Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-30
ABOUT COOKING.
The Purpose Served by the Chemical Ele.
ments of Food.

The Purpose Served by the Chemical Ele.
ments of Food.
No one has mastered the art of cooking
who does not know something of the chem
ical elements of food and the purposes they
serve when taken into the system, says
Good Housekeeping. It is particularly i'm
portant that those who are compelled to
practice rigid economy should know just
what foods will best supply the real needs
of the family, and how the most nourish-
ment may be had for the money. They
should also know how to supplement one
kind of food by another which contains the
essential elements the first lacks to make it
a perfect iood. For instance, venison con-
tains 15 per cent of nitrogen to
81 of carbon, whereas its ratio
should be one to four or five. To make it a
perfect and satisfying food we must supple
ment it with something rich in carbon, as
wheat bread, oatmeal, potatoes or rice. The
hu mon body is being constantly consumed,
as surely as the wood or coal in the stove.
Not muscle is moved, not breath drawn,
not thought given birth, that does not in
volve the destruction of multitude of cells.
Not only must this loss be made good, but
animal heat must be maintained at an even
temperature. For this purpose an adult
needs eight pounds daily of dry food, water
and air-the same amount being given off as
waste by the lungs, kidneys, pores and in
testines. These processes are simply those
of chemical, physiological and vital origin,
the blood pressure insuring certain exertions
by the most perfectly adjusted system of
hydrostatics known.
It has been ascertained that carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and small
quantities OF iron, sulphur, lime and few
other elements must be contained in the
diet if all parts of the body are to be nour-
ished. Oxygen and hydrogen are contained
in nearly all substances in the form of
water, hence nature has made the obtaining
OF these elements comparatively easy mat
ter.
Foods may be divided into three classes:
The nltrogenous, which feeds muscle only;
the carbonaceous, chiefly heat producing,
and those which administer to both needs
1t has been proven the body needs four or
five ounces of heat to every one of muscle.
Herein lies the great secret of chosing and
properly preparing food that shall prolong
life, maintain health, and be suited to age.
occupation, climate and season.
Substances richest in nitrogen, the muscle
making elements are albumens, found in the
most perfect form in the white of an egg.
The lean or red parts of beef, mutton,
venison, and chicken contain large per-
centage (nearly Is per cent?, as do also
grain, peas and beans, and milk.
Carbon is found the most abundantly in
starchy foods and oils. Sage, tapioca and
arrowroot. 80 much used in puddings, are
almost pure starch. These dessert dishes
are easily digested and contribute carbon,
but feed muscle only as they are combined
with milk, eggs, etc., in the cooking
Hence they are suitable only as desserts for
working people or children who need to
have their muscles fed. They are, how
ever, excellent for aged people whose
sedentary life and enfeebled respiration re-
quire large percentage of heatproducing
food,