Dairy Products.—Milk, cream, and other dairy products form such an important part of the invalid dietary that they require especial care in their selection. “Certified Milk” is the safest. This is protected by special inspection. The methods and standards governing the production and distribution of certified milk were adopted by the American Association of Medical Milk Commissions, May 1, 1912. The sanitary condition of the dairy, the cleanliness of the vessels into which the milk is placed, the health of the milkers, and a surety that no member of their family with whom they come in contact has any kind of contagious disease, are all obligatory. The feed for the cows and the purity of the water given them to drink must be inspected and made to conform to the standard laid down for certified milk. The milk of sick cows and those having tuberculosis is absolutely condemned. The composition of certified milk is standardized as follows: the fat standard shall be 4%, with a permissible range varying from 3.5% to 4.5%. The proteins shall be 3.5%, with a permissible range varying from 3% to 4%. Certified milk shall not contain more than 10,000 bacteria to the cubic centimeter when it is delivered. This inspection and standardizing necessarily raises the price of certified milk above that of milk not so rigidly cared for, and when the additional expense makes it impossible for the patient to afford certified milk, the only thing to do is to be sure of the reliability of the dealer from whom the milk is purchased and the cleanliness of the dairy from which it is procured. Buttermilk and butter are the milk products which require some attention as to selection. The former grows sour with age and the odor of advanced fermentation and decomposition is readily recognized. Sweet butter, butter without salt, is less apt to be old when purchased than the salted variety, as the flavor of rancid fat is unmistakable in butter which has not been especially treated.

Milk.—Milk is without a doubt the most valuable food in the invalid dietary, furnishing not only a highly nutritious beverage, but likewise acting as a carrier of additional nourishment when such is necessary. Its form, its lack of definite flavor and odor, all add to its value as a food in sickness. Milk is one of the few foods which includes in its composition all of the chemical combinations known as foodstuffs. The carbohydrates, comprising 4.88% to 5% of the solids in milk, occur as lactose or milk sugar. This sugar belongs to the disaccharide group, and is, in the majority of cases, readily digested by even the most delicate digestive apparatus. This form of sugar lends itself particularly well as a reinforcing agent, and is generally used in such cases as typhoid fever, etc. The fat in milk, comprising 4% of the solids and occurring as butter fat (cream), is made up chiefly of olein and of palmitin, with smaller amounts of stearin and from 5% to 6% of its composition in the form of butyric acid (the fatty acid to which butter owes its name and flavor) and traces of other fatty acids, as well as small quantities of cholesterin, lecithin, and a yellow coloring matter.

The proteins of milk, which form the curd or larger part of the solids, according to Van Slyke[29] are in the form of casein and albumen. There are 3.6 parts casein to 1 part soluble proteins, but these figures vary somewhat at times. Casein is insoluble in pure water, but dissolves readily in water to which an alkali or calcium carbonate is added. The soluble protein in the form of lactalbumen is one of the constituents of whey. This substance contains more sulphur than does casein, but no phosphorus.

Whey is the opalescent fluid which remains when the casein is precipitated, and is composed of water 93.8%, total ash 0.44% (KÖnig).

Mineral salts, 0.7% of milk, are made up of calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, sulphur, phosphorus, and chlorine. Milk is so rich in calcium that it requires only 400 c.c. (or about 2½ cups) to furnish 1 gram of calcium. This is the amount believed to be necessary for the welfare of man each day and this must be derived from food.[30]

Water.—The fluid part of milk is composed chiefly of water, constituting 87% of whole milk.

Milk as a food for infants will be discussed in another chapter.

As has already been said, no food has so far been discovered which could be effectually substituted for milk. There is no food, however, which requires more attention in its selection and care. It is very susceptible to both odors and flavors, absorbing them both readily, as will be found if milk be placed in the same compartment with foods of strong odor and flavor, without being properly covered and protected. This is particularly noticeable with cucumbers, melons, etc.

Milk also furnishes a splendid medium for bacterial growth, and if left exposed to the air, put into unclean receptacles, or kept in a warm place, will immediately become more or less contaminated, after which it is unwise to use it. Sterilization and pasteurization will in a measure overcome the bacterial contamination, but milk purchased from a dairy which is not clean or milked under unsanitary conditions will remain dirty, hence unfit for human consumption. When the morning’s milk supply is brought to the house it should be in clean, well-stoppered bottles, but before placing it in the ice-box the tops of the bottles should be carefully wiped off with a wet cloth to remove any superficial dust which may be adhering to them. Every time a portion of the milk is removed thereafter the tops should be again cleansed before the milk is poured out. This is a wise precaution, and often prevents contamination from the hands, etc.

The amount of water in milk prevents its being an adequate food for adults except in certain pathological conditions. However, it furnishes a supplementary food unequaled by any other beverage known. There are fortunately only a few individuals who are unable to drink milk. There are many who fancy they cannot do so, but if the nurse has the ingenuity to utilize some of the various methods whereby milk is made more digestible, it will generally be found that the patient can take it without trouble. In cases of personal dislike, if the milk is flavored or colored or made up into soup, cocoa, chocolate, junket, custards, blanc-mange, etc., it will usually prove acceptable.

Application of Heat.—A word as to the changes which are brought about as the result of heat as applied to milk. These changes are demonstrated in the two methods commonly used in the preparation of milk known as “pasteurization” and “sterilization.” Pasteurization is rather an indefinite term to use, unless the time and the temperature to which the milk is subjected are given. According to Morse and Talbot “the term sterilization should never be applied to the processes used in the preparation of milk for the feeding of infants, because the milk is never rendered bacteriologically sterile by them.”[31]

As a rule the flavor and odor of milk are not changed by heat until the temperature reaches nearly to the boiling point. A scum then forms on boiling milk, composed of casein 50.86%, fatty matter 45.42%, ash 4.72% (Rosenau). Prolonged boiling changes the color of milk from a creamy white to a yellowish brown which deepens with boiling. This is due to the caramelization of the milk sugar. Cream will not rise (or its rise will be very slow) on milk which has been subjected to a temperature of 150° F. for thirty minutes or more because the fat droplets are broken down so that they cannot hold together at that temperature and become more completely distributed throughout the fluid.[32]

Pasteurization is acknowledged to be preferable to sterilization in milk used for infant feeding because the higher the temperature the greater the change in the chemical composition of the fluid. According to Morse and Talbot[33] the temperature of the pasteurization should be as low as possible. Pasteurization at 140° F. for 20 minutes is sufficient; lower temperatures are not. “At this temperature there is no change in the taste, odor, or color of the milk, no noteworthy changes in the chemical composition are produced, the ferments and bactericidal action are unaffected and bacterial toxins and non-spore-bearing microorganisms are destroyed.”[34]

Rosenau[35] states that the bacillus of typhoid, diphtheria, and dysentery, as well as the cholera vibrio and other pathogenic non-spore-bearing bacteria which are often found in milk, are destroyed at a temperature of 140° F. for twenty minutes, and at higher temperatures for shorter lengths of time.

Sommerfield’s[36] investigations prove that butyric acid bacilli are destroyed at a temperature of 212° F. for from 1 to 2 minutes.

It must be understood that no matter what method is used to insure purity in milk, nothing does away with the necessity for keeping the milk both clean and cold. The receptacles in which the milk is allowed to stand, the vessels in which it is measured, and the person who handles it must be absolutely clean, and the nurse must keep in mind the fact that pasteurization does not completely destroy the bacterial growth in milk, that it merely diminishes it, and she must see that the milk which has undergone the pasteurizing process is kept cold, otherwise the microÖrganisms which are present, even if to a less extent than in raw milk, will undoubtedly multiply.

