Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-17
Table and Kitchen.
The Most Typical and Popular Of the
Mollusks.

The Most Typical and Popular Of the
| Mollusks.
| The belief that oysters may be the means
Of conveying the infection Of typhoid fever
| is not unwarranted, as 1t is possible and
not at all improbable for them to become
infected with typhoid germs II they are
| grown where they may be contaminated by
sewage which may contain these disease
germs. Although it has been clearly proven
by artificial incubation Of typhoid bacilli
| that danger from this source is possible,
there is very little risk. If any. If the sus-
pected oysters are kept alive for several
days after dredging, in salt water that is
| frequently changed (o wash out the bacillD.
It is very unlikely that oysters obtained in
| the shell or freshly opened in the markets
| can introduce typhoid fever even when
eaten raw, as the bacilli introduced into
their bodies will survive but a few days.
| But when uncertain of the feeding ground
| of your favorite bivalve it is we'll to inquire
| into the methods of treatment employed by
| the oyster dealer or else buy your oysters
| in the shell and eliminate all dangerous con-
| d1tions by the salt diet process.
| Cooking the oyster will effect the same
OBJECT with even greater certainty, but by
| the ordinary process its digestibility Is
greatly diminished; and oysters are too ex-
properly.
Light cooking is permissible, and If they
are lightly roasted in the shell they are
nearly If not quite as digestibe as the raw
oyster, and far more palatable to many
| tastes Baking or steaming in the shells
or out are often more convenient ways of
cooking than roasting, or, rather, grilling
over the fire, and their digestibility may be
assured In this way, although their charac-
| teristic flavor Is somewhat diminished. The
oysters are not so frequently the cause OF
indigestion, as is the company they are
made to keep They are served with milk
that has perhaps been boiled, and this Is
not an element which is, under any circNm-
stance, harmonious to shell fish of any kind.
The practice of barbarism goes still further
and various kinds Of pickles, of themselves
most likely to disagree, are served with 1t.
When taken raw the oyster IS properly
regarded as an easily digested food Chem
three nutritive constituents Of the food.
Exclusive Of it's large per cent Of liquid, the
oyster possesses very. small proportion
Of solid nutrient. And the very small
amount of fat or fuel substances they fur
nish necessitates their combination with
bread, potatoes. rice or some kind Of cereal,
when they are eaten to supply actual nu-
triton. While they are classed as tissue
formers, the heterogeneous matter they con-
tain may not all be in the form Of proteid,
but partly in form of other compounds
lower in their nutritive value.
The presence Of glycogen, the particular
form in which the carbohy drates are pre-
sented in the oyster, is contained in the
liver, which constitutes the larger proper
ton Of the bivalve. In cases of diabetes in
which a strict diet is being enforced, the
| presence Of carbohy renders the oys-
ter most unsuitable and always to be
avoided
Avoid oysteds that have been "fattened,"
unless you prefer appearance to quality, as
they lose from one-eighth to one-fifth of
| their nutritive value by this process.
The Greening of Oysters.
Much has been said recently on this SUBJ
ject. Not that this is a new condition, how
ever. Authorities, usual, differ in CON
illusions as to the cause Of this phenomenon
Some consider it perfectly harmless in all
instances, while others give several results
from their Investigations, in some cases
concluding that the greening of some oys-
tiers from certain localities is harmless, but
finding In others that the green color Is as
ISOLATED with the presence Of an excess of
copper. This is often the result when some
varieties Of our oysters are rebedded along
the coast. These are not to be regarded
above suspicion. To the sensitive taste there
Is a noticeably unpleasant harshnesS to
some Of these green oysters, they being
otherwise quite favorless. 1t is we'll to
avoid these, they are certainly not pal
atable nor can they be in healthy state.
Baked Oysters.
Have the oyster freshly opened, remove
the gils (beards) and first dip them in
beaten egg, then into fine, s.eved bread
crumbs, white or whole wheat, first season.
ing the crumbs with pepper salt and little
grated nutmeg or celery salt. Place the
oysters In their lower shells, put piece Of
butter on top Of each and arrange the
shells in a shallow pan; place them in
brisk oven for few minutes. When steam
Ing hot remove at once to heated oyster
plates. squeeze a little lemon juice over
each and serve. Cut lemon may be placed
in a bouquet Of parsley or watercress in
center of each dish and used at option Of
each guest.
stewed Oysters.
(Without milky
Carefully remove a dozen oysters from
their shells; wash them in their own liquor
until they are perfectly free from grit and
shells; put them in saucepan and after
straining the liquor until perfectly clear,
pour it over the oysters. Place the pan
over moderate fire and let simmer gently
until gills ruff1e. Skim out the oysters and
keep them warm over hot water. Now II
you can get 1t, add to the liquor a cup of
pure rich cream (not milky or else use good
chicken or veal stock. Rub two ounces Of
butter with level tablespoonful Of flour and
thicken the sause with this, cooking and
stirring until it boils up smooth and thick
ems. Season to taste with salt and pepper
Put in the oysters and let them get very
hot without boiling. Take from the fire and
pour over slices of toast. If cream is used
flavor with a little nutmeg, ground mace or
celery seed. But use lemon Juice if the
broth Is substituted.
Spiced Oysters.
Take one hundred nice sized oysters and
put them in a large earthen jar with the
strained liquor, half grated nutmeg, one
and one-half dozen cloves, four blades of
mace, a teaspoonful Of whole allspice
same Of whole black paper. teaspoonful
Of salt and a few chilli peppers cut small
Add two tablespoonful good cider vinegar
and stir gently with a wooden spoon to
mix all together; stand them in a mod
erately heated oven or over q slow fire ana
heat steaming hot, taking them from the
fire occasionally to stir them well, so they