The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-08
DELIGHTFUL EGG DISHES.

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DELIGHTFUL EGG DISHES.
Eggs are indeed veritable store-houses
OF building material, containing In their
restricted limits practically all the con-
stituents necessary to develop the young
chick and nourishing it until it is ready
to be Matched. There being no muscular
movement possible In the narrow con-
fines Of the shell, nature. the true econ
omist, does not waste her supplies by
adding carbohydrate to the list, unneces-
sarily, as this principle is but to serve,
chiefly, as a source OF muscular energy
The yolk- of the egg is by far the most
nourishing uart. and very different In
composition from the white 1t contains
a little more than half as much water,
while on the other hand it gives a higher
percentage of proteid and mineral mat
ter and a large amount of fat. The
latter substance is almost entirely alb
sent in the white, which consists OF a
solution of proteid enclosed in millions
of tiny cells. By beating the white of
eggs the walls of these shells is ruptured
and the digesthibility greatly increased,
and in this form il is made more avail
able food for delicate persons or invalids,
as the walls Of the cells offer some slight
barrier to the digestion of the proteid
matter shut up in their interior.
While the white of egg is known as egg
elbumen, it is not a single substance, but
appears to be formed of a mixture OF
a compound nature and contains car
bohydrate group in their moiecule; this
latter fact must be taken into consid-
Grafton when treating severe cases Of
diabetes that either restrict carbohy-
crates to a very limited quantity or ex-
c.ude them altogether from the liet- The
yolk is a very complex composition and
contains almost the same total nutritive
matter as meat, but is somewhat poorer
in proteid. while relatively richer in fat
For this reason eggs are wonderfully
well adapted chemically to increase the
value of foods rich in carbohydrates, only
moderately rich in proteid and poor IN
fat; rice and many cereals are made
very complete food, especially when made
into puddings, by the addition of eggs.
One important fact must be remembered
II cooking eggs, that their digestibiiity
and food value are greatly impaired and
in many instances entirely lost by i'm
proper manner OF cooking them
Their Digestibility.
Peculiar individual conditions play a
part in the digestion of eggs. When per-
sons cannot eat them without grievous
effects following. they should be rigor-
ously avoided; numerous cases are on
record of persons becoming violently Ill
after eating eggs There are various rea-
sons given for this, among them the pos
sibiIity that the digestive juices act on
the egg in such manner as to produce
poisons from 1t. Or sulphuretted hydro
gen seems to be produced while the egg
is undergoing the digestive process. AS
the sulphur of the egg is confined almost
entirely to the white-of the egg. wnen
the latter result is evident the trouble
may be avoided by rejecting the white.
The result of experiments made on
healthy man, given eggs in various
forms, may give one clearer knowledge
Of the digestibility of eggs under favor
able conditions. Without going into de-
tail of the experiment we give the result
obtained by giving two eggs cooked in
the different ways most common in the
average household. The time noted. when
every part of the egg had left the stom-
ach.
Two eggs lightly boiled had left the
stomach in one and three quarter hours.
Two eggs given raw required two and
one-quarter hours Two poached eggs
with FIVE grammes of butter have left
the stomach in two and 'one-half hours.
Hard boiled, they required three hours;
and made into plain omelet the same
length of time was consumed. Contrary
to the accepted idea this experiment
shows that the raw egg was not disposed
of as quickly as the lightly boiled. This
does not prove, however, that the slight
ly cooked egg is the best suited in all
cases. When the stomach requires rest.
it would seem that the raw egg is the
best adapted, for it as experiments show
them to be scarcely digested in the
stomach at all but TO pass out of it to
large extent unchanged. its digestion
really being performed in the intenstine;
thus making no demand on the stom-
ach, and if. as supposed. it is such a
bland fluid that IT does not excite the
secretions of gastric juice, or movements
Of the stomach, it is the less irritating OF
the two.
The absorption of eggs in the intestine
seepls very complete, and comparing
them. hard boiled with meat. they are as
completely absorbed. and very small
per cent of the dried substance is lost:
This very small residue. which contains
lime, may perhaps have something to do
with the constipating effect eggs have on
some persons.
The yolk of the cooked egg, owing TO
the great richness and its larger proper
ton of solids. Is probably more slowly
dissolved in the stomach than the white.
The hard boiled egg is often more easi-
~ disposed of. when very finely chopped,
than the soft boiled
Eggs cannot be considered a cheap
source OF proteid when depended on alone
to furnish this element n daily diet:
as a healthy man would require at least
twenty per day to furnish the amount
of nitrogen demanded.
But they are most valuable TO all who
find them agreeable. on account OF the
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