Adulteration of Milk.—There is not nearly so much adulteration of milk to-day as there was a few years ago. The stringent laws governing the care and composition of the milk make it unprofitable for the dairymen to practise it. However, there are times when such things are done and care must be taken to prevent it. Milk is, as has already been stated, very susceptible to contamination, and that which is infected with putrefactive bacteria is not fit for food even if the dealer has doctored it with formaldehyde. However, the danger to-day is not so much from drugs as from lack of care in the handling of the milk. It is well to remember, however, that water is an adulteration just the same as formaldehyde and perhaps more pernicious, since the quantities of the latter are so small in an ordinary quantity of milk as not to make a great deal of difference except in the feeding of invalids and children, while watered milk is a swindle not only to the pocketbook but to the body also, since the requisite nutritive value is lacking.

Selection and Care of Milk.—There are a few essential facts to keep in mind in regard to milk: (1) Be sure of the source of the milk supply, especially in the feeding of the sick and of infants. Milk for such cases should always be purchased from inspected dairies when it is possible. (2) Keep the milk cold; the best milk in the world will spoil if left in a warm place. (3) Always keep the milk bottle well covered, thus eliminating the danger of contamination, flies, etc.

Albuminized Milk

135-152 calories

Have the milk thoroughly chilled.

Clip egg whites with scissors and strain through cheesecloth to remove stringy parts. Now stir into the milk with a fork.

If patient does not object to foam, the mixture may be placed in a milk shaker with pieces of ice and shaken until creamy, then poured over cracked ice.

Albuminized Milk Shake

135 calories

Place the milk on ice to become thoroughly chilled. Clip the egg white with scissors and strain through cheesecloth to free it from strings; stir into cold milk. If patient does not object to foam, the milk and egg whites may be placed in a milk shaker, and agitated for 4 or 5 minutes, then poured over cracked ice. This beverage may be flavored to suit the taste of patient. Vanilla, caramel, or coffee may be used to give variety.

To add additional nourishment 1 teaspoonful of Sanatogen, or Plasmon may be added, or 1 tablespoonful of Panopepton or liquid peptonoids used instead of the casein products.

Milk and Ginger Ale (or Sarsaparilla)

59 calories

Pour into a milk shaker and shake with cracked ice until foamy.

Milk Punch

298 calories

A grating of nutmeg on top. Place ingredients in shaker as directed above, and shake a few minutes to thoroughly mix ingredients. Pour over cracked ice, grate nutmeg or cinnamon over the top. The milk may be peptonized if necessary, using ½ tube of Fairchild’s peptonizing powder.

Peptonized Milk

314 calories

Dissolve the powder in 1 gill of cold water, and place in a clean quart jar (glass).

Pour in 1 pint of cold milk and stop the bottle with cotton, shake well and place the bottle in a saucepan containing water just warm enough to allow of the hand being immersed without being burned (115° F.).

Keep the water at this temperature for 5 to 10 minutes or longer according to the degree of peptonization desired. Lift out of the warm water and plunge into cold, then place at once on ice.

The milk may be poured from bottle into a clean saucepan and brought quickly to a boil to prevent further peptonization; this process, however, is apt to make the milk very bitter and should not be used unless it is to be flavored with fruit juice.

Peptonized Milk Punch

212 calories

Take a goblet about one-third full of finely crushed ice, add a tablespoonful of St. Croix rum, a dash of curaÇao or any liquor that is agreeable to the taste; fill the glass with “specially peptonized milk,” stir well, and grate a little nutmeg on top. Add 1 tablespoon sugar.

Buttermilk (Bulgarian)

627 calories

If latter is used dissolve tablet in 1 gill of cold water.

Stir the buttermilk starter into the cold milk and place in a one-half gallon glass jar, place the cover on loosely and allow the jar to stand for 12 hours or until the milk is well clabbered. (Insert a thin-bladed knife close to the jar so that the rest of the milk is not disturbed to see if the coagulation is complete.) When this is accomplished place the jar in the ice-box. After the milk has become thoroughly cold, beat thoroughly. The mixture is like any well-made buttermilk. If the cream is removed before adding the culture the milk will be lower nutrient value, but in many cases this is necessary since it is often the fats which cause a disturbance.

Cocoa

147-166 calories

Mix cocoa and sugar together and add boiling water slowly. Boil 3 to 5 minutes; heat milk in double boiler and add cocoa mixture. Beat with Dover egg beater to distribute cocoa and prevent scum forming. Serve with or without whipped cream. Cocoa may be reinforced as directed in “broths” with albumen or the whole or yolk of one egg well beaten. If the white alone is used, care must be observed that the liquid is not hot enough to coagulate the albumen. Proprietary foods and casein preparations are used in like manner.

Plain Junket

161 calories

Heat milk to 100° F. Add junket tablet dissolved in 1 tbs. cold water. Mix in sugar and flavoring, and pour into molds to jelly. When junket becomes firm, place in ice until needed.

Junket Ice Cream

428 calories

Heat cream and milk to 100° F. and proceed as in junket. When mixture is jellied turn into freezer, as any ice cream. This is the most wholesome of ice creams and especially suited for children and patients who have tuberculosis complicated with gastric disturbances.[38]

Plain Vanilla, Lemon, or Almond Ice Cream with or without Egg White[39]

585-602 calories

Method I. Whip cream, add sugar and flavoring, and freeze.

Method II. Scald half the cream and cool. Whip the remaining half, add sugar and flavor and freeze.

Method III. Make “boiled custard,” as directed, add one-half the amount of cream and freeze.

To reËnforce ice cream:—Add 1 or 2 egg whites, beaten or unbeaten; these may be added in the beginning, or after the mixture begins to freeze. A tablespoonful of maple sirup, caramel sirup (1 tbs. sugar melted and browned and dissolved in 1 tbs. boiling water), or chocolate sirup may be poured over the ice cream to vary the flavor. Make chocolate sirup by boiling 2 tbs. water, 1 tbs. sugar, and 1 tbs. chocolate to a sirup. 143.3 calories.

Frozen Custard

289-329 calories

Prepare as soft custard, freeze.

Lactone Buttermilk

627 calories

(Parke, Davis & Co.’s and Hanson & Co.’s buttermilk tablets are practically the same.) Dissolve tablet in cold water and stir into fresh milk (which may or may not be skimmed, according to the directions of the physician, but the finished product is more palatable using whole milk). Pour into a clean jar or wide-mouthed bottle; plug with cotton or close not tightly, allow to stand in room temperature 70°-75° F. 24 hours, shaking the bottle occasionally to keep the cream from rising. At the end of this time pour the milk out (if sufficiently fermented), and beat briskly for 5 to 6 minutes with egg beater or with churn; place on ice until ready to serve.

Malted Milk (1)

77-96 calories

Heat water to boiling and mix malted milk (Horlick’s) with a little cold water. Stir into the boiling water, add sugar and salt, and serve with or without cream.

Malted Milk (2)

107-155 calories

Proceed as above.

Malted Milk Chocolate or Cocoa

230-300 calories

Mix cocoa or chocolate with water and boil 2-3 minutes. Pour milk into a double boiler and heat, mix malted milk with a little water and stir into the hot milk, add the cocoa paste, sugar, and vanilla, mix thoroughly, beat the mixture briskly to mix ingredients thoroughly, and serve with or without cream.

Milk or Cream Soups

Milk or Cream Sauce for Soups

599-1229 calories

Cream butter and flour to a smooth paste, heat milk in double boiler on an asbestos mat over the flame; when it is scalding hot, stir in the butter and flour paste, stir until smooth and the mixture begins to thicken, cover and allow to cook without boiling for 15 minutes; strain. The sauce may be used at once or put into a glass jar in the ice-box until needed.

Cream of Asparagus (1)

213 calories

Heat sauce and purÉe in separate saucepans, and when about ready to serve, stir them together, strain carefully, season with salt, and serve with or without croutons of toast or whipped cream. If the sauce is made from the cream instead of milk, the fuel value will be much higher (302.7 calories).

