COOKING FOODS It would be hard to think of an article of food more pleasant to the taste and more certain to agree with the digestion than warm, crisp, brown toast, made are made from the same FIG. 10. This man's work is considered so important that he is better paid than most lawyers, doctors, ministers, or teachers. The difference is in the way they are The importance of well-cooked food. It has been said that the greatest difference between the food of the rich and the food of the poor is in the cooking. There is much truth in this, for to a very considerable extent we all live on the same foods. It would take a whole book to discuss fully the subject of cooking, and we cannot attempt to do this here. There are, however, two points in regard to cooking that are so important that every one should understand them. The cooking of starchy foods. Raw starch is in little hard grains that are digested very slowly. When placed in hot water, these grains swell up into a soft mass. This softened starch can then be easily digested. Oatmeal or corn meal that has been cooked for only a short time is very difficult to digest, but if these foods are placed in a double boiler and cooked for several hours they are very easy to digest. Thoroughly baked bread is the "staff of life," and every healthy person can digest it. But half-baked bread, with the starch grains in it almost as hard as little bits of wood, is ruinous to the digestion of any one who is forced to eat it. The use of fats in cooking. Fat is a most valuable heating and strengthening food, but, like every other food, it may injure the body if it is taken in a wrong way or in too large amounts. When fat has been made very hot, as often happens when food is fried, acids that injure the stomach are formed in it. Also, when foods are coated with fat, the digestive juices cannot get at them and they are digested very slowly. For this reason many foods are much harder to digest when fried than when cooked in other ways. Greasy crullers, pancakes, fried pies, and other fried foods are injuring the digestive organs of many people, and the health of many families would improve at once if their frying pans were thrown away. The importance of pleasing the taste. The human body is not a mere furnace or engine, and giving it certain quantities of food materials does not necessarily mean that it will be properly nourished. The workings of the digestive organs must always be considered, and since these are to a large extent controlled by the nervous system, the importance of pleasing the taste, of serving food attractively, and of pleasant and cheerful conditions while eating, must always be kept in mind. Questions: 1. Why should starchy foods be well cooked? 2. Name some starchy foods. 3. What injurious substances are formed in fat when it is heated very hot? 4. Why are fried foods harder to digest than foods that are cooked in other ways? Suggestions and topics for development: A teacher may do much for the community in which she is working by discussing with the girls of her school the best ways of cooking different foods, bringing samples of her own cooking to school and having the girls do the same, and in general by showing that she is interested in the best methods of preparing foods for use. Many good books on the subject may be obtained and there are persons in every locality whose methods of cooking are worthy of study and imitation by others. It is not necessary for a teacher to wait for a department of domestic science before making a beginning in this work, and the fact that the teacher considers the subject of sufficient importance to receive serious consideration will in itself have a most wholesome effect on the mental attitudes of the pupils. Discuss methods of cooking some of the cheaper foods so that they will be acceptable substitutes for those that are more expensive. Farmers' Bulletins from the United States Department of Agriculture that will be found useful are No. 34 on Meats: Composition and Cooking; No. 112 on Bread and Bread Making; No. 256 on the Preparation of Vegetables for the Table; No. 359 on Canning Vegetables in the Home. These Bulletins will be sent free on application. FIG. II. Foods should be kept away from the hands of the public and from dust and flies. IF a piece of meat is left in a warm room, it will soon spoil. But if it is thoroughly cooked and tightly sealed up in a can, it will keep for years. Or if it is placed where it will remain frozen, it will not decay. Every fisherman or farmer knows that salt helps to keep fish or meat from spoiling, and the housekeeper puts sugar in her fruits to keep them from souring, or to "preserve" them. What is it that causes food to spoil? Why is it that food will keep if it is canned, or frozen, or heavily salted, or preserved in sugar? What must we do with our foods when we want to keep them from spoiling and becoming unfit for use? Spoiling of food caused by bacteria. Spoiling and souring of food are caused by bacteria. These are plants so very small that we can see them only with a microscope. Some kinds of bacteria are able to grow in our bodies and cause sickness. These kinds we call disease germs. Many kinds of bacteria that do not cause disease can grow in our foods and cause the foods to spoil so that they become unfit for use. The important thing in the care of foods is to keep bacteria from growing in them. Keeping bacteria out of food by cleanliness. We give bacteria a chance to get into food by allowing dust to blow into it; by allowing flies to crawl over it; by allowing mice, rats, and roaches to run about in pantries; by keeping the food in dirty vessels; by washing it with dirty water; by handling it with unclean hands; and in general by failing to keep it clean. Cleanliness is the first great point in caring for food, since it keeps bacteria from getting into the food. FIG. 12. Keeping bacteria from growing in foods by cold. Bacteria grow very slowly in foods that are kept cold, and by keeping foods cold we can do much to keep them from spoiling. Do not leave in a warm kitchen milk, meats, cooked fruits, fruits, or other foods that will spoil, but put them at once into a refrigerator with plenty of ice. If ice cannot be Food should be kept in a refrigerator, and there should always be enough ice in the refrigerator to keep the food cold. |
