Buckeye cookery

This much of the digestive process needs to be known to make clear the: why of certain processes in cookery. As the juices of the stomach only act. on the surface of the food which passes into it, it is easy to see‘ why light. bread is more wholesome than heavy. The gastric and other juices can act. only on the outside surface of a heavy lump of dough; but when made into light and porous bread, the outer surface is not only vastly increased,. but the juices pour through thousands of avenues, and penetrate and act. on every part. If the frugal housewife knew this, would she set the heavy, soggy loaf of bread before her children ‘‘to save it?’ Many a mother ig-. norantly gives her child a stone when it asks for bread. Fats of all kinds do not digest in the stomach. The gastric juice mingles. with but does not dissolve them. It is only after they have passed on and become subjected to the action of the bile and pancreatic fluid that they are taken up and made available as carbon for lung combustion. Fats, wn- combined with other substances, act as emetics or cathartics and not as food. It is only when combined with other food that they are capable of being taken up by the absorbing vessels, and made to act as fuel to the system. A half pound of crude lard, unmixed with any other substance, would be» rejected, but when thoroughly and skillfully mixed into a flakey crust will. not derange the stomach, and will be assimilated and utilized. Remember that the use of more fat than can be perfectly blended, or any carelessness or imper- fection in the process, is sure to produce indigestion and work mischief. Foods differ in the time required for digestion. Some fruits refresh in- stantly, the juices being at once absorbed into the circulation. Some meats: and vegetables yield almost immediately to the action of the gastric juice, and pass into the circulation. Others require a long time for digestion. The more subtle and delicate flavors and parts of food yield first; then the- gluten of the flour, the curd of the milk, the fiber of the flesh, reinforce- the blood and supply muscular waste, while, later, the oily and sugary por- tions are worked over to repair waste or furnish fuel to keep up the heat. of the body. ‘ Food has chiefly two offices to perform: the repair of muscular waste, and the supply of the body with fuel to keep its heat up to 98°. Each of* these is indispensable to health and strength. The chief part of what we- eat is used by the lungs for fuel; the rest, excepting small portions of min- eral substances, such as lime, potash, sulphur, etc., goes to the production. of muscular and brain force. The great secret in the preparation of food. that will prolong life and maintain a high state of health, is to adapt it tox the peculiar conditions of those to be fed,—age, occupation, climate, and sea- son to be considered. Variety of food is nearly always at hand; knowledge: only is necessary to choose that best adapted to present needs. The heat of the body is produced by the action of the lungs, which uses. up the heat-producing food, as action of muscle or brain consumes the mus- - cle-making material. The former is non-nitrogenous; the latter nitrogen- ous. Foods may be divided into three groups: the nitrogenous, in which nitrogen is the chief element, and which feed muscle only; the non-nitro- genous, chiefly carbon, which produce heat only; and those in which both © are united. . “ It has been proved by chemical analysis that the body requires four to: five ounces for heat to one for muscle, and this gives us the key to the proper proportion of the elements in food, varying slightly, of course, with, seasons, climates, occupation, and conditions.