Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1893-08-24


ing in the body of human being, pro-
vided always You give them the proper
conditions These conditions are to be
found in dough which is being raised
with yeast. They are warmth, moisture
and the organic matter Of the flour on
which the germs, after certain changes,
feed.
1t is necessary to remember at this
point that yeast is germ growth, and
when introduced into mixture OF glu-
cOse or starch, in the presence Of warmth
and moisture sets up fermentation. II
the mixture be starchy dough the
yeast first changes portion Of the
starch into glucose and then decomposes
the glucose by changing it into two new
substances, viz, carbonic acid gas and
alcohol.
Now the gluten, which is also con-
stituent of dough and moist starch, af-
fords, with the latter, an excellent indus
for the development Of germs Of disease
as well as for the yeast germs. The
germs of cholera, as Of typhoid fever,
would, if introduced into dough- find
very favorable conditions for their
growth.
do not wish to ''pose" as an alarm
list, nor am I willing to say there is very
much chance Of the germs Of typhus and
of cholera reaching the stomachs of the
people who eat bread which has been raised
with yeast. But I have not the slight
est cause to doubt that other diseases
have been and will be carried about in
the bread.
I have met journeymen bakers, suffer-
ing from cutaneous diseases, working
the dough in the bread trough with
naked hands and arms l have no rea-
son to suppose bakers are less liable
to cutaneous diseases than are other
men, and I know, as every housewife
knows, yeast-raised bread must be
worked a long time. This is an exceed
ingly Objectionable thing from the stand
point Of physician, for the reason that
the germs Of disease which are in the air
and dust and on stairways and straps
in street cars, are most often collected
on the hands. Any person who has ever
kneaded dough understands the way In
which the dough cleans the hands. This
means that any germs which may have
found a lodging place on the hands of
the baker before he makes up his batch
of bread are sure to find their way into
the dough, and once there, to find all the
conditions necessary for subdivision and
growth. This is equivalent to saying
that we must rely on heat to kill these
germs, because it is almost certain that
they will be there. Now, underdone or
doughty bread is form which every man
and woman has seen.
1t is belief as old as the hills that
UNDERGONE bread is unhealthful. This
reputation has been earned for it by the
experience Of countless generations, and
no careful mother will wish her children
to eat bread that has not been thorough
ly cooked. The reason given for this
recognized unhealthfulnes has been that
the uncooked yeast dough is very diff
cult to digest. No one but physician
would be apt to think of disease germs
which have not been killed during the
process of baking as the cause of the
sickness following the use Of uncooked
yeast bread. Yet this result from this
cause is more than probable / have not
the slightest doubt that could we trace
back some Of the cases Of illness which
we meet in our practice we would find
that germs collected by the baker have
found their way into the yeast bread,
that the heat has not been sufficient to
destroy them that the uncooked yeast
bread has been eaten and with it the
colonies Of germs, that they have found
their way into the blood and that the
call for our services which followed, has
rounded off this sequence of events.
1 have already pointed out that the
germs of disease are to be found in the
air and dust. The longer any substance
to be eaten is exposed to the air, the
greater the chance that germs will be de-
posted on it. Bread raised with yeast
is worked down or kneaded twice before
being baked and this process may take