Cream of Asparagus (2)

216 calories

Cut off the tips of the asparagus in 1-inch pieces, and place with the rest in a saucepan, and cover with water; add salt and cook until the tips are tender; lift out and put aside to be used instead of the toast croutons. After the water in which the asparagus is cooked is of sufficiently strong flavor, strain and add the extra spoonful of flour, mixed in a tablespoonful of water; cook 15 minutes, measure ½ cupful, and proceed as directed above.

Cream of Potato

259 calories

Boil and cream the potato. Make sauce and add potato purÉe; stir until well blended and serve with toast croutons.

When boiling potato if a sprig of parsley is added and strained out, and a little of the potato water is used to make the purÉe smooth, the soup will have more character.

Cream of Spinach, Celery, Peas or Carrots

224-461 calories

Proceed as in making other cream soups.

Oyster Soup

179 calories

Put oysters (and their liquor) into a saucepan, and heat gently; skim thoroughly. Heat milk in separate pan; when very hot add to oysters. Roll the cracker and add to soup just before it is served. Add salt and pepper at the same time.

Eggs

Eggs.—The table shows eggs to have a chemical composition of water 73.7%, protein 14.8%, fat 10.5%, and mineral salts (ash) 1.0%. Fuel value per pound, 672 calories. The white of the egg, constituting 57% of the entire weight, is composed chiefly of albumen and water with a small percentage of mineral salts in the form of calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorin, sulphur, and iron. Typical albumens are always rich in sulphur, and in eggs the sulphur content is much greater in the egg white than it is in the yolk. The yolk of eggs contains more protein and fat than the white, and less water. The protein of the yolk is chiefly in the form of ovovitellin, while the fats occur as palmitin, olein, and stearin. There is also 5% of coloring matter in the yolk of eggs besides lecithin, nuclein, salts of iron, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. The latter mineral salt comprises 1.0% in yolk, while in the white there is only .03%. Eggs have a position in the invalid dietary second only to that of milk. They are nutritious, easy of digestion, and exceedingly palatable if properly selected and correctly prepared. The albumen in the white is very susceptible to the effect of heat. At a temperature of about 135° F. the clear, pale yellowish white begins to change to an opalescent tint, and, as the temperature is gradually increased, the texture changes from a viscid, sticky substance to an opaque, jelly-like mass which solidifies with an ever increasing temperature. Hard cooked white of egg, unless it is very finely divided, is considered difficult of digestion, but if the heat is applied gradually and is not raised to the boiling point (212° F.) there is no reason why the hard cooked white of the egg should not be digested. However, it is unwise to cook eggs in this manner for invalids or children. Any of the other methods, with the exception of frying, which should never be used, is decidedly preferable. Egg albumen is soluble in water and fresh fruit juices, so that it may be used with great success as a reinforcing agent. In fact, the whole egg may be so used, but it is more difficult to disguise the yolk in a beverage than it is the white, and for this reason it is not so adaptable in many cases. Eggs may be cooked by the following methods in the invalid dietary: coddled, soft-cooked, poached, creamed, omelet, scrambled, or in custard. Uncooked eggs may be given in water, milk, wine, or fruit juices.

The selection of eggs is equally as important as the selection of other foods. There are “new-laid eggs,” “fresh eggs,” and just “eggs.” The latter are generally storage and should not be used for the sick or for infants. As a rule old eggs will not stand poaching, the whites and yolks mingle and form an unappetizing mass. It does not make any difference whether the color of the shell is white or brown; if the egg is absolutely fresh the white and yolk should be distinct and easily separated, and when they are not it is safer to discard the egg entirely.

Fruit Beverages

Orangeade

118 calories

Sweeten the juice of orange and lemon and pour into a glass filled with crushed ice. Fill glass with plain or carbonated water.

Albuminized Orangeade

152 calories

Make orangeade as directed in above recipe, without the addition of water. Break the whites of 2 eggs into a saucer and with scissors cut the albumen until free from membrane and strain, stir this into the orange juice and add several pieces of cracked ice. This is both nourishing and palatable, and the taste of the egg cannot be detected.

Albuminized Lemonade

107 calories

Cut as directed for Albuminized Orangeade. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Pour over a glassful of cracked ice. Fill glass with plain or carbonated water.

Pineappleade

151 calories

Mix lemon juice, water, and pineapple together; add sugar, if not sweet enough, but the less used the better, in all beverages. Add extract and pour into a shaker with a few lumps of ice. Shake well to mix ingredients and pour the pineapple over crushed ice. If this proves too much at a time, make half the recipe. Serve in tall thin glasses holding from 4 to 6 ounces after the ice is put in, or serve in punch glasses with small spoons.

Albuminized Grape Juice

Albuminized Grape Juice is made without the addition of lemon juice unless the white grape juice is substituted for the black, in which case add one or two teaspoonfuls to relieve the flat taste and proceed as in Albuminized Orangeade, using 3 oz. of grape juice.

Egg White and Mint

57 calories

Whip white of egg; add sugar and lemon juice. Crush lower parts of mint leaves slightly and place in glass. Pour mixture over ice in glass; stir well and serve at once.

Fill glass with carbonated water, Vichy, White Rock, Apollinaris, etc. This is especially good when patient suffers from nausea.

Cream, Egg and Vichy

232 calories

Whip egg white to stiff froth; whip cream stiff and sweeten, add vanilla; lastly, the egg. Pour over cracked ice and fill up the glass with Vichy.

Coffee

Mix coffee with 1 tablespoonful of cold water and egg white in small pot (after scalding pot), add boiling water; allow to boil 3 minutes; stir down and add cold water; set pot where coffee will stay hot, but not boil, for 10 to 15 minutes, serve with cream and sugar or use to flavor hot milk.

Plain Eggnog

267 calories

Beat yolk of egg and sugar together; add cream, rum, and whisky. Beat egg white stiff and stir into the mixture; pour into glass with or without cracked ice.

Nutmeg may be grated over top for those who like it.

Coffee Eggnog

Follow recipe for plain eggnog, substituting 2 tablespoonfuls of strong coffee for the rum.

Panopepton or Liquid Peptonoid Eggnog

233-257 calories

Is made as directed for plain eggnog, panopepton being substituted for the rum, using 1 ounce instead of 1 tablespoonful. This will probably more than fill a glass, but the whole amount must be made to keep the proportions correct. The whisky may be left in, if desired, or sherry wine may be substituted in its place to give flavor and additional stimulation.

Malted Milk Eggnog

264-316 calories

Mix milk as directed above and chill thoroughly. Beat egg yolk with sugar and whisky or wine and add to the mixture. Beat egg white stiff and stir into the rest of the ingredients. Pour into shaker and shake with cracked ice until thoroughly chilled. The cream may be served on top, or beaten into the eggnog.

Foamy Omelet

130 calories

Beat yolk until light colored and thick; add water, salt, and pepper. Beat white until stiff and dry. Turn the yolk over the beaten white and cut and fold the white into the yolk mixture.

Have pan hot and buttered, turn in the mixture, spread evenly in pan and allow to stand about two minutes on the top of the stove at a moderate heat; then remove the pan, place in a moderate oven and cook until a knife thrust into the center comes out nearly clean. Remove from oven, cut across center at right angles with handle of pan and turn over on a hot platter. Omelets may be varied by the use of different garnishes and flavors.

Coddled Eggs

75 calories

Allow water to boil; wash egg; drop into boiling water and place saucepan where water will keep hot, but not boil; allow to stand 7 to 8 minutes. Serve with salt.

Soft-Cooked Eggs

75 calories

Proceed as for coddled eggs, but allow egg to remain from 10 to 15 minutes or even longer, if very soft eggs are not desired.

Poached Eggs

75 calories

Have small, shallow saucepan half filled with boiling water or milk—if an egg poacher is at hand, use that; otherwise, lower a flat perforated spoon into water and place where the water cannot boil. Break the egg carefully into the spoon, taking care not to break the yolk; allow to stand in hot water until the white is of the consistency of jelly; lift out—slide egg on to hot toast, taking care not to break. (A broken poached egg is very unappetizing, as well as untidy in appearance.)

