Some starchy foods such as rice and potatoes, do not lend themselves readily to the production of breads, and are consequently usually cooked in some other manner. It cannot be too strongly insisted upon that they should be rather steamed than boiled,—the process being usually carried out by placing a small amount of water with them and allowing it to boil away; we should remember also that the principles just insisted upon in connection with making bread apply here with equal force—we should cook thoroughly and serve both as dry as is possible.
Cooking of Meats.—Here again it is necessary to insist upon the necessity of thorough cooking. The error has long prevailed that raw meats are wholesome, but within recent years it has been clearly demonstrated that this old view is erroneous. The muscle-fibers that constitute the bulk of the nourishment of meats are separated from each other by a substance which cannot be acted upon by the juices of the stomach until it has been heated to a temperature which results in the cooking of the entire mass. It is true that the muscular substance proper may be digested without heat—resembling in this way the white of the egg, to which it is chemically closely related; by scraping meat with some dull instrument the muscle fibers may be separated in a more or less pure state—leaving the substance that requires heat in order to become digestible behind—and after having been removed in this way, of course, may be eaten in a raw or semi-cooked condition without ill effects. In preparing meat it is not absolutely essential that it be cooked until thoroughly “done”—a slight tinge of red being allowable.
Healthful Recipes.—In an [Appendix] to this volume will be found a series of recipes for the preparation of common foods, for which the author is indebted to Dr. Mary E. Lapham, of Highlands, N. C. They will be found extremely practicable for making not only very palatable but thoroughly wholesome dishes; and are earnestly recommended to young housewives, who err through ignorance, as a rule, rather than because of carelessness or of lack of good materials. It has often been said that the road to a man's heart lies through his stomach. It would not be surprising to learn that this aphorism fell first from the lips of some wise woman who had observed that in a great number of cases unhappiness in home-life had resulted primarily from lack of home-comfort, and chiefly from unvaried, unappetizing meals and table-service. Another point is well worth remembering, especially by young married women: a man whose home is pleasant and comfortable is likely to spend as much of his time there as he can—if it is otherwise, he will seek some place that has these desirable qualities, such as his club, or an arm-chair in some corner saloon. Furthermore, a man who is not only abundantly, but nicely fed, has far less desire for the stimulants which lead to drunkenness, than the man who is denied at home the properly cooked and seasonably varied food which his system craves. No better work in the “Temperance cause” can be done than to make an attractive home.
These are facts which many a young housewife needs to learn and keep in mind; and it is for her benefit that Dr. Lapham has prepared her simple but excellent cooking directions presented in the [Appendix].
CHAPTER XII
SEVEN AVOIDABLE DISEASES
MALARIA FEVER.
Malaria, in its various manifestations, has ever constituted the principal obstacle to the civilization of all tropical and semi-tropical countries, and as a consequence vast tracts of the richest and fairest portions of the world have remained uncultivated and unredeemed from their primitive savage state. Recent investigations have shown that this disease can be easily prevented if the matter is taken up intelligently.