Rice.—Rice is used by a large portion of the world's inhabitants. When cooked thoroughly and very dry, it is perhaps almost as good bread as is that made from wheat. The starch granules of the former, like those of arrowroot, are somewhat smaller than those of wheat.
If it were possible to keep rice-flour in good condition, and if it could be made into light-bread, it is likely that it would be superior to wheaten flour, but this does not appear feasible.
A peculiar and very fatal disease prevails in the East, known as “kak-ke” or “beri-beri,” which is now generally regarded as being the result of eating decomposed rice. The writer has seen one or two examples of what he considers American beri-beri, but as our rice-eating population is small, it is not likely that this disease will ever become a serious problem in the United States.
Cereals or Breakfast-foods.—Lastly we will consider the so-called breakfast-foods, which are neither more nor less than various preparations of the different varieties of starch. They are generally made from oats or corn-starch. They are nothing more than bread, and as some of them have been put through a sort of fermentation it is difficult to understand how they could be regarded as being quite as wholesome as the original products from which they were made. This, however, is not the principal objection to them. The real trouble lies in the fact that they are, in the majority of instances, served with cream and sugar. When we remember what has already been said about starches that are soft and cannot be chewed, and of the ill effects of sweets on persons who have any inclination towards dyspepsia, it will be seen that these foods are not to be regarded as being wholesome. The real reason that would appear to explain the coming into existence of these preparations is that they are mixed with cream and sugar, which appeals strongly to the “sweet-tooth” of the average person. They are nothing but bread, and very bad bread at that. The remarks made concerning breakfast-foods apply with equal force to oatmeal, which, as generally used, has the additional disadvantage of containing particles of husk.
In concluding this discussion on starchy foods the writer desires particularly to call attention to a very common error in the way they are eaten. Mention has already been made of the fact that fats after being melted are by no means so wholesome as in their natural state, and produce, when heated with starches, a very indigestible mixture. Thus, theoretically, it is bad to use any great amount of lard, butter or other fat in the preparation of breads, and it is likewise undesirable to spread butter on heated breads, as is so often done just before eating biscuits, waffles and batter-cakes. The combination is certainly a seductive one, and pleasing to the taste of most persons, but this in no way invalidates the fact that the mixture is exceedingly indigestible.
Pastries and Cakes.—Peculiarly unwholesome are pastries containing any considerable proportion of fat, and also most varieties of cake. With the exception possibly of hot batter-cakes served with an abundance of butter and syrup, cooks have so far produced no compound so heinous and totally depraved as pound-cake. Fruit-cake also stands high up in the list of undesirable sweets. It certainly passes all understanding why cooks should continue to persecute the stomachs of a dependent world with such highly obnoxious concoctions; the only excuse that can be given for them is that the mixtures are palatable. Where a housekeeper feels it necessary to prepare cake, she should select some receipt free from butter or other fat, such as angel-cake or sponge-cake, both of which when properly made are exceedingly good to the taste, and lack the undesirable quality of containing fats. Explanation for the peculiarly unwholesome character of food containing melted grease lies probably in the fact that the grains of starch under such circumstances must be to a greater or less extent covered by a thin layer of the fatty substances, and as a consequence it is impossible for the saliva to penetrate to the starch and perform its normal digestive function.