Creamed Egg on Toast

With milk 131 calories
With cream 170 calories

Cut the crust from one slice of bread and cut bread in one-inch cubes; toast while preparing egg. Beat egg with egg beater until light colored; stir into it 2 tablespoonfuls of rich milk; pour into a double boiler, over hot water; add 1 teaspoonful butter, a little salt and pepper; stir until like thick boiled custard. Pour over toasted cubes of bread and serve at once.

Egg Nest

204 calories

Toast the bread on one side, butter and place on a plate (one which will not break in the oven).

Beat egg white stiff, and pile roughly upon the toast, leaving a slight depression in the center. Slip the unbroken yolk into the depression (take care not to break the egg yolk or the appearance and significance of the dish will be ruined). Set plate in oven to brown the white (the oven must not be too hot or the white will brown before the yolk is sufficiently cooked to be palatable). Place the remaining butter on the yolk, dust with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Soft Custard

289 to 329 calories

Heat milk in double boiler. Beat egg and sugar together. When milk has reached the scalding point (small bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan), stir in the egg. Care must be taken not to allow the water under the saucepan to become too hot, as the custard will curdle if the egg is cooked at too high a degree of temperature. The custard must be stirred constantly in the beginning until it begins to thicken, then several times a minute until it is of the desired consistency and the raw taste is cooked out of the egg. This mixture is done when it will form a coating upon the spoon. Serve with whipped cream on top (57 calories extra with cream).

Baked Custard

249 calories

Beat egg and sugar together, stir into the milk, grease custard cup with butter, pour in the mixture. Set cup on several layers of paper in a deep pan, surround with hot water (to about half its depth). Set pan in moderate oven and allow to cook slowly until custard is firm in the center. It may be served hot or chilled and turned out, with a tablespoonful of whipped cream on top. Care must be taken not to allow the oven to get hot, or the egg will coagulate, making a watery, unpalatable, and indigestible mixture.

Caramel Custard

306 calories

Caramel custard is made exactly the same as baked custard, except that the cup is lined with a caramel made as follows: In a small frying pan, place 1 tablespoonful of sugar, place on the stove and stir constantly until it melts and turns a golden brown (do not allow to burn). Fold a cloth about the custard cup and pour in the caramel, moving the cup about until the sides and bottom are well coated. Pour in the custard mixture and proceed as in baked custard.

Floating Island

381 calories

Make soft custard, using the two yolks (no white). Chill custard thoroughly. Line individual ice cream cup with the lady fingers; pour the custard over. Beat the white of egg and place on top. Serve at once. The lady fingers may be dipped in sherry wine if desired, using about 2 tablespoonfuls of wine. (26 calories extra.)

Cereals and Breadstuffs

Corn Meal Gruel

101 calories

Allow water to boil, mix corn meal with 3 or 4 teaspoonfuls of cold water. As soon as water begins to boil, stir briskly until gruel begins to thicken. Then place on a cooler part of the stove, and cook gently for 2 hours, replacing water as it evaporates. Strain through a coarse sieve if it lumps.

Farina

183 calories

Mix farina into a paste with cold water. Stir into boiling water, allow to cook for half an hour (if water boils out, add boiling water). Add milk, and place the saucepan in a hot water bath (double boiler); allow to cook half an hour longer, stirring occasionally.

Rice (1)

99 calories

Soak rice for 1 hour in cold water. Sprinkle into the briskly boiling water, taking care not to stop the boil. Allow to cook until tender; test by pressing a grain between thumb and finger; there should be no hard center. When the rice is done, turn it into a colander and allow water from cold faucet to run over it to wash off surplus starch. Return to saucepan place on stove where moisture can be dried out of the rice without burning it.

Rice (2)

2-3 servings, 316 calories

Wash rice and soak it in cold water for 1 hour (or overnight). Place in an earthenware baking dish, cover with the milk, water and salt. Cover and set in the oven; allow to cook until all of the moisture is absorbed (if the rice is not done by the time the moisture has evaporated, add more milk, or milk and water, and continue until the grains are tender). If the given amount of moisture is not absorbed by the time the rice is tender, drain off the surplus and return the dish to the oven for a few moments. Each grain should be separate, when the dish is prepared correctly.

Milk Toast

149 calories

Toast the bread on both sides and butter; place in a deep plate and pour over it the hot milk.

Cream Toast

240 calories

Cream butter and flour together cold, and stir into hot milk. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken, cover the boiler and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Slice the bread and cut into cubes; toast a delicate brown, and pour over it the cream sauce. Strain the sauce if there are any lumps.

Wine Panada

185 calories

Sugar may be sprinkled over crackers if desired, but it is not ordinarily done.

Place the crackers in a deep plate and pour over each cracker 1 tablespoonful of wine, dust with nutmeg and pour over the hot or cold milk.

Oatmeal Cookies

3333 (about) calories

Mix shortening and sugar together. Mix oatmeal and peanuts (broken into small pieces) into the flour. Add milk and well-beaten eggs, then the raisins; mix into a dough, roll into a thin sheet, and cut into small cakes. Bake in quick oven.

Baked Tapioca

550 calories

Beat sugar and egg together, stir in the tapioca and dates, cut into small pieces. (The dates may be omitted, if desired.) Pour mixture into custard cups and bake slowly (as rice custard) until the tapioca is clear and the custard is fairly firm in center.

Orange Tapioca

570 calories

Mix and bake as directed in plain baked tapioca custard. Any other fruit juice may be substituted for the orange, raspberry, pineapple, or grape juice.

Apple Tapioca

475 calories

Beat egg and sugar together. Heat milk in double boiler and add egg when milk is scalding hot. Stir in tapioca. Cook 20 minutes. Place apple in cup a little larger than the apple and pour the tapioca custard over the apple. Cover the cup and bake 30 minutes in a moderate oven.

Brown Betty

470 calories

Toast bread and break into small pieces, line the bottom of the individual baking dish with toast bits, cover with a layer of apple or berries, sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg or cinnamon, add butter in bits over this, continue the process until the dish is filled, place bits of butter on top of the last layer of toast and set dish in oven; bake about 20 minutes in a slow oven; serve with whipped cream or hard sauce.

Starchy Desserts

Rice Custard

309 calories

Beat sugar and egg together. Stir into the milk, stir in the rice and flavor (add raisins if desired—29 calories). Grease custard cup and fill with the mixture. Bake slowly (in a pan of hot water) until custard is firm in center. Serve with whipped cream.

Orange Rice Custard

532 calories

Beat egg, sugar, and orange juice together. Mix milk with rice and stir the two mixtures together. Bake as directed in plain rice custard.

Snow-Balls

356 calories

Place in a double boiler and cook without stirring until milk is absorbed and rice is tender. Then either pack in egg cups (wet first so that rice will slip out without breaking), or take a square of cheesecloth 8 inches square, dust with flour and place about 4 tablespoons of the cooked rice in center, draw the corners together and tie firmly into a ball. Set the ball in a steamer and steam 1 hour. Remove the cloth gently to prevent breaking the balls. They may be served with custard as a dessert, or as a vegetable with tomato dressing.

Tapioca Custard

503 calories

Flavor with vanilla or nutmeg, or ¼ square chocolate grated. Scald milk. Boil tapioca in hot water until transparent like jelly, using one cupful of boiling water. (If tapioca does not absorb all of the water, pour off the surplus.) Beat egg and sugar together and add with the milk to the tapioca. Pour into a double boiler, and cook until the raw egg flavor has disappeared. Flavor as desired. 43 calories extra with chocolate.

Sponge Pudding

772 calories

Sift flour and sugar together and make into a thin paste with part of the milk, heat the remainder of the milk and stir in the flour paste. When the mixture is thick and smooth, stir in the butter, then the beaten yolks and last, the whites (well beaten) are folded in. The mixture is now turned into a baking dish and baked (in a pan of hot water as any other custard) until it is firm in the center and well puffed up and brown. Serve with foamy sauce.

