Young persons (say from eight to twenty years of
age) require a larger quantity of all kinds of food, in
proportion to their size, than full-grown persons. The
exercise natural to the young uses up much of the
heat-giving foods, and increases the waste of the body ;
the digestion of the young is generally active ; and,
besides, fresh materials are in constant demand to pro-
vide for the growth of the body. They should have
meals of warm food (more easily digested than cold) at
intervals of about four hours ; the chief meal — dinner — •
should be in the middle of the day. Milk and eggs
1 Children should from the first be taught to chew their food
well, not only to break down the fibre of meat, but to mix the soft
starchy foods with saliva, especially in eating rice, sago, etc.,
puddings, and thus enable them to undergo the first important
change in preparing them to become part of the human body.
Children should not be encouraged to eat between meals as it
spoils the appetite for regular food. If really hungry, a piece of
dry bread only should be given, as this will satisfy a child’s hunger
without tempting it to eat unduly at irregular hours.
16
MIDDLE CLASS COOKERY BOOK
PAET 1
should still form a large part of the diet, also farina-
ceous food, especially oatmeal porridge. Stimulants,
such as tea and coffee, should, if taken, be weak ; coffee
with two-thirds milk.
Healthy adults should be able to take a free mixture
of all wholesome foods, variously cooked, at intervals of
about five hours. The circumstances of climate and
employment must, however, be considered.
The digestive powers of elderly people are weaker
than in middle life, the food should, therefore, be
nourishing and easy of digestion ; it should be taken
warm and at shorter intervals than in middle life. As
the system is apt to become lowered during the night,
a light nourishing supper is advisable, and in cases of
debility, also a little warm food during the night.
II. Different Climates
More exercise is usually taken in cold than in hot
climates, and this causes a more rapid wearing out of
the materials of the body. The increased rapidity of
breathing, caused by exercise, promotes the mixture of
the oxygen of the air with the minute particles of food
in the blood, and so uses or burns up more of these,
and causes demand for increased supplies of food.
Animal food is stimulating and exciting ; it is therefore
more suitable for cold and temperate climates than for
hot. When a false appetite is created for it in hot
climates by the use of condiments, it is apt to produce
various disorders. Fat is not easily digested unless
exercise is taken freely ; more oxygen must be mixed
with it to produce heat, than is required for starches
and sugars. There is more oxygen in the air in cold
than in hot weather. It is in cold weather and
climates, therefore, that fat can be most easily digested
and turned into warmth.
CHAP. Ill
ADAPTATION OF FOOD
17
As cold contracts the pores of the skin, there is then
much less escape of moisture than when the weather is
warm. This moisture should be replaced by liquids,
fruits, and vegetables, in order that the temperature of
the body may be kept uniform.
Of the heat-giving foods, starches and sugars are the
most suitable for warm climates, as they are easily
digested.
III. Different Employments
Page 9
Presented as published in 1912. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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Young persons (say from eight to twenty years of
age) require a larger quantity of all kinds of food, in
proportion to their size, than full-grown persons. The
exercise natural to the young uses up much of the
heat-giving foods, and increases the waste of the body ;
the digestion of the young is generally active ; and,
besides, fresh materials are in constant demand to pro-
vide for the growth of the body. They should have
meals of warm food (more easily digested than cold) at
intervals of about four hours ; the chief meal — dinner — •
should be in the middle of the day. Milk and eggs
1 Children should from the first be taught to chew their food
well, not only to break down the fibre of meat, but to mix the soft
starchy foods with saliva, especially in eating rice, sago, etc.,
puddings, and thus enable them to undergo the first important
change in preparing them to become part of the human body.
Children should not be encouraged to eat between meals as it
spoils the appetite for regular food. If really hungry, a piece of
dry bread only should be given, as this will satisfy a child’s hunger
without tempting it to eat unduly at irregular hours.
16
MIDDLE CLASS COOKERY BOOK
PAET 1
should still form a large part of the diet, also farina-
ceous food, especially oatmeal porridge. Stimulants,
such as tea and coffee, should, if taken, be weak ; coffee
with two-thirds milk.
Healthy adults should be able to take a free mixture
of all wholesome foods, variously cooked, at intervals of
about five hours. The circumstances of climate and
employment must, however, be considered.
The digestive powers of elderly people are weaker
than in middle life, the food should, therefore, be
nourishing and easy of digestion ; it should be taken
warm and at shorter intervals than in middle life. As
the system is apt to become lowered during the night,
a light nourishing supper is advisable, and in cases of
debility, also a little warm food during the night.
II. Different Climates
More exercise is usually taken in cold than in hot
climates, and this causes a more rapid wearing out of
the materials of the body. The increased rapidity of
breathing, caused by exercise, promotes the mixture of
the oxygen of the air with the minute particles of food
in the blood, and so uses or burns up more of these,
and causes demand for increased supplies of food.
Animal food is stimulating and exciting ; it is therefore
more suitable for cold and temperate climates than for
hot. When a false appetite is created for it in hot
climates by the use of condiments, it is apt to produce
various disorders. Fat is not easily digested unless
exercise is taken freely ; more oxygen must be mixed
with it to produce heat, than is required for starches
and sugars. There is more oxygen in the air in cold
than in hot weather. It is in cold weather and
climates, therefore, that fat can be most easily digested
and turned into warmth.
CHAP. Ill
ADAPTATION OF FOOD
17
As cold contracts the pores of the skin, there is then
much less escape of moisture than when the weather is
warm. This moisture should be replaced by liquids,
fruits, and vegetables, in order that the temperature of
the body may be kept uniform.
Of the heat-giving foods, starches and sugars are the
most suitable for warm climates, as they are easily
digested.
III. Different Employments