Soft Custard.—Boil some milk, then cool it to 180°, add three whipped eggs to each quart of milk, and keep at the temperature of 180° for fifteen or twenty minutes. The object is to coagulate the eggs without producing the bad effect of exposure to a high temperature.
Raw Eggs.—Break a fresh egg into a glass, add a tablespoonful of sugar, and heat to a stiff froth; a little cold water may be added if liked.
White Of Egg.—Stir the white of an egg into a glass of cold water, or water as warm as it can be without coagulating the egg, and serve.
White of Egg and Milk.—The white of an egg beaten to a stiff froth and stirred into a glass of milk, forms a nourishing food for persons of weak digestion.
REFRESHING DRINKS AND DELICACIES FOR THE SICK.
In many fevers and acute diseases, but little food is required, and that of a character which merely appeases hunger and quenches thirst, without stimulation and without affording much nourishment.
Preparations from sago, tapioca, and other farinaceous substances are sometimes serviceable for this purpose. Oranges, grapes, and other perfectly ripened and juicy fruits are also most excellent. They are nature's own delicacies, and serve both for food and drink. They should not, however, be kept in the sick room, but preserved in some cool place, and served when needed, as fresh and in as dainty a manner as possible. Like all food provided for the sick, they should be arranged to please the eye as well as the palate. The capricious appetite of an invalid will often refuse luscious fruit from the hand of a nurse, which would have been gladly accepted had it been served on dainty china, with a clean napkin and silver.
The juice of the various small fruits and berries forms a basis from which may be made many refreshing drinks especially acceptable to the dry, parched mouth of a sick person.
Fruit juices can be prepared with but little trouble. For directions see [page 209].