REMEMBER once hearing of an old gentleman who
^ went to visit at a house where there were three young
ladies in the family. While he was there, the cook
was taken ill, and it was thought advisable for her to have
a little gruel. It turned out, however, that there was no
one who could make it. The young ladies looked at each
other with blank countenances. The housemaid prudently
withdrew from the kitchen, and busied herself with
brushes and brooms ; but the gruel was not to be had,
and the sick woman was obliged to put up with a cup of
tea in its stead. The feelings of the old gentleman on
the occasion are more easily imagined than described.
He never forgot the occurrence. As long as he lived
those unfortunate girls were associated in Ids mind with
ignorance concerning gruel. When, after a time, one of
them married, he regarded her husband with feelings of
the deepest and most heartfelt pity.
The recovery of a patient very often largely depends
upon the food which he takes ; and as his power of
taking food is affected very considerably by the way in
which it is served and cooked, it is well worth while
trying to learn how an invalid’s food should be prepared.
Cookery for invalids is usually very plain and simple.
All rich highly-spiced and fatty foods are entirely out of
the question, and small delicate dishes, light foods, and
cooling or nourishing drinks are needed more than any-
thing else. Variety, too, is a great thing in invalid
cookery. We all enjoy frequent change of food, and
would grow weary of a dish that was set before us day
XI .K.
COOKERY FOR'INVALIDS.
ii6 The Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
after day. How much more is this likely to be the case
with invalids, whose appetite at the best is poor, and who
have been rendered fastidious and fanciful through
disease. The skill of a cook is shown quite as much
in the readiness with which she can provide pleasant
little surprises as in the delicacy of the food prepared.
Take, for example, the food which is perhaps more
valuable and more frequently prepared for invalids than
any other — beef-tea. When first supplied in cases of
weakness beef-tea is usually taken with great relish. It
seems to give strength and tb supply just what is wanted,
and a patient w'ill look for it and enjoy it heartily. In a
very short time, however, the appetite for it will fail, and
the very name of beef-tea appears to excite loathing. In
cases of this kind a nurse who is a clever cook wll
introduce a change of flavour ; present the beef-tea under
another form, and avoid the jiame altogether.
Page 76
Presented as published in 1882. 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
REMEMBER once hearing of an old gentleman who went to visit at a house where there were three young ladies in the family. While he was there, the cook was taken ill, and it was thought advisable for her to have a little gruel. It turned out, however, that there was no one who could make it. The young ladies looked at each other with blank countenances. The housemaid prudently withdrew from the kitchen, and busied herself with brushes and brooms ; but the gruel was not to be had, and the sick woman was obliged to put up with a cup of tea in its stead. The feelings of the old gentleman on the occasion are more easily imagined than described. He never forgot the occurrence. As long as he lived those unfortunate girls were associated in Ids mind with ignorance concerning gruel. When, after a time, one of them married, he regarded her husband with feelings of the deepest and most heartfelt pity.
[illustration: XI. K.]
COOKERY FOR INVALIDS.
The recovery of a patient very often largely depends upon the food which he takes ; and as his power of taking food is affected very considerably by the way in which it is served and cooked, it is well worth while trying to learn how an invalid’s food should be prepared.
Cookery for invalids is usually very plain and simple. All rich, highly-spiced and fatty foods are entirely out of the question, and small delicate dishes, light foods, and cooling or nourishing drinks are needed more than anything else. Variety, too, is a great thing in invalid cookery. We all enjoy frequent change of food, and would grow weary of a dish that was set before us day
XI .K.
COOKERY FOR'INVALIDS.
ii6 The Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
after day. How much more is this likely to be the case with invalids, whose appetite at the best is poor, and who have been rendered fastidious and fanciful through disease. The skill of a cook is shown quite as much in the readiness with which she can provide pleasant little surprises as in the delicacy of the food prepared.
Take, for example, the food which is perhaps more valuable and more frequently prepared for invalids than any other — beef-tea. When first supplied in cases of weakness beef-tea is usually taken with great relish. It seems to give strength and tb supply just what is wanted, and a patient w'ill look for it and enjoy it heartily. In a very short time, however, the appetite for it will fail, and the very name of beef-tea appears to excite loathing. In cases of this kind a nurse who is a clever cook will introduce a change of flavour ; present the beef-tea under another form, and avoid the jiame altogether.