Sunshine Cake

1716 calories

Beat whites of eggs until foamy and add cream of tartar; beat until dry and stiff, add the sugar gradually and fold in the well-beaten yolks. Sift the flour and gradually fold into the rest of the ingredients; pour into ungreased sponge cake pans and bake in a moderate oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

Angel Food Cake

721.5 calories

Whip eggs until foamy and add cream of tartar, whip until stiff and dry, add sugar gradually, then fold in the flour (the flour must be sifted 4 or 5 times).

Pour batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan and bake in a slow oven for 25 or 30 minutes. Care must be taken not to disturb the cake during the baking, or it will fall.

Cereal Pudding

1470 calories

Stir cereal into scalded milk and cook until mixture thickens, remove from fire, add rest of the ingredients except eggs. When mixture has cooled somewhat, add the lightly beaten eggs, turn into a buttered baking dish and steam 3 hours. This pudding may be made without steaming by cooking the cereal and milk in double boiler for 1 hour, then add rest of ingredients and bake 30 minutes.

Sauces for Puddings

Foamy Sauce

494-497 calories

Cream butter and sugar (powdered sugar must be used in this recipe). Stir in the well-beaten yolk, add sherry and pour into saucepan over hot water; stir until thick and creamy, lift from hot water and cool as quickly as possible, fold in the stiffly beaten white of egg and serve over pudding at once.

Wine or Fruit Sauce

381-434 calories

Beat yolk and white of egg separately, add sugar to yolk and beat until creamy, add wine or fruit juice, fold in the egg white and add the hot milk last; serve at once.

Hard Sauce

231 calories

Cream butter and sugar together until there are no lumps or grains in mixture. Beat the egg white stiff and fold into the sugar and butter mixture. Flavor.

Foamy Sauce

794-797 calories

Cream butter and sugar (powdered sugar must be used in this recipe). Stir in the well-beaten yolk, add sherry and pour into saucepan over hot water; stir until thick and creamy, lift from hot water and cool as quickly as possible, fold in the stiffly beaten white of egg and serve over pudding at once.

Sauce for Puddings

758.4 calories

Beat yolk and white of egg separately, add sugar to yolk and beat until creamy, add wine or fruit juice, fold in the egg white and add the hot milk last; serve at once.

Meats

Beef, Lamb, Veal, Poultry, Fish and Shellfish

Meats.—The flesh of animals, poultry, and fish comes under the head of meat. These food materials form one of the most important sources of protein in the diet, the foodstuff being in concentrated form easily handled by the digestive apparatus and absorbed almost completely, leaving little residue in the intestinal tract. The chemical composition of different meats is very much alike, as will be seen in the table, the bulk of the weight being water, while the proteins range from 18.3% (E.P.)[40] in beef to 9.9% in bacon. The fats range from 17.9% in beef to 64.8% in smoked bacon.

The mineral salts or ash, as they are found in meat: “Sodium occurs in the animal body chiefly as chlorid in the fluids and blood, and to a less extent in the other tissues.” “Potassium, on the other hand, is much more abundant in the soft solid tissues, in the corpuscles of the blood and the protoplasm of the muscles and other organs.” “Potassium sulphate in the blood reacts to some extent with sodium chlorid, forming potassium chlorid and sodium sulphate, both of which are rapidly eliminated by the kidneys.” The greater part of the sulphur with which we are concerned in nutrition enters the body by way of the protein, the percentage in lean beef being from 0.95% to 1.00%.[41] Phosphorus in meat occurs as phosphoprotein in the nucleoproteins of cell nuclei, and lecithoproteins in the brain and to a less extent in other tissues as phosphorized fats. Meat is poor in calcium, containing only about 0.01 gram per hundred grams of substance. Meat with eggs yields a considerable amount of what is known as acids in the body.

Quality of Meats.—The quality of meat depends upon several factors: age, sex, care, feeding, and the length of time it is hung. Cold storage beef is much more apt to be tender than that cut from a freshly killed animal. Animals that are not allowed to run over a large area, but are kept in a small inclosure and fed on fattening foods, produce meat of a high quality. This is because the muscular tissue has not been hardened with exercise. The worked muscle is always tougher than the quiet one. For this reason the tenderloin of beef is more tender than the flank. It is situated in the part of the animal that is exercised the least. The tough parts, however, are not lacking in flavor or nourishment, but the manner in which they must be cooked to assure them of being tender deprives them of much of their original flavor. This is demonstrated in broths and soups made from the tough cuts of meat. The extractives from which meat derives its flavor and the soluble albumens are drawn out by the water, and if it is to be used as hash, croquettes, etc., needs to be seasoned, since the broth, while it has taken very little of the actual nourishment from the meat, has deprived it of practically all of its flavor. In making broth or soup, if the meat is covered with cold water instead of hot, more of the extractives will be drawn out and the broth will be more highly flavored and much more stimulating. The color, odor, and freshness of the muscular and fatty tissues of meat are all indicative of their quality. Fresh meat is firm in texture and free from offensive odor. Stale beef and that cut from an old steer exhales a pungent odor of butyric acid. The color of beef should be dark purplish when fresh cut but this changes quickly to a bright red; it should contain preservatives of no kind and must be cut from animals free from all disease. The fat should be of a yellowish white and be crumbly, and should be distributed throughout the muscular tissue and around the organs.

Veal, being the flesh of an immature creature, is not so highly flavored as the flesh of older animals, but the bones and cartilages are softer, and when this meat is used for broth, more of the gelatin (collagen and elastin from the bones and connective tissue) is dissolved out, giving a slightly higher percentage of nutriment in the broth.

Selecting of Chicken and Turkey.—In selecting chicken for the diet of invalids, use only the young birds for broiling, those a few months older for baking and roasting, and the fowls for soup and broth. To test a chicken for broiling and roasting, select one in which the cartilage at the end of the breastbone is soft and pliable; the pinions (lower part of the wings) and the feet should be soft and readily bent. The breastbone of a fowl is firmer and the wings and feet harder than those of the younger chicken. The young chicken has an abundance of pin feathers while the old fowl has not. In fact, one of the means of differentiating between the old chicken and the young, even if they are practically of the same weight, is the presence of the long hairs instead of pin feathers. The fowl selected for broth should not be very fat, as this fat will melt into the broth, causing it to be greasy and unpalatable. Turkey, even when it is young, is not quite so digestible as young chicken; the fibers are longer and the connective tissue more abundant. Goose and duck are richer in fat and not so desirable as chicken in the invalid dietary. Squab, quail, and young squirrel are all palatable and readily digested. The squirrel must, however, be young, or the flesh will be tough and more difficult of digestion.

Fish.—Fish should be given consideration in the dietary of the invalid since it is a valuable source of protein and readily digested in the majority of cases. As a rule fish is not so well liked as meat, but since it contains a smaller percentage of extractives and purin bases it is exceedingly valuable in certain pathological conditions. The lean varieties of fish, halibut, flounder, trout, perch, haddock, turbot, whitefish, are more readily digested than the dark fish, which contain a higher percentage of fat. To this latter class belong the bluefish, mackerel, salmon, shad, and herring.

Shellfish.—Of the shellfish, the oyster and the clam are exceedingly useful. The soft parts of the oyster are palatable and easily digested. They are not highly nutritious, but give a nice variety to the diet. When used in broth or for the juice, clams are particularly useful. Many cases of nausea are relieved by the taking of iced or very hot clam juice when they resist other remedies. The necessity of having both oysters and clams absolutely fresh is of the greatest importance, since a type of poison results from tainted shellfish which is exceedingly dangerous.

