The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-11-25
49, . 80
BEEF TEA.
Tnc view OF a HlsH MedicnI aumorIty ON
ITS Preparation.

As nursing and care of the sick enter,
moro or less, into the lives of most women
it may be interesting to those who read this
column to know what ono of the highest
dietetic authorities in England says ON this
subject Of beef ton. Beef ten, once SO re-
lied upon by physicians in severe illness,
has been for several years descending in the
scale of nutritive liquids, while milk hns
been gaining more and more important
position.
The celebrated DIR. Roberts, of London,
in paper recently read before the British
Medical Society at Cardiff deals stagger-
ing blow to beef tea as usually prepared.
"Next to milk, he says, sin frequency
of use in high esteem come beef tea and
other meat decoctions. Long experience
has satisfied us in this country of tho use
fulness Of these preparations in feeding the
sick. Beef tea and its cogeners, however,
take rank as restoratiyes and stimulants
rather than nutrients. They contain no al
luminous matter in solution, and the small
quantity of gelatine in them cannot be of
much account. There is widespread mis-
apprehension among the public in regard to
the nutritive value of beef tea Tho notion
prevails that the nourishing qualities Of the
meat pass into the decoction and that the
dry, hard remnant of meat fibre which re-
mains undisolved is exhausted of its nutri-
tive qualities, and this latter is often given
10 the cat or dog, or even, as have known,
thrown away as useless rubbish into the
hidden"
1t is so common with US TO SEQ this rem
nant of meat thrown aside as useless that
we consider that DIR. Roberts gives us val
liable lesson in household economy when he
tells us that this meat contains q large
amount of nutriment, and that when pound
cd in mortar or beaten to q paste with
spoon md duly favored with salt and other
condiments it constitutes not only highly
nourishing and agreeable, but also an ex-
ceedingly digestible, form Of food. A French
cook would undoubtedly prepare sayory
mince or dish Of tempting croquettes from
what we are in the habit of throwing away
as useless
Having proved to US that beef ten is not
oil that our fancy painted it, DR.. Roberts
proceeds to inform us how we may best extract
the nutritive properties of beef and other
meats. This is TO be done by using "cold
made meat infusions," cold made because
when heated above ia degrees Fahrenheit
coagulation OF the albumen occurs, which
destroys the liquid character of the infusion
and converts 1t into jelly.
DIR. Roberts recommends the use of infus-
ions made as follows Cover the minco
meat with half its weight of water, and al
low it to stand for two hours, after which
press IL through cloth. BY this means a
highly nutritiye infusion is obtained, con-
tanning an amount Of portein, or nutritious
material, equivalent to that found in cows
milk.
"The objection 10 these infusions," DR..
Roberts adds, ais their raw flavor, which
to many is highly disagreeable. The best
way of covering the raw taste is to add
some ordinary beef tea or a little Of Liebig's
extract of meat. Some prefer the favor
communicated by slice Of lemon"