[CHAPTER VIII]
HARM DONE BY IMPROPER COOKING
Effects of improper cooking
Nearly all food should be cooked before it is eaten; but if the cooking is not properly done, much of the nourishing power of the food is destroyed, and in some instances the food is rendered actually injurious.
Why starchy foods should be thoroughly cooked
Starchy foods should be thoroughly cooked in order that the coverings which surround the little granules may be broken or made soft. If starchy foods are not thoroughly cooked, the little grains go into the stomach as hard as grains of sand; then most of them are not digested at all, but pass out of the system without furnishing any nourishment to the body. If starchy foods are fried in fats, as is the case with doughnuts, the granules of starch become coated with fat. As the fat is not digested until it comes to the intestines, the saliva never reaches the coverings of the starch, and more work is thrown on the other juices of the body. The result is that the little glands which make these other juices are overworked, or else the starch is not digested at all and therefore furnishes no nourishment to the body. When bread is sticky (we sometimes call it soggy) in the middle of the loaf, it is because the flour has not been thoroughly cooked and the little grains or granules of starch are still hard. You cannot feel these granules between your fingers, but they are hard just the same, and very little of such food is made use of in the body.
Remember that all starchy foods should be thoroughly cooked, and remember, too, that all vegetables are chiefly starchy in character.
How fats should be cooked
When fats are cooked over a very hot fire, an acid is developed that is injurious to the body. This does not mean that when the fire is hot enough to broil a steak well, it causes this acid to form; neither does it mean that heat sufficient to boil the grease for cooking doughnuts will cause it to form. Every cook knows that when she fries fat meat over a fire that is too hot, it has a bitter taste. This bitter taste is caused by an acid which will destroy a part of the usefulness of the food in the body and will cause many of the cells to stop doing their work properly.
How meats should be cooked
There is a great difference of opinion in regard to cooking foods, especially meats. Some people will tell you that meats should not be cooked at all; that man originally ate his meat raw and that this is the proper way. Others will tell you that all meat should be cooked until it does not show a particle of red, even until it is dry throughout. These are the two extremes; and it is never well to go to extremes in anything, especially in matters that concern the health.