The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-08-09
About the things we eat-I

About the things we eat-I am 1, going to quote three short articles from Dr. Burmaster in Our Tubercu- losis Children
 Vegetable Medicines: Many foods l are medicinal as well as nutritious. l The people of a couple of generations ago gave onions for cold and rheu- 1 matism, cabbage for skin troubles, | spinach as a laxative, tomatoes and carrots to stimulate the liver. They were right. Onions are a valuable medicine. Their properties depend probably upon a powerful sul- phur oil called allyl sulphide. They produce sleep, promote digestion, are l a remedy for coughs and colds and are said to allay the pains of rheu- natiSm. Turnips and parsnips contain an oily principle that accounts for their traditional value as an, aparient and l diuretic, while their juices are an old country remedy for coughs and 1 hoarsness. Potatoes also contain a 1 drug called solanin, which has >diur- etic properties.
 Cabbages are rich in sulphur | therefore they are good for persons with scurvy and scrofula. Spinach is eaten as a laxative and blood medi- | cine The former quality is due to it's indigestble flores, the latter to the l Juice. 1 The tomato has been called vegeta- 1 ble mercury because of the presence l in it of a principle which stimulates the liver and produces salvation when taken in concentrated form 1 Carrots have a similar action for ] similar reason, due to a drug called l carrostin which they contain.
 '"When Meat is Tough: When the housewife has a piece of tough beef I which she wishes to cook without losing it's juices or flavor, she would first have her water boiling hot and should then immerse the meat in it. | If% the meat remains in the boiling water for ten minutes, the albumen will be eoagulated, the pores will be
 sealed and the juices will remain | within. After being boiled for ten I minutes, the meat should be subject
 ed to much lower temperature dur
 ing the rest of the time it is on the l fire. In stewing meat the process l should be reversed, and after the | meat has been cut into small pieces | it should be placed in cold water and
 gradually heated. It should never be 1 allowed to boil and should be kept while on the fire about 10S degrees. | In some places the custom is ra-
 ther to fry, broiI or roast meat than
 to boil or stew it. Too often one sees an ignorant Or careless housewife
 fry a steak in the manner best calculated to ruin it's flavor and make
 it utterly unpalatable. Generally needless grease is put in the frying , pan and the meat is cooked for an
 hour, perhaps over a. slow fire. At the end of that time it comes on the
 table, a charred mass of tasteles, heavy flesh, caked on the outside with | the grease from the pan.
 I ''The Chemistry of Food": Not | until comparatively recent years has
 any considerable investigation been
 made into the practical chemistry of 1 modern foods and their preparation
 in the home.
 The composition of the cooked food
 is, in general, not the same as the
 raw material, due, primarily, to the
 chemical and physical changes thar
 are brought about by the heat in the
 cooking process. The starch is hydro
 lized and rendered soluble by heat
 ing it in the presence of moisture. l Fire is not usually thought of as 9
 chemical action. Fire is merely rapio
 oxidation which produces intense
 heat.
 Many fruits, when peeled and ex-
 posed to the air, turn brown on the
 surface through changes brought or
 by ferments. These ferments act only
 in the presence of air, hence, II the | fresh cut surface of apple is cov-
 cred it will not discolor.
 I The souring of milk is caused by lthe action of certain bacteria which
 act upon the 1actose, milk sugar, con-
 verting it into laotic acid. When the
 acidity has reached certain pro- portion the cassin, which is insoluble ~ in an acid solution, is thrown out and
 the milk is said to be sour. When
 milk is kept at a low temperature the bacteria do not multiply as rap idly and hence, the souring of milk . is retarded by keeping it in the re- frigerator. The addition of sodium carbonate to a milk which is close ? to the turning point, reduces the acid ity and delays the souring of the
 milk.
 Soda added ito water in which peas = and beans are cooked precipltates the heavier minerals which cause the r hardness of the water and has
 softening effect upon the eelluiose tis 7 sue, hence these legumes are made l-,,,o tender