Evening star., 1896-01-11

ScnoolS and colleges
| hav ing courses of
| domestic science, in
| cluding cooking. These act as experiment
| stations, and students are experimental
upon scientifically, eating various foods at
various times and under varying condi-
tons. 1t is noted how much of the food
forms nutriment, how much is useless
| waste and what nutriments are most yalu-
| able.
Mr. G. D. Woods, nutrition expert of the
Agricultural Department has had charge
| or the experiments with meats. To him
| the writer is indebted for information
which will appear in an official publication
| by the department.
MIR. Woods has cooked foods especially
meats, scientifically, and there would ap-
pear to be no reason why any other cook
who can read cannot do the same by using
mis- directions. All that the scientific cook
| need have is a copy of these directions, an
accurate thermometer and an ordinary in
| telligence. There is no special brand of
stove or frying pan in the paraphernalia
| Vegetables, Mr.. Woods says, are less readi-
| ly and less completely dgested than ami
mai foods. This is because the nutritious
| parts OF vegetable foods are inclosed in
| cells with woody walls. which resist the
action of the digestive fluids. These woody
| hbers, he says, irritate the lining of the in
| tnrOuRh
| them before properly digested. Thus the
woody hbers of vegetables often prevent
| not only the digestion of the vegetable it.
self, but of animal food eaten at the same
| time. Both meats and vegetables however
ere necessities. Vegetables contain large
amounts of sugar and starch, called carbo-
| hydrates. Meats contain protein and fats
Protein is the most valuable ingredient of
! food. 1t is name given to all compounds
containing nitrogen. All the protein and
about % per cent of the fat of meat are
disested by healthy person.
Roast VS.. Boiled.
| Experiments indicate that roasted meat
Is more completely digested than boiled
| meat
The smaller the cut to be roasted the
| hotter should be the fire. An intensely hot
| fire makes a thick crust the outside of
| the roast, by coagulation and prevents The
| drying up of the Juice inside. If a small
| cut be subjected to mild fire the inside
| Will be dried Up while the crust is slowly
| forming. In other words, the meat is in
| oaSed in Shell of non-conductor so rapid
| ly that the heat has not time to penetrate
| to the interior.
| Large cuts. on the other hand. should be
| subjected to less heat when roasted than
small ones The juice of meat is a poor
| conductor of heat. and large roast will
| become burned and changed to charcoal on
| the outside before the heat can penetra te
| the inside. The result of a hot fire on a
|
raw meat covered with thick burnt crust.
| The same rule holds good for broiling
| according to our authority.
steak exposed to an intense heat for
! ten minutes will be thoroughly cooked and
yet have the desirable, rare juicy appear
| ance when cut.
If you are to make a meal of meat alone
| it should be either roasted, broiled or fried
| for by these methods its juices are saved.
| When Ment is Boiled.
| If you are boiling meat remember that it
is impossible to make a rich broth and OBJ
tain juicy, highly favored piece of meat
at the same time. If the meat is to be
! eaten, and not the liquid, the cooking in
| water should be as follows:
! Plunge the cut at once into generous
| supply of boiling water and keep the
| water at the boiling point for ten minutes.
| Meat boiled in this way is covered with a
| coating which seals the pores and prevents
| the nourishing ingredients from escaping.
| If the boiling is continued longer than ten
| minutes the interior will become hard The
| temperature of the water, therefore, should
be allowed to cool to about $50 degrees F.,
| when the meat can be cooked without be-
| coming hard. This method will require a
| longer time, but the meat will be tender
| and juicy instead of tough and dry, as will
| be the case when the water is kept boiling
| or nearly boiling during the entire time of
| cooking
| If you are boiling delicate fish, such as
| salmon, cod or haibut, do not plunge into
! boiling wate-, because it's motion tends to
break the fish into small pieces. Fish
| should first be put into water that is on the
| point of boiling. The water should be kept
| at this temperature for few minutes, and
| then allowed to ccol to about 1S0 degrees
| F., as in the case of meats.
| If yon are boiling meat into soup or broth,
| remember that the smaller the pieces the
| water the richer will be the broth and the
| poorer the remaining meat. Do not have
| the water boiling when you begin. Let it
| be cool when you put the meat in, and al
| longer the water is heated the tougher and
more tasteless the meat becomes.
Good, Strong Soup.
| The ''soup meat" or that which is left in
the pot after the broth is made, has great
| nutritive value, though tasteless. 1t is as
easily and completely digested as the same
weight of ordinary roast. 1t contains
nearly all the protein Of the meat, and If
pi operly combined with vegetables and we'll
seasoned an agreeable and nutritive food
| may be obtained.
| If both the broth and meat are to be
| used-that is, If a stew is to be made--the
| process should be entirely different. For
| stewing, the meat should be cut into small
| pieces and put into cold water, in order
| that as much of the juice and natural ma
| terial possible may be dissolved. The
| temperature of the water should then be
| raised to about $50 degrees F., and kept
| there for some hours, Treated in this way,
the broth will be rich and the meat tender
| and juicy. If the water be made much
hotter than 1S0 degrees F. the result will
| be dry, hard fibers. If this higher tenn
| perature be maintained long enough the
| connective tissues will be changed to gel
atine and partly dissolved away, while the
meat will become so tender that if touched
with fork it will fall to pieces.
Extract of beef, if pure, according to Mr..
| Woods. contains nothing but the flavoring
matter of the meat from which it is pre-
| pared. According to the way in which it
| is made 1t cannot contain any protein. 1t
Is therefore not food at ALL but stimu-
| liant, and should be classed with tea and
coffee 1t should never be given to a sick
person unless specially prescribed by a
| competent DhySician. Its strong meaty