Middle class cookery book

Rules and Hints for Cooks 42 Soups „ II. 44 Fish „ III. 59 Meat— Beef . ,. IV. G9 Lamb >> > J . 75 VI J ] CONTENTS Meat — Mutton . . Chap. IV. PAGE . 76 Pork • J 1 1) . 80 Veal • > } > > . 81 Poultry „ V. . 85 Breakfast Dishes and Entries „ VI. 89 Cold Meat Cookery ,, VII. . 104 Vegetables „ VIII. . Ill Sauces „ IX. . 124 Miscellaneous . x. . 132 Drinks • >> y) . 140 Salads „ XI. . 141 Pastry „ XII. . 148 Puddings . „ XIII. . 154 Bread and Cake „ XIV. . 173 Jellies „ XV. . 179 Dishes for Invalids „ XVI. . 1S4 Poultices . • ?J )) . 195 Index . . . 199 PART I THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION In order to understand the important work that food does for the body, we have only to observe what occurs when food is withheld. Animals starve in the absence of food; and in cases of starvation two things are especi ally noticeable, viz. the diminished bulk of the body and its lowered temperature. In popular phraseology half-starved people are both thin and chilly. This shows that food has two offices : first, it increases the size and weight of the body; and second, it keeps the body warm. It is familiarly known that hard work gives good appetite, but it is not so generally known that hard work wears away parts of the body, and that in health, good appetite is nature’s signal that a fresh supply of material is needed for replacing the waste (or wear and tear). In the body, as in the steam-engine, action or work is produced at the cost of wearing away parts of the structure that is in motion; the steam-engine is mended, and the worn parts restored by competent workmen, but the body lias to repair itself. Thinkers use up and %> B 2 MIDDLE CLASS COOKERY BOOK PART I need to replace brain tissue, and workers use up bone and muscle tissue ; and both thinkers and workers are prompted (in health) by the feeling called hunger, to obtain fresh supplies of material to replace the brain and muscle tissue, and these supplies are termed food. And even in cases where very little work is done, and a very small amount of exercise is taken, there is still a demand for a lesser supply of food, for work is continually beiug done in the animal body, quite irre- spective of anything done voluntarily. For example, animals are continually breathing, their hearts are always beating, their blood is always circulating, and in the case of human animals the brain is continually at work suggesting thoughts and feelings; and, in short, a great deal of work is done in the body, and a great deal of tissue is consumed without there being any con- sciousness of it. Nevertheless, the consumed tissue re- quires to be replaced by food, and the animal economy is seriously deranged if the food supply is improperly managed. Hence we find that to keep the body in health, the food must contain matter that will build up brain, bone, flesh, and every other part. The chilliness of half-fed people and animals is familiarly known, as well as the lowered mental and bodily power induced by contiuued cold. Hence we see that warmth is essential to the health of the bod}’, and that food helps to keep up the animal heat.1 Food, then, must make up for loss of body tissue, and must supply heat, and it is a matter of great