Amador ledger., 1906-01-05
THE WATER WE BUY.
MUCH OF THE FOOD CONSUMED
Principally MoIsTURE
Animal or Vegetable the Various
Articles of Our Diet Contain
Large Per Cent. Of
Liquid.

What we buy as solid food is not
solid. 1t is partly water; some of the
commonest foods are almost entirely
composed of water.
Bought as food, water is a tolerablv
expensive luxury. In several instances
II costs something like $3.50 a glass.
says Pearson's Magazine.
Let us begin with breakfast.
Look at that loaf of bread. To all
appearances it is solid enough. But it
is not. When it came into the hands
OF the baker as wheat -four it contained
water only to the extent of IT per cent.
In working up the materials into
dough, by kneading and other manip-
ulation, and in baking, a great change
takes place, and the quantity of water
has more than doubled. The wheat
flour loaf contains nearly 40 per cent.
OF water. Curiously enough, its value
as food is increased thereby. The
percentage of water in the crust is
about half that in the soft inside.
Cured" pork does not contain a
large proportion of water; in fact,
wherever there is a good deal of fatty
matter, there is also scarcity of mois-
ture. So the man who enjoys his slice
of breakfast bacon may comfort him
self with the reflection that he is get
ting fairly solid value for his money
because bacon contains only % Der
cent. of water. .A
Fresh eggs, on the other hand. are
composed Of no less than 65 per cent.
of water.
The best dairy-made butter, no mat
ter how carefully prepared, contains
comparatively regal percentage of wa
ter. Out of 1,500 samples of butter ex-
amfned by well-known authorities,
small number contained over 16 per
cent. of water; the larger number con-
tanned between II and IS per cent.
Carelessly manufactured or adulter-
ated butter often contains much more
water than is permissible by law, and
the breakfast table may include sup
ply of butter containing as much as 20
per cent. of water
1t is only to be expected that milk.
owing to its origin. should vary con-
siderably in its composition. Much &C.
pends on the health and surroundings
of the animal yielding it.
1t is interesting to know that morn.
ing milk, as it comes from the COW. is
by no mems IS nourishing as the evou-
ing supply; there is more water in tha
former. The daily quart of milk even
in its purest state contains an average
of SIG per cent. of water.
The choicest fish contain the largest
percentage of water. Thus, turbot and
sole are credited with IS per cert:
salmon rs per cent; while the CON
moner Inhabitants of the deep bur
sea are content with from 40 to G3
per cent, as in the case of the homeIy
herring.
CAS- cool as a cucumber" is a house.
hold term. The GOODNESS is easily ex-
planned. Cucumbers are almost entire.
ly composed of water-that is. SIS per
cent, or over IA per cent more than IS
"7ntained in milk, which is itself a
iQuid. Lettuce must not be forgotten.
Here is a further instance Of low rt''a
substance may be in an apparent ,.
for the cabbage lettuce holds go per 1t.
of water.
It will be seen that most of the good
things Of life are largely comrcsed cf
water; but it is better fer US that this
IS so. Nature knows more about cur
ieestive' powers than we Enow our
ewes. and she has desiered her rrcd-
lc.s-fsh. flesh, fowl ard fruit-vith o
cunning hand that the water contained
in each is essential.
Food containing very little water in
its composition is not, as a rule, eocd
to eat until suitable process of cocl.-
ing has rendered it safe by adding fur
ther supply of water to it, and boiling,
as is we'll known, is the process that rem
ders our food most wholesome and easy
of digestion.