Evening star., 1903-10-24
Table and Kitchen.
Oysters.

| fish 80 much on account of the amount of
nutritive contained in its small bulk as by
reason Of other qualities which recommend
| 1t to popular favor.
| The most typical as well as most popu-
| lar Of mollusks can be prepared so quickly
| and In such variety of ways and In such
Nvaried and delightful combinations 1t has
| become a general article of food. The oys-
ter Is rightly regarded as an easily digested
| food If eaten raw, and people with weak
| digestive organs who cannot cultivate a
| taste for it In this state or when 1t is
cooked only just long enough to heat
| through and not made tough must forego
| the pleasure Of eating it altogether, and es-
| pecially when served in such tempting
| guises as oyster pies, fritters or fried oys-
| ters.
The difficulty of obtaining healthy and
/ wholesome oysters far inland Is somewhat
| overcome by the present up-to-date facili-
| ties for quick transportation. but avoid
| frozen oysters, because freezing Injuries
| their flavor and nutritious qualities and
| makes them fiat, stale and Improbable. A
| good authority thus sums up the food value
| of the oyster: Chemically it contains with
| in itself representatives of all three nutri-
| tive constituents of the food The proper
| ton of solid nutriment, however. is not
tiarge-three dozen of the average medium
| sized oysters having only from two and
| three-quarters up to five and One-third
ounces of solids. There is probability,
| too, that the nitrogenous matter which they
| contain is not all in the form of proteid, but
| Is partly present in other compounds OF
| lower nutritive value.
| Glycogen is the form in which carbohy-
| drate is present in oysters, and Is contained
| in the liver It's presence renders oysters
| an unsuitable food in cases of diabetes, in
| which a strict diet is being enforced.
| In regard to time required for complete
| digestion of the oyster the same authority
| states that three medium-Sized bivalveS
| are entirely disposed of by the stomach in
one and three-quarters of an hour. This,
| of course, refers to the raw oyster, the
cooked oyster being less easily dlgested.
| The oyster consists chiefly of two parts
| the soft and hard The soft and larger
part is the liver and very easily digested,
| though to be avoided, of course on account
of the presence OF glycogen IN aiaoe5c con con
| ditiorfs such as we have mentioned. The
| hard part Of the oyster Is the muscle that
binds the shells together This Is not
| nearly so digestible and should not, even
| when raw, be given to tnvalids of weak
digestion, and will cause great distress,
| often of alarming and serious nature, when
| given in the tough leathery condition re-
| sulting from improper and ignorant cook
ing.
| First, we value the oyster for the deicacy
| of it's agreeable and peculiar flavor-which
varies greatly according to size and loca-
| ton of the beds, the small oyster, or native,
generally being the choicest. Next, quality
| in it's favor as food is Its great dfgestibil-
| ity, but it's nutritive value being so small,
ten dozen being required to yield the nitro
genouS substances needed In days ra-
tion," it cannot be considered In any light
other than an extravagant form of food,
given quantity of proteid in this form cost
ing about three times as much as 1t does
when purchased as lean beef.
Broiled Oysters La Mode.
Rinse in their own liquor as many large
oysters as are needed. Drain and wipe
quite dry on a soft cloth. season with pep
or wire broiler and place the oysters upon
it. Brol over a clear. hot fire; and if the
oysters should drip place them far enough
from the Goals to prevent their becoming
smoked, If using the wire broler. When
done delicate brown and their gills ruffie
place them on delicate squares Of toast and
put very small pieces of butter on each
oyster.
Oysters Planned la Mode.
Cut slices of bread about quarter Of an
inch thick, cut them in rounds to fit the bot
tom of individual casseroles. Butter them
slightly and toast nicely. Put one in each
casserole, pour over them enough of the
heated and strained liquor of the oysters to
moisten slightly; then place six oysters on
| each piece of toast, dust with little pep
! per, place a little piece of butter on top
When all the casseroles are ready place
them in large baking pan. cover tightly
| set them in hot oven, let them cook eight
| minutes, or until the gills are ruff1ed. Then
| lift the cover and put little salt on them,
| and let them cook just a minute longer
| Serve in the dishes in which they are cook
| ed, with quarters of lemon.
Paris Oyster Fricassee.
| Scald quart of oysters in their own
| liquor; just as they come to a boil drain
the liquor Into bowl keeping the oysters
| hot while you make the following sauce:
Put in stewpan two tablespoonfuls of but
ter; melt, but do not brown then stir in
| two tablespoonfuls of sifted flour and let
COOK moment without browning. Then
| ADD cup OF the strained oyster LIQUOR stir
and cook until 1T boils, then remove from
the hre. add a teaspoonful of lemon juice
salt ana pepper to taste and yolks of two
| and place over the fire again for two or
| three minutes to set the eggs but do not
allow to boil. Next add the oysters and
| serve very hot on slices Of toast
Staten Island Oyster Pie.
Scaid "a quart of oysters in their own
liquor; when it comes to the boiling point
| skim out the oysters and set where they
Will keep hot. Add to the liquor two cups
| OF not water. season to taste with salt and
pepper. Rub two ounces of butter to a
| paste with two ounces of flour dilute with
| a cup of hot milk and add to the broth.
| Sur and cook until smooth and creamy.
| rave ready a crust of nice light biscuit
| uouSH Toileu ndlI an inch thick: cut into
squares and drop into the boiling stew
Cover Cover closely and cook thirty minutes
& Mneh done take them up carefully and
place PA en- IN not dish. Stir the oysters into
the broth, and when thoroughly hot turn
into the dish with the dumplings.
New England Oyster Pie.
Butter two deep pie plates of uniform
| size, and line with puff paste, or plain rich
| crust, and bake in hot oven until the
paste is well done. Meanwhile prepare the
oysters. Drain off the liquor into a sauce
| pan, place the oysters in colander, pour
| just enough cold water over them to re-
| move any small bits of Shell which may
| cling to them. Their put the oysters into a
saucepan with barely enough of the liquor
to keep them from burning. Season with
| salt and pepper to taste, add tablespoon
full of butter, and little sweet cream or
milk. SO they will have little more than
| enough liquor to cover them. Add one or
two crackers rolled fine let them simmer
few minutes, without boiling, then turn
them INTO one of the crusts which should be
allowed to remain in the pie plate, then
| place the other crust on ton az n cover