It is of course essential that a student of cookery should be well versed in the knowledge of the composition of the different foods and food materials in order to understand the changes produced by cooking. The subject is thus closely allied to the chemistry of food, and it becomes necessary that the physiological action of the products of the digestive system of the human body be als© studied. Cookery as a subject is broad and deep enough for several volumes ; indeed, the methods of cooking, and their effects, would alone fill a handsome volume. I can, however, here only allude briefly to the most important principles that govern its application. Turning to the practical side, the art of cooking consists of the knowledge of the various substances, food materials, and ingredients used as food, and of the best and most economical method of treating them, so as to make them nourishing, palatable, and wholesome. This knowledge consists of three distinct parts : 1. The selection of food and food materials. 2. The preparation and treatment of food. 3. The application of heat for its chemical conversion. The last part is best expressed in the word ‘ Cooking.’ There never was a time when fine skill in cooking was more valued among educated persons than it is now. This is not because the world thinks more of good living than formerly, but because the art of catering is better understood, and, therefore, good cooking is appreciated as it deserves to be. THE NEW CENTUBY COOKERY BOOK CHAPTER I THE SCIENCE OF COOKERY FOOD ELEMENTS AND THE IE COMBINATIONS In such a consideration of foods as we must now undertake, in reference to their preparation for the table, we have certain pre- liminary facts to consider. Man differs from a stone in that, in the case of the stone, the same particles which composed it yesterday will compose it to-morrow, while in the living man this is not so. The very essence of life is intimately connected with change, and particles which are one day part of his food are another day part of the man himself. The food we eat has to perform several functions : — 1. It has to be to the body what the fuel is to the steam engine ; that is to say, it has to provide the energy for the perform- ance of the work of that body, both internal work (the beating of the heart, &c.) and external work (walking, &c.). 2. It has to provide material for replacing those portions of the body which are exhausted by the wear and tear necessitated by the performance of such work. 3. It has to provide the material for new tissues, especially in the • young. 4. It has to maintain by its combustion the bodily temperature. Food, after it has become assimilated as part of the body, undergoes slow combustion, and produces the same amount of heat as if it were burning rapidly in a fireplace. Formerly it was held that these various functions were performed by different kinds of food stuffs, that starches and fats were essentially heat-producing, while albuminous substances were essentially flesh- forming. As a matter of fact all these functions are interdependent, and no classification of food stuffs on this basis is possible. Since, therefore, the main purpose of our food is to build up and repair our bodies, we must evidently first consider of what substances they are composed.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

It is of course essential that a student of cookery should be well versed in the knowledge of the composition of the different foods and food materials in order to understand the changes produced by cooking. The subject is thus closely allied to the chemistry of food, and it becomes necessary that the physiological action of the products of the digestive system of the human body be also studied. Cookery as a subject is broad and deep enough for several volumes ; indeed, the methods of cooking, and their effects, would alone fill a handsome volume. I can, however, here only allude briefly to the most important principles that govern its application. Turning to the practical side, the art of cooking consists of the knowledge of the various substances, food materials, and ingredients used as food, and of the best and most economical method of treating them, so as to make them nourishing, palatable, and wholesome. This knowledge consists of three distinct parts : 1. The selection of food and food materials. 2. The preparation and treatment of food. 3. The application of heat for its chemical conversion. The last part is best expressed in the word ‘ Cooking.’ There never was a time when fine skill in cooking was more valued among educated persons than it is now. This is not because the world thinks more of good living than formerly, but because the art of catering is better understood, and, therefore, good cooking is appreciated as it deserves to be. CHAPTER I THE SCIENCE OF COOKERY FOOD ELEMENTS AND THEIR COMBINATIONS In such a consideration of foods as we must now undertake, in reference to their preparation for the table, we have certain preliminary facts to consider. Man differs from a stone in that, in the case of the stone, the same particles which composed it yesterday will compose it to-morrow, while in the living man this is not so. The very essence of life is intimately connected with change, and particles which are one day part of his food are another day part of the man himself. The food we eat has to perform several functions : — 1. It has to be to the body what the fuel is to the steam engine ; that is to say, it has to provide the energy for the performance of the work of that body, both internal work (the beating of the heart, &c.) and external work (walking, &c.). 2. It has to provide material for replacing those portions of the body which are exhausted by the wear and tear necessitated by the performance of such work. 3. It has to provide the material for new tissues, especially in the • young. 4. It has to maintain by its combustion the bodily temperature. Food, after it has become assimilated as part of the body, undergoes slow combustion, and produces the same amount of heat as if it were burning rapidly in a fireplace. Formerly it was held that these various functions were performed by different kinds of food stuffs, that starches and fats were essentially heat-producing, while albuminous substances were essentially fleshforming. As a matter of fact all these functions are interdependent, and no classification of food stuffs on this basis is possible. Since, therefore, the main purpose of our food is to build up and repair our bodies, we must evidently first consider of what substances they are composed.

The new century cookery book