it be-
comes frmer and more friable. SO that
it is more thoroughly mixed with the
saliva in the mouth, and goes into tho
stomach in better condition for the
process to which it is to be subjected
there.
If the bread is hot enough to melt
the butter eaten with it, this makes the
matter worse. The melted grease fills
up the pores of the bread, and inter-
feres with the action of the saliva and
gastric juice. The fatty matters in
pastry are Objectionable for the same
feason, and also on account of the
chemical changes they undergo IN the
oven.
Bread becomes % digestible by
,toasting, chiefly because it. is made
drier and firmer-that is, if toasting
is properly done. The slice should be
rendered crisp throughout its entire
thickness. If it be merely scorched on
the surface, rs often happens, the in
terror is merely softened and made like
new Tread, and consequently less
digestible.
What English people call ''bread
jelly'' is a light and nourishing article
for weak stomachs, in some cases
preferable to the oatmeal orwheat por-
ridge. 1t is made by STEPPING stale
bread in boiling water, and passing it
through a fine sieve while still hot. 1t
NAV be eaten alone orafter beingmixed
and boiled with milk.
While on this subject, we may re.
mark that oatmeal, cracked wheat and
similar boiled breakfast dishes often
become more or less indigestible from
being ''bolted'' IN the usual Yankee
style. They are soft and go dowr
easily, and are shoveled or spooned in.
to the stomach, with no delay in tho
mouth ell route. They need mastica
ton as really as beefsteak does, not K
save n from choking (Which many
people seem to suppose is the sole rea
son for chewing), but to mix then
thoroughly with saliva, which is a di
gestive agent and not a mere lubrican
to expedite the passage of dry foo(
down the r~sophagus. A friend of our
was lately complaining that oatmea
did not agree with him, and we fount
on inquiry that he was in the habit o
eating it in this hurried way, withou
in~sallvation. He was much surprised
when told that he ought to chew 1t, o
at least to detain it for a moment il
the mouth, before swallowing it; bu
after a brief trial he admitted he hat
10 more trouble in digestingi it. If tn
oatmeal or wheat is not thorough
cooked, it is all the more importan
that it should be masticated, as tn
half-softened grains offer considerabl
resistance to the digestive fluids
Journal Of Chemistry.