Pork in the Diet.—Fresh pork is rarely ever included in the invalid dietary save in diabetic diets. Meat from this animal must always be thoroughly cooked, not only because underdone pork is exceedingly indigestible but because there is an infectious bacterium sometimes found in pork which is only destroyed by thorough cooking of the meat. Well-cooked bacon is digestible if the surplus fat is poured off instead of allowed to soak into the cooked bacon. The most efficient method of cooking bacon is to place the strips upon a broiler under the flame. In this way the hot fat drips down into the pan beneath, leaving the bacon crisp and delicate.

The meats to be used for the invalid must be selected with care. The quality of this item of food is most important. It is not always necessary to purchase the most expensive cut. If it is to be broiled or roasted then it is necessary to select parts of the animal which are tender, but for broths, soups, scraped or ground meat, or the meat to be used for the juice only, it is wasteful to buy these tender, expensive pieces when those costing less will serve the purpose equally well. The names given to the different cuts vary slightly in different parts of the country, but those in general use only will be mentioned here. The following table shows the manner in which the beef is cut and the method in which it is generally used:

TABLE

Cuts of Lamb and Mutton

Broths and Soups

Standard Broth
Beef, Veal, Mutton, or Chicken

1 Pint, 80 calories, with rice or barley 105 calories

Two pounds of meat (beef, mutton, veal, or chicken); 2 quarts of water; 2 pounds of bones; 1 teaspoonful of salt; 2 tablespoonfuls of rice or barley may be added if desired and parsley or celery may be used to give the additional flavor.

Wipe meat with a clean wet cloth and cut into small pieces, break the bones, place all together in a deep saucepan, cover closely and allow to stand in a cool place for one hour; then place pan on the back part of the stove, or on an asbestos mat over a gas burner, and heat gently to the boiling point (broth must never do more than simmer), allow to simmer for three or four hours, skim, strain, and cool. When thoroughly cold, remove all of the fat, using blotting paper to absorb the fine particles of grease. If parsley and celery are to be used to flavor the broth they may be added during the last hour of cooking. Barley requires to be soaked overnight when it is used in broth; rice should be soaked one hour. When either are to be left in the broth it is better to cook the broth for three hours, strain, return to the fire, adding the rice or barley. Allow it to simmer for an hour or more and proceed as directed. When the broth is taken from the fire, it should be measured, and boiling water added to bring the amount up to the original quantity. This will give what is known as standard broth. Bouillon is clarified broth, most of the already small amount of nutrient material being thus strained and cleared from the broth, leaving a liquid of practically no fuel value.

Clam or Oyster Broth

11.5 calories without milk; 162.5 calories with milk

Scrub clams and place in an iron spider and allow to heat gently until the shells open. (When oysters are used allow to heat until the edges curl.) Chop, cover with hot water, and allow to simmer 15 minutes, strain through cloth, add salt and a dash of pepper. If milk is to be used in place of part of the water, add it during the last 5 minutes of the cooking. Clam broth without milk may be served hot or cold; it will not jelly as other broths but may be frozen if desired.

Clam Broth

Without milk, 55.6 calories; with milk, 113.4 calories

Mix clam juice (bottled) with water; heat, add salt and pepper, pour into cup, place whipped cream on top, and serve at once.

Beef Juice

One-fourth pound lean beef.

Wipe clean with damp cloth, cut in inch pieces and sear on a hot griddle, place in a meat press and remove all juice from meat. Care must be taken not to cook the meat. The juice may be reheated by placing in a hot cup in hot water, not allowing the temperature to exceed 155° F.

Chicken Jelly

308 calories
1 serving, 75.8 calories

Cut the chicken in pieces, break the bones, place in a saucepan with all of the ingredients except the gelatin and egg white, cover with the water and boil until the meat falls from the bones. Press out as much of the juice as possible, strain and allow to cool, remove all of the grease, and return to the fire. Reduce to 1 pint, add the gelatin, stir in the beaten egg white, and allow to boil 5 minutes, strain again into molds and set aside to congeal.

Calf’s-foot Jelly

376.6 calories

Cut the fowl and the calf’s-feet into small pieces and place them in a saucepan with 3 pints of cold water and the cinnamon. Cook until the meat falls from the bones (the quantity should be reduced to 1 pint). Strain and squeeze out as much of the juice as possible, allow to cool, and remove all of the grease. Add wine and lemon juice (and sugar if desired) and reduce the amount of broth one-half, add the egg white and allow to boil 5 minutes. Clear and strain into molds.

Broiled Quail or Squab

418-543 calories

Split down the back and place on the broiler, cut surface uppermost. Or place upon a hot pan, cut surface next to the hot surface so that the cut side may sear quickly, thus keeping in the juices instead of having them wasted in the pan by slow cooking. The process requires about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve on toast, with butter, pepper and salt.

Quail or squab cooked inside the stove is often more palatable than that cooked on a broiler. The bird is split as for broiling, and placed in a small pan just large enough to hold it; a strip of bacon pinned about the breast; add 1 tablespoonful of butter in bits, dust the cut surface first with salt and pepper, then with flour; add ½ cup of hot water. Turn another pan over the bird (it must fit closely to keep in the steam), place inside the oven and cook about 10 minutes; turn the bird over and cook 10 minutes longer. Lift the bird from the pan and place it where it will keep hot, add a tablespoonful more water and a teaspoonful more flour to the gravy in the pan, stir briskly to remove any lumps, remove bacon and place the bird upon a slice of nicely browned toast; pour over it the gravy, garnish with a sprig of parsley, and serve at once.

Birds À la Bain-Marie

Split birds or chicken as for broiling, place one-half in a chafing dish or double boiler (bain-marie), dot the cut surface with butter, sprinkle over it the parsley, dust with pepper and salt; place the other half of the chicken or bird on top of this, add the rest of the butter, dust with salt and pepper, cover, and place the pan over the hot water pan; allow to steam for about 1 hour, lift from hot water pan and place in oven or under the flames to brown lightly. Serve on buttered toast.

Chicken (one-half)

355 calories

Split small chicken (broiler) down the back, flatten the breast bone with knife before placing upon the broiler, proceed as in broiling birds, allowing from 25 to 30 minutes for the process. Chicken is very palatable and dainty if cooked after the manner described in cooking quail and squab inside the stove. The process is called smothering. Serve upon buttered toast, garnished with parsley.

Roast Chicken, Turkey or Duck

Draw the fowl and wash thoroughly inside and out. (If it is purchased from the market, it is well to wash the inside with soda water to remove any stale flavor that may be present.)

Make a dressing from one-third of a small loaf of bread broken into small pieces; ¼ cup chopped celery, 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley, 1 tablespoonful of butter and one egg beaten lightly. Stuff the cavity with dressing, sew up the opening and place in dripping pan. Place pan under the flame for a few minutes to brown, unless a regular roasting pan (savory roaster) is used; allow to bake from 45 minutes to an hour and a half for chicken and duck according to the size, and from an hour and a half to three hours for turkey according to size. A cupful of boiling water may be poured into the pan in which the chicken, etc., is being roasted and flour may be sifted over the top; dust with salt and pepper. When an ordinary pan is used for baking, the fowl will require frequent basting to keep it moist and tender. Just as the baking is finished, more butter, flour, and seasoning may be added, with a cup or more of boiling water to make additional gravy.

Sweetbreads

209 calories

Wash sweetbreads carefully and allow to stand 1 hour in ice water, allow the water containing the lemon juice, salt and pepper to come to a boil and drop in the sweetbreads, cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender when pierced with fork. Remove from hot water and pour ice water over them to blanch. Serve either in cream sauce or split in half and broil upon a slightly greased broiler until light brown; season with a dash of salt and pepper.

Broiled Oysters

174 calories

Grease broiler or hot frying pan slightly, place oysters upon the heated surface and place under the flame or on top of the stove; cook until the edges curl (2 to 3 minutes), lift to a hot dish containing the butter, place toast upon small plate (toast and plate must be hot), dispose the oysters upon the toast, and pour over them the butter.

Beefsteak

267 calories

3 inches long by 2 inches wide by 1½ inches thick (weighing about 3 ounces).

