the kind of people who can take any given quantity, or
explaining to them the amount of nourishment contained
in milk, and the consequent danger to health when it is
taken in large quantities, in conjunction with other
foods. Doctors complain that the generality of their
patients will have drugs ; though they would often be
better without them ; but when medical men begin to
study, and teach the chemical properties of foods, they
will soon cease to be looked upon as mere dispensers of
drugs. When such ignorance flourishes in quarters
where we expect at least to find some knowledge of the
value of foods, it is not to be wondered that there are
mothers who ruin the healths of their children by
improper feeding.
One valuable article of food — cheese — has now a very
bad reputation for its supposed indigestible qualities ;
whereas in the days of our grandfathers, when people
drank less tea, and ate less stimulating food, it was
supposed to assist digestion. Perhaps then it was
treated rightly — as a relish to bread — and not eaten in
large quantities; whereas now, tastes have become so
vitiated by over indulgence in highly stimulating foods,
that when it is taken, it is rather as cheese and bread
than as bread and cheese. The habit of eating it after
the digestion has been sufficiently tried by quantities of
butcher's meat, has also had much to do with its evil
reputation ; and when discomfort and pain follows, it is,
of course, always put down to the cheese ! An amusing
experience in support of this occurred quite recently to a
gentleman who has lived upon this diet for some
years. He had been spending the morning with a
friend, busily employed in the open air, and they both
xii THE APSLEY COOKERY BOOK
returned to their hotel to lunch, with the best of
appetites.
The man on the “ Uric-acid-free 11 diet ordered a “Welsh
Rabbit,” while his friend was provided with a large plate
of roast beef, and a second helping. When the “ Welsh
Rabbit ” appeared, he said to the “ Dieter,” “ Ah ! you
are not to be pitied after all,” and he ordered the waiter
to bring him one also ; and whilst it was being prepared,
he passed the time by partaking of boiled fruit pudding,
with suet crust. When it appeared he fell to, as if he
had taken nothing particular since breakfast, and
cleared the dish, which must have contained from four
to six ounces of cheese ! The “ Dieter,” meanwhile,
had taken what he required of his “Welsh Rabbit,”
with his bread.
During the afternoon the friend became exceedingly
uncomfortable, and, turning to the “ Dieter,” he ex-
claimed : “ That diet of yours may suit you. I must
say that you look very well on it ; but my digestion
w on't stand it ; I feel awfully bad ! ”
One hears much about the waste of food amongst the
lower classes through ignorance, and no doubt if they
had the knowledge to prepare their food properly, they
would be well nourished at half the cost ; but has any
one ever calculated the cost of the enormous w^aste of
food amongst the well-to-do, caused by over feeding, and
improper diet, to say nothing of the cost of trying to
get rid of the results of both ? Let us hope that a time
is coming when children will be taught something of
the values and properties of foods at school, in the place
of many smatterings of subjects that are of neither use
nor interest to them. Perhaps then we shall approach
INTRODUCTION
xiii
Page 2
Presented as published in 1905. 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
the kind of people who can take any given quantity, or explaining to them the amount of nourishment contained in milk, and the consequent danger to health when it is taken in large quantities, in conjunction with other foods. Doctors complain that the generality of their patients will have drugs ; though they would often be better without them ; but when medical men begin to study, and teach the chemical properties of foods, they will soon cease to be looked upon as mere dispensers of drugs. When such ignorance flourishes in quarters where we expect at least to find some knowledge of the value of foods, it is not to be wondered that there are mothers who ruin the healths of their children by improper feeding.
One valuable article of food — cheese — has now a very bad reputation for its supposed indigestible qualities ; whereas in the days of our grandfathers, when people drank less tea, and ate less stimulating food, it was supposed to assist digestion. Perhaps then it was treated rightly — as a relish to bread — and not eaten in large quantities; whereas now, tastes have become so vitiated by over indulgence in highly stimulating foods, that when it is taken, it is rather as cheese and bread than as bread and cheese. The habit of eating it after the digestion has been sufficiently tried by quantities of butcher's meat, has also had much to do with its evil reputation ; and when discomfort and pain follows, it is, of course, always put down to the cheese ! An amusing experience in support of this occurred quite recently to a gentleman who has lived upon this diet for some years. He had been spending the morning with a friend, busily employed in the open air, and they both
returned to their hotel to lunch, with the best of appetites.
The man on the “ Uric-acid-free 11 diet ordered a “Welsh Rabbit,” while his friend was provided with a large plate of roast beef, and a second helping. When the “ Welsh Rabbit ” appeared, he said to the “ Dieter,” “ Ah ! you are not to be pitied after all,” and he ordered the waiter to bring him one also ; and whilst it was being prepared, he passed the time by partaking of boiled fruit pudding, with suet crust. When it appeared he fell to, as if he had taken nothing particular since breakfast, and cleared the dish, which must have contained from four to six ounces of cheese ! The “ Dieter,” meanwhile, had taken what he required of his “Welsh Rabbit,” with his bread.
During the afternoon the friend became exceedingly uncomfortable, and, turning to the "Dieter," he exclaimed: "That diet of yours may suit you. I must say that you look very well on it; but my digestion won't stand it; I feel awfully bad!"”
One hears much about the waste of food amongst the lower classes through ignorance, and no doubt if they had the knowledge to prepare their food properly, they would be well nourished at half the cost ; but has any one ever calculated the cost of the enormous waste of food amongst the well-to-do, caused by over feeding, and improper diet, to say nothing of the cost of trying to get rid of the results of both ? Let us hope that a time is coming when children will be taught something of the values and properties of foods at school, in the place of many smatterings of subjects that are of neither use nor interest to them. Perhaps then we shall approach