Food, to accomplish its purpose fully, should consist of these
four elements: oxygen^ to support combustion, — obtained from
the air; carbon and hydrogen, to furnish fuel, — obtained from
w^ater and carbonaceous food ; nitrogen, to build up and repair
the tissues of the body, — obtained from nitrogenous food.
Food, in the form in which it is eaten, cannot sustain life.
It must be converted into a fluid that can pass through very
small channels into the blood. Then it must be mixed with the
air, and undergo certain changes, before it can replace the worn-
out elements of the body. To prepare food so that it can most
readily be assimilated, that is, made like our bodies, should be
the chief purpose in cooking. To do this, three things are
essential : 1st. The food selected should be of the right mate-
rial, and properly proportioned; 2d. It should be cooked in the
most digestible and attractive manner; 3d. It should be adapted
to the various circumstances of age, occupation, climate, and
state of health.
Food, to be of the right material, should contain all the ele-
The Boston Cook Book,
453
merits that our bodies contain. It is of primary importance,
then, in studying food, to understand first the composition of the
human body.
THE COMPOSITIOISr OF THE HUMAN BODY.
Our bodies are made up of different materials: skin, flesh,
blood, bone, etc. These consist of a large number of substances,
called compounds; the compounds contain two, three, or four
elements, united chemically in definite proportion. Some of
these compounds are: water ^ which forms more than two thirds
of the whole body, and is the common carrier of food into and
through the system; fibrine, which is the chief solid material of
flesh, and forms one tenth of the body; fat^ a mixture of three
compounds, distributed all through the system; albumen^ and
other nitrogenous substances, of which osseine in bones, keratin
in the hair, nails, and skin, cartilagin in cartilage, and hemo-
globin, which contains iron and gives the red color to the blood,
are the most important. Chloride of sodium, or common salt,
and other mineral salts of pofassa, lime, and magnesia, are
found in all parts of the body. These compounds are made up
of two or more separate and distinct elements.
There are sixteen elements in the human body, — oxygen,
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, chlorine, fluo-
rine, silicon, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron,
manganese, and copper. Compounds only, not the separate ele-
ments, are capable of nourishing the body. Oxygen only exists
as an element. Its office is to support combustion.
Combinations of tw^o or more of these elements are found in
the various articles used as food. It is quite important that our
food should consist of various materials, containing elements
similar to, or capable of being changed into, the elements of our
bodies, of which the most important are: water, to help diges-
tion and assimilation of food, and to help carry away refuse
material; salts, to renew the mineral parts and replenish certain
tissues; carbon, to furnish fuel for warmth; nitrogen, to build up
and repair the whole structure.
Page 266
Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Food, to accomplish its purpose fully, should consist of these four elements: oxygen^ to support combustion, — obtained from the air; carbon and hydrogen, to furnish fuel, — obtained from w^ater and carbonaceous food ; nitrogen, to build up and repair the tissues of the body, — obtained from nitrogenous food.
Food, in the form in which it is eaten, cannot sustain life. It must be converted into a fluid that can pass through very small channels into the blood. Then it must be mixed with the air, and undergo certain changes, before it can replace the wornout elements of the body. To prepare food so that it can most readily be assimilated, that is, made like our bodies, should be the chief purpose in cooking. To do this, three things are essential : 1st. The food selected should be of the right material, and properly proportioned; 2d. It should be cooked in the most digestible and attractive manner; 3d. It should be adapted to the various circumstances of age, occupation, climate, and state of health.
Food, to be of the right material, should contain all the ele-
The Boston Cook Book,
merits that our bodies contain. It is of primary importance, then, in studying food, to understand first the composition of the human body.
THE COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY.
Our bodies are made up of different materials: skin, flesh, blood, bone, etc. These consist of a large number of substances, called compounds; the compounds contain two, three, or four elements, united chemically in definite proportion. Some of these compounds are: water, which forms more than two thirds of the whole body, and is the common carrier of food into and through the system; fibrine, which is the chief solid material of flesh, and forms one tenth of the body; fat, a mixture of three compounds, distributed all through the system; albumen, and other nitrogenous substances, of which osseine in bones, keratin in the hair, nails, and skin, cartilagin in cartilage, and hemoglobin, which contains iron and gives the red color to the blood, are the most important. Chloride of sodium, or common salt, and other mineral salts of potassa, lime, and magnesia, are found in all parts of the body. These compounds are made up of two or more separate and distinct elements.
There are sixteen elements in the human body, — oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, chlorine, fluorine, silicon, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and copper. Compounds only, not the separate elements, are capable of nourishing the body. Oxygen only exists as an element. Its office is to support combustion.
Combinations of two or more of these elements are found in the various articles used as food. It is quite important that our food should consist of various materials, containing elements similar to, or capable of being changed into, the elements of our bodies, of which the most important are: water, to help digestion and assimilation of food, and to help carry away refuse material; salts, to renew the mineral parts and replenish certain tissues; carbon, to furnish fuel for warmth; nitrogen, to build up and repair the whole structure.