Besides sugar, which is generally added in the preparation of cocoa and chocolate, cream usually accompanies these beverages, especially when they are made without milk or with only a little. If the cream is whipped and slightly sweetened, a spoonful or two will be sufficient to render the beverage delightful. In case no cream is on hand, marshmallows make a very good substitute. One of these should be placed in the bottom of each cup and the hot beverage poured over it. The marshmallow softens and rises to the top. When marshmallows are to be added to cocoa, less sugar should be used in its preparation.
NON-STIMULATING BEVERAGES
CEREAL BEVERAGES
76. NON-STIMULATING BEVERAGES are those which contain neither stimulant nor alcohol. They are the ones usually depended on to carry nutrition into the body and to provide the necessary refreshment. In this class of beverages come the various cereal beverages, fruit drinks, soft drinks, and milk-and-egg drinks. With the exception of the cereal beverages, these drinks are of a very refreshing nature, for they are served as cold as possible and they contain materials that make them very pleasing to the taste. Most of them can be prepared in the home at much less cost than they can be purchased commercially prepared or at soda fountains; so it is well for the housewife to be familiar with their nature and their preparation.
77. CEREAL BEVERAGES, as the name implies, are made from cereals. Of these, the cereal coffees are perhaps the most common. They contain nothing that is harmful, and are slightly beneficial in that they assist in giving the body some of the necessary liquid. However, they have absolutely no food value and are therefore of no importance in the diet except to take the place of stimulating beverages that are likely to injure those who drink them. They are made of cereals to which sugar or molasses is added, and the whole is then baked until the cereals brown and the sugar caramelizes, the combination producing a flavor much like that of coffee. Plain roasted wheat or bran can be used very well as a substitute in the making of these beverages. In the parts of the country where rye is extensively grown, it is roasted in the oven until it is an even brown in color. It is then used almost exclusively by some persons to make rye coffee, a beverage that closely resembles coffee in flavor.
78. The instantaneous cereal beverages are made by drawing all the flavor possible out of the material by means of water. The water is then evaporated and the hard substance that remains is ground until it is almost a powder. When water is added again, this substance becomes soluble instantly. Instantaneous coffee is prepared in the same way. The way in which to use these beverages depends, of course, on the kind selected, but no difficulty will be experienced in their preparation, for explicit directions are always found in or on all packages containing them.