The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-04-23
WHY FOOD Is COOKED.

summary of the Reasons from a
Scientific Point of View.
We cook our food to render 1t NOR.
agreeable to our sense Of taste anG
smell. Cooking develops fayors and
8odors not present in the raw state.
This is particularly true Of the animal
foods, but it is also true to a greater
or less extent with regard to yege-
table foods, and, indeed, some yege-
/ tai les, as potatoes and beans, would
! be Tepugnant We're they uncooked. The
superior flavor, appearance and taste
of a piece of beefsteak nicely cooked
lis a case in point. The development
of pleasant fayors in the coffee berry
and peanut illustrate the same prin-
ciple.
A second reason why we should
cook our food is to be found in the
fact that thereby we facilitate the pro-
cess of mastication. Some foods are
tough or hard and can neither be fine
" divided nor well mixed with saliva.
Cooking softens these SO that the work
Of the teeth is performed with great
er ease. and the results, SO far as the
digestibility and the amount Of nutri-
ent matter obtained are concerned, are
vastly more efficient
Again it is often desirable that the
food be chemically changed; thus some.
foods OF portions Of them are absolute
ly lndigestible in the uncooked state.
the fibrous tissue Of meat, for example.
can not be considered food until by
the application of heat it has been
changed chemically to gelatin. Sim.
ilarly starches, though not entirely in
digestible when raw, are changed into
more digestible form by cooking,
and the cooked starch, as in bread, is
by the process of toasting converted
into new chemical substance called
dextrin, which closely resembles sugar
both in it's chemical properties and in
the ease with which it is digested.
Again sugar is changed into carmel
and fats are partially decomposed into
other more digestible substances.
A fourth reason for cooking food is
that the warmth which is thus i'm
parted promotes digestion by causing
an increased flow Of blood to the di-
gestive apparatus, and hence a more
copious secretion Of the digestive fluids.
1t is to stimulate the flow of digestive
juices that hot soup is given as the
first course at dinner. AS result Of
this increased flow the digestion of tile
food is well advanced by the time din
AOi 10 OfSl. Auo SCuCIdl STIMULATING
effect Of tea and coffee is enhanced
considerably by their warmth.
The general result of all these
changes mentioned, the development
Of flavor, the increased ease of masti-
cation, the chemical changes, and the
warmth impaired by cooking, is that
more nutrient matter is obtained from
the food at the same time that it's di-
gestion is promoted.
Finally, cooking destroys any para
sites that may be present in the food.
OF these, trichinae in pork and the
scolex, or encysted head Of the tape
worm, in what is known as measly
beef, are the most common. To show
that these are not so rare I may men
ton that between 2 and per cent Of
all the hogs slaughtered at the Chi
cagO stock yards are found to be in
fected with trichinae. Most food ma
terials serve as favorable media for the
propagation and growth of bacteria.
Many of these are harmless, but we
must remember that no dangerous
must remember that we can not be
sure at any time that no dangerous
ones are present. AS heat destroys
bacteria, we are taking fewer chances
when we cook our food tan when we
do observation-disclosures