Evening star., 1926-02-17
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

Who does not remember the cook
book of his grandmother time! These
old volumes were careful TO give
everything rom elaborate recipes for
wedding cakes to directions for hold
ing the admiration of a gentleman. :.
There have been some more or less
justified complaints to the effect that
the modern cook book has taken all
the romance out of the subject OF food
preparation. Certainly these efficient
volumes have profited by elimination
Of the unimportant advice. They are
also far more effective because of their
clear-cut directions for obtaining good
results in cookery, 1t is. however,
true that they may be said to offer
somewhat uninspiring reading.
Why not substitute for the old-time
advice to the lovelorn human inter
est of the modern typo? 1t is a safe
assumption that the average mother
who reads her cook book in terms of
health for her husband and children
Will find it far from dull. This mod
ern woman has advanced even beyond
! the intermediate stage, during which
| the cook book was used by fiutterins
females as an aid to concocting dishes
| that would hold the interest. if not the
affection, of the man of the house.
| The modern wife and mother takes
| quite a different view of her job.
| This woman, then, in turning. over
| the pages of a well written and well
| edited cook book, may gain consider
, able help for the job. Later she will
| take time to try some of the recipes"
| Her first reading, however, may we'll
| be, as we have already pointed out a
\ storage for new ideas in conserving
J health.
One of the standard cook books,
after brief discussion of cookery
| processes in general, proceeds to dis
cuSs the question of beverages. The
| mother who is getting her first sug-
gestive outline from her cook book
will learn how to prepare tea and
coffee, for example. in the modern
way. so that there will be no harmful
! reaction. She will gain several new
! suggestions for hot breakfast drinks
for the children. While milk should
| be the basis of these drinks, her cook
book tells her that preparations of
cocoa shells, cracked cocoa or cereal
| coffee afford excellent means of coax
| ing unhungry children to take their
| hot milk at breakfast.
Then the cook book advances to the
question of bread making. and the
| mother will decide how much of the
family supply of bread she will make
| and how much she will buy. If she
| he wise, she will realize that while
| she should know how to make good
bread, mullins. biscuits and cakes. and
while she should serve these occa-
sionally by way of variety. her food
allowance will stretch much farther
| if the bulk of her bread supply is pur-
chased at the local bakery
Perhaps enough has been said to in
dicate this more progressive way of
| how to use cook book. Use it Ger.
| tainly for what it is. Il hand book for
| the preparation of food. But use it
| also as the first bit of reading in a
course on the subject of nutrition.
| The advantage of using cook book
in this way will readily be seen by any
one who has had training in drawing
mental parallels and making mental
applications of newly acquired infor-
nation. Suppose. for example. that
| the housewife has just come from a
| formal talk on dietetics. She may
have tried conscienciously to remem
Der what the lecturer said. An added
| help in this will he that which we
| have already indicated, learning
! through the cook book SO as To relate
its various chapters to important diet
lessons.
Copyright l926.l