The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1888-01-18
Important Truths About Beef Tea.

To give beef tea alone to n sick per-
son is to give him q stone whom he asks
for bread. 1t is not n food, it is a stimu-
liant! This is the startling information
that we read i'm DR.. FothcrgilPs Manual
OF Dietetics, published by William Wood
81 20. When flesh is boiled its albumen
is coagulatcd, and beef tea as ordinarily
prepared contains no albumon. II is
practically destitute of matter that can
over form tissue, and is equally without
value as fuel food.
Says Sir William Roberts: "Thoro is
widespread public misapprchension in
regard to tho nutritivo value of beef tea.
The notion prevails that tho nourishing
qualities of the meat pass into the de-
coction and that the dry, hard remnant
of the meat fiber which remains undis-
solved is exhausted of its nutriment
properties. In making common beef
tea the ingredients which pass into So
luton arc the rapid eXtractivcs and as
lines of the meat, and nothing more,
except some trifing amount Of golatinc.
Tho meat remnants, on the other hand,
contain tho actual nutriment of the
meat; and if this 10 beaten to n paste
with n spoon, or pounded in n mortar,
and duly favored with salt and other
condiments, it constitutes not only q
highly nourishing and agreeable, but
also an exceedingly digcstiblc, form of
food"
DIR. King Chambers gives directions
for preparing nutritious beef tea: Make
the cook understand tina, the virtuc Of
beef tea is to contain all the contents
and navors of lean beef in a liquid
form; and that its vices arc to be sticky
and afrp,n and fn cat lEn n hard 1plIy
when cold. Lot her take half n pound
| of freshly killed beef for every pint of
beef tea required, and remove all fat,
sinow. veins and bone. Let it be cut
into pieces under half an inch square,
and soak for twelve hours in one-third
OF tho water. Let it then be taken out
and simmcred for two hours in tho re-
naming two thirds Of the water, the
quantity lost by evaporation being re-
placed from time to time. The boiling
liquor is then to be poured on h cold
liquor in which tho meat was soaked.
The solid meat is to be dried, pounded
in n mortar, freed from all stringy
| parts and mixed with the rest. This
! has been termed whole" beef tea.
can sec sundry readers, says DR..
Fothcrgill, having been driven past tho
stage Of incredibly by the hard logic of
facts, ~wringing their hands in anguish
over the thought Of departed relatives
who have been practically starved to
death on beef tea. The mistaken views
about tho nutritive value of beef tea
have been murdcrous. AS n food, it is
but the mirage of water seen by the
| thirsty traveller in tho desert; there is no
real water. So with beef tea. as COM
monty prepared, it is not n food, but u
stimulant.
"Wholc" beef tea is no doubt q good
food; very good in convalcsccnce from
acute diseases, when wasted muscular
tissue has TO be repaired. But in many
cases it is open 10 question whether so
much albuminous matter is either good
or desirable. When this is not used,
there should be added q teaspoonful of
any baked flour 10 n t%caspoonful of or-
dindry beef tea, and some salt. Well
baked flour is largely changed into
soluble dcxtrine; and beef Tea, contain
ing some such addition, is n capital
food. If the baked flour be made from
unbolted flour, then some albumiuoid
matter is present rs well as the salts of
the grain. Such will make IN ideal
Guild food.-G0Od Housekeeping.