Wipe steak off with a wet cloth and dry before cooking. Slightly grease the broiler and place under the flame, count ten as the clock ticks and turn the steak over, count ten again and again turn; continue this for about 3 minutes or until the steak is seared upon both sides, lift the broiler to a lower part of the oven and continue the cooking for 5 to 8 minutes; run a sharp-pointed knife between the meat and the bone (if the steak is a porterhouse or sirloin), and if the flesh is red, continue the cooking a minute or more. If it is pink, lift to a hot plate, place 1 teaspoonful of butter upon it, dust the surface with salt and pepper and serve hot. Pan broiling is done on the top of the stove in a flat frying pan. Wipe the pan with a clean wet cloth, place upon the stove and heat piping hot, and place the steak (without greasing the pan) upon the hot surface. Proceed as in broiling under the flame. After the first 3 minutes of cooking, place the pan on a cooler part of the stove to finish the cooking.

Lamb or Mutton Chops

2 chops, 304 calories

1 to 2 inches thick will require from 10 to 15 minutes’ cooking. Scrape the bone clean and wrap in paper or dough to prevent the bone from becoming charred. Proceed as in cooking beefsteak.

Veal Cutlets

2 cutlets, 275 (about) calories

Dip cutlets first in egg (mix one yolk with 1 tablespoonful of water) then in bread crumbs; pan broil (grease the frying pan slightly), or broil under the flame as directed in cooking beefsteak. Veal cutlets may be served plain, or with tomato sauce.

Cutlets or chops may be cooked in paper bags if desired. Wrap the chop in a thin slice of bacon, grease the paper (a piece of heavy brown paper), place the chop inside and secure the ends with paper clips or pins; place in a pan and cook in the oven, or under the flame. It is wise to slip the bag containing the chop inside of another bag; in this way the meat will not taste of scorched paper if the outer bag should burn.

Bacon (1 Slice)

194 calories

Place bacon on a rack and place rack in a dripping pan, set in oven and bake until crisp and brown. Or, arrange bacon on broiler, place pan beneath to catch the drippings and prevent the fat from catching afire, broil as beefsteak.

When steak or chops are served, parsley or sliced lemon may be used as garnishes. Chops may be served garnished with green peas, and the beefsteak served with potatoes cooked in any way; all meats should be served very hot. It is best to cover with a plate.

Fish

Split down the back, and broil as beefsteak. Fish does not require more than from 10 to 15 minutes to broil unless very large. Serve with teaspoonful of parsley and butter.

Fish Steaks, Stuffed with Oysters

3 ounces, 168.3 calories (about)
Halibut, trout, or any good baking fish, 235.8 calories (about)

Lay fish for one hour in a French dressing made from ½ cup of oil, ? cup of vinegar, salt and pepper; drain and place upon slices of bacon, placed upon a fish sheet or dripping pan. Dip oysters first in melted butter, then in bread crumbs, and place upon the slice of fish, adjust second slice above, cover top with bread crumbs, dot with butter and bake 30 to 45 minutes in moderate oven. Serve with hollandaise sauce.

Lobster or Crab

1 serving lobster, 157 calories
1 serving crab, 154 calories

Boil lobster or crab until bright red, lift from boiling water.

Split lobster down the back and carefully remove cord, gall sack, and sand bag before broiling or serving. Serve with melted butter.

Pick meat from shell of crab, and mix with salt, pepper and butter. Stuff into shell. Cover top with bread crumbs, and brown in the oven.

Hollandaise Sauce

178 calories; 1 tablespoonful, 22 calories

Beat egg yolk with lemon juice; add one-half the butter; place in double boiler over hot (not boiling) water. Stir until it begins to thicken and add remainder of butter; stir in boiling water, cook until of the consistency of boiled custard.

Vegetables and Fruits

Among the plants known as vegetables, some are seeds, some leaves, some stems or bulbs, some roots or tubers, and some are the fruit surrounding the seeds. Under the head of seeds we find peas, beans and lentils, this class of vegetables being spoken of as legumes or pulses; they are rich in protein (especially when dried) and contain an appreciable amount of carbohydrates as well, some contain fat. Green, or fresh legumes are more easily digested than the dried legumes. They are important sources of iron and phosphorus and contain a certain amount of calcium; in the body they act as neutralizing agents since the base-forming elements in these plants predominate over the acid-forming elements.[42]

Among the “leafy vegetables” we find, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, beet, turnip and mustard greens, chard and parsley. These vegetables are not only prized for their mineral content but furnish a recognized source of the fat soluble vitamine, “A.”

Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and pumpkin are vegetables whose “fleshy fruit” surround the seed but are eaten as vegetables instead of as fruit.

Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, beets and turnips are among those whose stems, roots or tubers are eaten as vegetables.

More and more are we coming to see the importance of this class of foods in the dietary, they are important on account of their mineral salts, their vitamine factors and for the bulk which they lend to the food mass which facilitates its passage along the digestive tract. The majority of vegetables furnish organic acids or their salts which function in the body, as potential bases, assisting in the neutralization of the acids formed in the body as a result of the breaking down of the proteins.

Fruits.—Fruits have practically the same value from a dietetic standpoint as vegetables, and the same care must be given to their selection. Some fresh fruit should be given to children every day to safeguard them against scurvy. And adults should have fresh fruit several times a week, the remainder of the time dried fruits may be used. Canned fruits while good are not so valuable as fresh fruits and are more expensive than the dried fruit.

The fruits and vegetables will here be considered. Some of the fruits and vegetables contain high percentages of sugar, aside from the mineral salts, for which they are especially valuable. This class includes the sugar cane, sugar beet, raisins, dates, figs, etc., while others such as the potato, taro, banana, etc., furnish an appreciable amount of starch. All of the vegetables and fruits are rich in mineral salts, which are as important to the work of the body as the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Hence it is essential to add the foods containing these mineral salts to the daily dietary both in health and in disease.

Both fruits and vegetables should be free from blemishes. Those to be served raw, such as lettuce and other salad vegetables, must be purchased from reliable markets. Unscrupulous vendors have been known to sprinkle old wilted vegetables, to restore their freshness, with water from stagnant pools teeming with typhoid bacteria, thereby spreading infection broadcast. Vegetables which require cooking before they are eaten are, for this reason, safer.

Canned foods should be avoided in the diet of the invalid whenever it is possible; but, when it is not, care should be observed that no can is used in which there is the least sign of fermentation. Beans and peas are sometimes artificially colored, but this custom is not so prevalent now as it used to be.

Peas

121 calories

Add salt and peas to boiling water; allow to cook from 30 to 60 minutes, or until they are perfectly tender, drain and add butter and additional salt if necessary, or 1 tablespoonful of cream sauce. In gastro-intestinal disorders and with young children, it is best to press peas through sieve or remove the indigestible parts.

String Beans

94 calories

Cover with boiling water and cook until tender, drain, and serve hot.

Spinach

90 calories

Wash thoroughly through about ten waters, until spinach is entirely free from grit, remove the tough stems, lift the spinach from water and place in a saucepan without additional water, sprinkle over with salt, cover saucepan and cook until tender (requires about 15 minutes). Cut very fine with sharp knife, or press through sieve, add butter and serve hot.

Carrots (with Cream Sauce or Butter)

82-117 calories

Carrots, about ½ cupful after they are cut in cubes, or 3½ ounces. Serve with 2 tablespoonfuls of cream sauce, or with 2 teaspoonfuls of butter and a little salt and pepper. Scrub carrots and scrape off the skins; cut into slices or cubes, drop into slightly salted boiling water and cook until tender; drain and add butter or cream sauce.

Baked Potato (White)

140 calories

1 potato weighing about 3 ounces; scrub well with a brush; dry and slightly grease surface, place in moderately hot oven and bake about 45 or 50 minutes. (The potato should feel tender upon pressure.) When done, make an incision of 1 inch in the skin and gently press out the steam; cover closely with cloth and keep in a warm place until ready to serve. Put teaspoonful (about ? ounce) of butter in the cut and serve very hot.

