Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-10
Table and Kitchen.
Delightful Egg Dishes and the Ways
to Make Them.

Dggs are indeed veritable storehouses OF
building material containing in their re-
stricted limits practically all the constit-
uents necessary to develop the young chick
and nourishing 1t until It is ready to be
Matched. There being no muscular move
ment possible IN the narrow confines OF the
shell, nature, the true economist, does not
waste her supplies by adding carbohy-
drate to the list, unnecessarily. as this
principle Is bu. to serve, chiefly, as source
Of muscular energy.
The yolk Of the egg is by far the most
nourishing part and very different in COM
position from the white. 1t contains
little more than half as much water, while
on the other hand 1t gives a higher per-
centage OF proteid and mineral matter and
q large amount Of fat. The latter SUBJ
stance is almost entirely absent in the
white, which consists of solution Of pro-
ted inclosed in millions Of tiny cells. BY
beating the white Of eggs the walls Of these
shells are ruptured and the digestibility
greatly increased, and in this form It Is
made more available food for delicate
persons or invalids, as the walls of the
cells offer some slight barrier to the diges-
ton of the proteid matter shut up in their
interior.
While the white of egg is known as
egg albumen, It Is not a single substance,
but appears to be formed of a mixture of
different proteids. Some Of these are of
compound nature and contain a carbohy-
drate group in their molecule; this latter
fact must be taken into consideration when
treating severe cases of diabetes that either
restrict carbohydrates to a very limited
quantity or exclude them altogether from
the diet. The yolk is a very complex COM
position and contains almost the same to-
tai Of nutritive matter as meat, but 1t Is
somewhat poorer In proteid, while relative
ly richer in fat. For this reason eggs are
wonderfully well adapted chemically to in
crease the value Of foods rich in carbohy-
drates, only moderately rich in proteid and
poor in fat; rice and many cereals are
made very complete food, especially when
made into buildings, by the addition of
bered in cooking eggs. that their digesti-
biltty and food value Is 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 persons
cannot eat them without grievous effects
following. they should be vigorously AVOID
cd: numerous cases are on record Of per-
sons becoming violently Ill after eating
eggs. There are various reasons given for
this, among them the possibility that the
digestive juices act on the egg in such
manner as to produce poisons from it. Or
sulphuretted hydrogen seems to be pro-
duced while the egg Is undergoing the d.
gestive process. AS the sulphur Of the egg
IL confined almost entirely to the white OF
the egg, when 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.
digestibility Of eggs under favorable con-
ditions. Without going into detail Of the
experiment we give the result obtained by
giving two eggs cooked in the different
ways most common in the average house
hold. The time noted, when every part OF
the egg had left the stomach.
ach in one and three-quarter hours. Two
eggs given raw required two and one
quarter hours. Two poached eggs with fve
grammes Of butter have left the stomach
they required three hours. and made into
a plain omlet the same Of 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, how
ever that the slightly cooked egg Is the best
suited in all cases. When the stomach re-
oures rest, 1t 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 a
large extent unchanged, its digestion really
being performed in the intestine; thus max
ing no demand on the stomach and IT, as
supposed, 1t Is such bland fluid that 1t
does not excite the secretions Of gastric
Juice or movements in the stomach, 1t Is
the less irritating Of the two.
The absorption OF eggs in the intestine
seems very complete, and comparing them,
hard boiled with meat, they are as COM
pletely 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 per-
sons.
The yolk Of the cooked egg owing to the
great richness and its larger proportion OF
solids, is probably more slowly dissolved in
the stomach than the white. The hard
boiled egg is often more easily disposed OF.
when very finely chopped. than the soft
boiled.
Eggs cannot be considered a cheap source
of proteid when depended on alone to fur
nish this element in daily diet, as a healthy
man would require at least twenty per day
to furnish the amount of nitrogen de-
manded.
But they are most valuable to all who
find them agreeable on account Of the con-
venient form In which their nutrient parts
are presented ana because of the readiness
with which they lend themselves to the art
of skillful cook. Like milk they seem.
especially designed for food for early life,
and furthermore on account of the peculiar
chemical composition OF the yolk. a valua-