The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-10-28
Oysters,


The universal bivalve known as oys-
ter does not hold first place on the list
of shell fish so much on account of the
amount of nutritive contained IN It's
small bulk as by reason of other quail
ties which recommend it to popular
favor.
This most typical, as well as most
popular, of mollusks can be prepared
SO quickly and in such a variety of
ways and in such varied and delightful
combinations it has become a Reenral
article of food. The oyster is rightly
regarded as an easily digested food if
eaten raw. and people with weak diges-
tive organs who cannot cultivate a
taste for it III this state or when it is
cooked only just long enough~ to neat
through and not made tough. must
forego the pleasure of eating it alto
gether and especially when served in
such tempting guises as oyster pies.
fritters or fried oysters.
The difficulty of obtaining healthy
and wholesome oysters far inland is
somewhat overcome by the present up
to-date~ facilities for quick transporta-
ton, but avoid frozen oysters. because
freezing injuries their flavor and nutri-
stale and improbable. A good author
ity thus sums up the food value of the
oyster Chemically it contains within
itself representatives of all three nutri-
tive constituents of the food The nro-
portion of solid nutriment. however. is
not large-three dozen of the average
medium sized oysters having only from
"a UP to 1-3 ounces of solids There
IS a probability, too. that the miro
genous matter which they contain IS
not at all in the form of Droteid. but
IS partly present in other compounds of
lower nutritive value
Glycogen is the form in which car
bohydrate is present in oysters and is
contained in the liver. Its presence
renders oysters unsuitable in cases of
DIABETES. IN which a strict diet is being
enforced.
In regard to time required for COM
plete digestion of the oyster, the same
authority states that three medium
sized blvalves are entirely disposed of
by the stomach in one and three-quar-
tiers of an hour. This. of course refers
to the raw oyster. The cooked oyster
being less easily digested
The oyster consists chiefly of two
parasitic soft and hard-the soft and
larger part is the liver and very easily
d1gestible and should not even when
course, on account of the presence of
g1ycogen in diabetic conditions such as
we have mentioned. The hard part of
the oyster is the muscle that binds the
shells together. This is not nearly so
| digestive and should not, even when
raw, be given to invaIids of weak di-
gestion and will cause great Distress
often of alarming and serious nature
when given in the tough leathery con-
dition resulting from improper and ig-
norant cooking.
| First we value the oyster for the deli
cacy of its agreeable and peculiar favor
which varies greatly according to size
and location of the beds. The small
oyster, or native, generally being the
choicest. Next, quality in its favor as
a food is it's great digestibi1ity, but its
nutritive value being so small "ten
dozen being required to yield the nitro
genous substances needed in a days
| ration" it cannot be considered in any
light other than an extravagant form of
food. given quantity of proteid in this
! form costing about three times as much
as it does when purchased as lean beef.
BROILED OYSTERS A LA MODE
Rinse in their own liquor as many
large oysters as are needed. Drain and