Creamed Potato

182 calories

Pare and boil potato until tender when pierced with a fork; drain off the water and return the saucepan to the stove; shake the pan (to prevent burning) until the potato looks dry; mash with fork or potato ricer, add milk, butter, and salt. Beat briskly until creamy. Serve at once or brown in oven.

Potato Stuffed with Meat

197.5 calories

Bake potato, split in half and remove the contents, mix with the chopped meat, add salt, pepper, and butter; return to the two halves, set in oven to brown, then serve at once.

Scalloped Potatoes

250.8 calories

Boil potato, not quite tender, and slice in moderately thin slices; arrange in layer in an individual earthenware baking dish (ramekin), add butter in bits between layers, pour the milk over; set dish in oven, cover and bake slowly for 15 minutes, until most of the milk is absorbed and the potatoes are nicely browned on top. In cases where the patient is allowed cheese, 2 teaspoonfuls may be sprinkled between the layers, giving 31 additional calories.

Vegetable and Fruit Salads

Cucumber

62.5 calories

Slice cucumber in thin slices and allow to stand thirty minutes in ice water, drain and serve with French dressing.

Tomato (No. 1)

with mayonnaise, 61 calories
with French dressing, 131 calories

Wash tomato carefully, cut in shape of flower by cutting almost through the tomato making six sections. Place on lettuce leaf and serve with dressing.

Tomato (No. 2)

63 calories

Remove skin from 1 medium sized tomato, remove pulp, fill cavity with following mixture.

Fruit Salad (No. 1)

Remove skin and inner membranes from grapefruit, mix with celery and mayonnaise. Serve on lettuce. This salad may be poured into a tin (baking powder can, or mould), packed in ice and salt and frozen. Then served in slices upon lettuce.

Fruit Salad (No. 2)

1217 calories (about)

If mayonnaise is used the mixture may be frozen. If French dressing is used, serve on lettuce without freezing.

Tomato Jelly

77 calories

One slice of onion may be added if there is nothing to contra-indicate it, but care must be taken in adding onion, as it is apt to disagree with many people. Boil all of the ingredients together (except the gelatin) for 20 minutes, press through a sieve, then through a cloth, return to the stove and allow to boil up; add the gelatin and boil 5 minutes; strain into wet molds.

Whole Tomato Stuffed with Rice

167 calories

Remove the center from the tomato, dust the inside with salt and a very little pepper and set aside. Boil the rice, when about half done (10 minutes) add the tomato pulp, from center of tomato. Cook 10 minutes longer, drain the water from the rice, add the butter, salt, and a little pepper. Fill the center of tomato with rice. Set the tomato upon a greased paper and bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.

Broiled Tomatoes

353 calories

Heat broiler or frying pan very hot, grease lightly; season crumbs with salt and pepper; dip slices of tomato in cracker crumbs, covering both sides well, and place upon the broiler; when one side is browned, turn over carefully, to prevent breaking, and allow the other side to brown. Lift the broiler to the lower half of the oven and let the tomatoes cook gently for 10 minutes. Place bits of butter upon each slice, then arrange these on the buttered toast.

Stewed Tomatoes on Toast

171 calories

Pour tomatoes and water in a saucepan and allow to cook slowly for 20 minutes, add salt and a dash of pepper. Toast and butter the bread, pour the cooked tomatoes over it and serve at once.

French Dressing

131 calories

Have all ingredients cold; mix salt and pepper together; stir in the oil, add vinegar or lemon juice slowly, beating briskly to form an emulsion; use immediately or ingredients will separate.

Use as little salt as possible in nephritic conditions.

Mayonnaise Dressing

2109 calories

Method of Mixture: Mix dry ingredients with yolk of egg thoroughly; add all the acid (use Dover beater). Now add, one teaspoonful at a time, the olive oil; beat continually until the mixture thickens (after 8 teaspoons of oil have been added). Put in oil by tablespoonfuls until all is incorporated. This method shortens the time of making at least one-half, and the dressing rarely curdles as it often does in the old methods.

Whipped cream may be added to dressing before serving. Mayonnaise will keep if placed in a cool place, and the above quantities are more easily handled than smaller amounts.

Gelatin Jellies

Lemon Jelly

150 calories

Orange Jelly

280 calories

Grape Juice Jelly

315 calories

Method for Fruit Jellies.—Soak gelatin in cold water about 2 or 3 minutes, then pour over it the boiling liquid; add sugar and fruit juice; strain through cloth into wet molds. Set in cold place to stiffen; when firm, unmold. Serve with whipped cream, or pour liquid into baskets made from oranges or grapefruit hollowed out and the edges scalloped, or pour into shallow pans, and cut in ½-inch blocks when firm, and serve on a bed of whipped cream.

Wine Jelly

127 calories

Method for Wine Jelly.—Put water, wine, lemon juice, peel, cinnamon, and sugar into a saucepan, allow to boil 5 minutes, pour over gelatin (which has been soaked in cold water). If jelly looks cloudy return to saucepan, and add ½ egg white beaten stiff, allow to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, and strain into mold. Serve with whipped cream.

Water Ices

Lemon

276.5 calories

Orange

311 calories

Grape Juice

362.6 calories

Method of Mixture

Mix sugar and water and boil to a rich sirup (about 15 minutes), cool, and add fruit juice (and extract when it is used). Pour into freezer and surround with a mixture of 1 part salt and two parts ice. When sherbet is about half frozen, stir in the stiffly beaten egg white and continue the freezing until mixture is hard. In diseases where it is found inadvisable to give albumen, 1 teaspoonful of gelatin may be substituted.

Apricot

384 calories

Make sirup of water and sugar, soak gelatin in a little cold water and add to the hot sirup; press apricots through a sieve and add to the sirup as soon as it is cool; freeze as directed in other ices.

Strawberry and Raspberry

346-393 calories

Proceed as in other ices.

Currant

526 calories

Wash currants carefully and place in a saucepan on a warm but not hot part of the stove, allow to heat gently until the currants are soft, press through a cloth, and add the water and sugar; stir until dissolved (or make a sirup of the water and sugar and add the currant juice and lemon and freeze as directed in other ices). The egg white may be added if desired.

Lemon Cream, or Milk Sherbet

Mix cream, milk and ¼ cup of sugar and pour into freezer; freeze until half frozen (mushy). Add juice of 3 lemons and 1 whole lemon (peel and pulp) shaved into very thin slices sweetened with remainder of sugar (if not sufficiently sweet add more sugar and make allowances for same in fuel value). Continue the freezing until sherbet is of the right consistency.

Miscellaneous Desserts

Nut Charlotte

with wine 758 calories; without wine 745 calories
Two servings

Dissolve sugar in the cream and beat solid, add flavoring or sherry and nuts.

Orange Charlotte

631 calories

Pour jelly mixture into a bowl and surround with cracked ice; when it begins to stiffen, fold in the stiffly beaten cream.

Pour into molds or ice cream glasses and set aside in the ice-box to become set.

Snow Pudding

428 calories for orange pudding

Orange, lemon, grape juice, or pineapple may be used in preparing this pudding.

Make jelly mixture as already directed and place the bowl in a pan of cracked ice; when the mixture begins to stiffen, fold in the well-beaten egg white (beat it in with an egg beater). Pour the mixture into a mold or individual glasses and set aside on ice to become set. When ready to serve, unmold and pour on the soft cold custard.

Prune or Prune Fig Whip

184.4 or 244.9 calories

Cook the prunes and figs in sufficient water to cover them until they are perfectly soft, press through a sieve, add sugar, chill thoroughly, and fold in the stiffly beaten egg white. The above mixture may be put in individual cups and baked in a slow oven (in a pan surrounded with hot water) until they are firm in the center and a light brown. Serve with or without whipped cream.

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