ARTICLES OF FOOD WHICH ARE SOMETIMES INCLUDED IN THE BABY’S DIETARY
Barley water, sometimes used to dilute whole milk, is made by mixing the barley flour to a smooth paste in cold water, adding boiling water and boiling for twenty minutes or cooking in a double boiler for an hour, straining and adding enough water to replace the amount lost in cooking. The proportions for different ages are as follows:
Three months, ½ level tablespoonful barley flour to 16 oz. water.
Six months, 1½ level tablespoonfuls barley flour to 12 oz. water.
Nine months, 3 level tablespoonfuls barley flour to 10 oz. water.
Potato Water. One tablespoonful of thoroughly boiled potato is mashed into one pint of the water in which the potato was boiled and carefully strained.
Spinach. Spinach is carefully washed, steamed for half an hour and mashed through a fine sieve. It is sometimes started at the sixth month; one teaspoonful daily, gradually increased to one or two tablespoonfuls daily.
Orange Juice. The orange should be dipped in boiling water and wiped on a clean towel before being cut and squeezed, to avoid possible infection of juice. It is usually given to babies, sometimes as young as one month old, who take heated milk. It is carefully strained and started gradually by giving one teaspoonful in water once or twice daily between feedings and increasing to ½ or 1 ounce by the sixth month and 1½ to 2 ounces by the end of the first year.
Infusion of Orange Peel. This is sometimes used instead of orange juice, and is made by boiling one ounce of finely grated orange peel in two ounces of water, adding a little sugar to counteract the bitter taste and adding enough sterile water to bring it up to two ounces.
Tomato Juice. Canned tomato strained through a fine sieve, is sometimes given to a baby a few weeks old, starting with one teaspoonful and gradually increasing to four to six ounces daily.
Whey. One quart of whole milk heated to 98° F. or 100° F. and one half ounce of liquid rennet or one junket tablet stirred into it and allowed to stand half an hour or until firm and solid, is poured into a cheesecloth bag and allowed to drain for about an hour without being squeezed.
Protein Milk. The curd from one quart of milk, which remains after the whey is drained, as directed above, is mashed through cheesecloth in a fine wire sieve, with a potato-masher or bowl of a spoon and the curd washed through with one pint of water. A pint of buttermilk is added and the mixture boiled while being stirred constantly. This is sometimes given in diarrhea.
Beef Juice. One pound of thick round steak, slightly broiled, is cut into small pieces and the juice expressed with a meat press or a lemon squeezer, the amount varying from 2 to 3 ounces. It may be diluted with an equal amount of warm water, or slightly warmed by being placed in a cup standing in hot water, and salted to taste.
Broths. One pound of lean meat, all fat and gristle removed, is allowed to one pint of water. The meat is cut finely and put on in cold water, heated slowly and allowed to simmer for three or four hours, when water is added to replace what was lost in cooking. It is strained, the fat removed and slightly salted.
Oatmeal Water. Two level tablespoonfuls of oatmeal in a pint of boiling water is cooked in a double boiler for two hours, strained and enough boiling water to replace the amount lost in cooking.