Evening star., 1925-11-25
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

He was a younk inferno, spick-and
span, and he was dining with the dieti-
tian.
1T was the best cake l ever ate, "
he said. with all the conviction of mas
culinity, and young masculinity at
that!
What kind of cake was it?" asked
the dietitian, on the alert for new
ideas.
why, there are only two kinds of
cake, layer cake and just cake; this
was just cake"'
A deriSive whoop failed to ruff1e the
young mans compoSure, as 1t failed to
shake his conviction that he knew the
whole story of cake, but the dietitian
resolved then and there to explain to
any one who might come to her for
counsel the various types of cake.
In considering the place of cake in
the diet this is especially desirable, for
on the type depends at least a part OF
it's suitability.
If the kind of cake is chosen with
care, even tiny tots of 3 years may be-
come cake eaters, although their title
will not carry the unpleasant connota-
tion at present associated with the
term. But these toddlerS of runabouts
must have only simple cookies, not
layer cake or even Just cake" When
they have reached the ripe age of 4.
simple sponge cakes may be added to
their cake list, and after attaining the
dizzy eminence of school age, ginger
bread and Just cake"-that is, any
plain variety-are added
While not suffering from so large a
share of prejudice as does pie, cake is.
nevertheless, forbidden to children far
more frequently than is necessary.
provided we are careful to distinguish
between Just cake" and it's various
subdivisions.
Because it is easier to remember spe-
cial points when we know the reason
why for things, we may pause long
enough to inquire the reason for this
seemingly arbitrary division of cake
into age groups.
Cookie mixture or doughs are sim
pier in form than are those made
from batter combined with a leaven-
ing agent. In other words, they pre-
sent the various materials from which
they are composed in a form that is
more easily penetrated by the diges-
tive juices. AS the digestion of little
child does not grow any faster than
does the rest of his body, food prod
uctS whose structure makes allowance
for this immaturity are the most di-
gestible and, therefore, most nouriSh-
ing.
Sponge cakes come next and these
mixtures. They are made light by the
beaten egg which they contain, with
baking powder added in the case of
plain batterS which carry a relatively
small quantity of eggs.
Last of all we have the buttercake
mixtures. also with a batter founda-
ton, also made light by baking pow
der, but rich in that they have a
definite proportion of fat or shorten
ing. Usually this shortening is com
posed of varying proportions of but
ter or margarine and lard. 1t is this
fat mixture that gives to this class of
cakes their agreeable texture, but it is
also the fat that makes them undesir-
able for the digestion of children. be-
fore. at the earliest, the school age.
Beginning with the school age. chill
dren may have the plain cakes of this
group, with gradual increase of va
riety.
Neither children nor adults are as
we'll for eating cake that is rich in
shortening. sweet with frosting and
'fussy' with filings, if the meal has
already been a bountiful one. Cake
should appear as the dessert of a meal.
| if it is ''rich,' or an accompa niment of
fruit, if plain.
lCopyrlght. 1927