FoodNet

Quantity cookery

1922

Page 1

Presented as published in 1922. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
The age, sex, nationality, economic condition and occupation of the patrons must be kept in mind. The adult demands a freedom of choice which may be denied children. For this reason the content of the grade school lunch may be fixed in an arbitrary way, while this will not do when one is dealing with adults of any class. For instance, grade school children are satis- fied with the morning bowl of bread and milk and the noon lunch of bread and soup. Adults, even in a charitable home, would undoubtedly complain of the simplicity of such meals. The high school lunchroom may eliminate colFee from its menu and have frequent "pieless" days. Any such attempts to regulate the diet of adults, except for patriotic reasons such as were the incentive to denial during the war, are highly inadvisable. As far as the food elements are concerned, the same kinds of food may be served to boys and girls or to men and women. But, practically, they will not eat the same foods with equal satisfaction, and this should influence the planning of menus in different institutions. School lunch managers and social service workers have found that in order to accomplish their aims they have to recognize racial food tastes. MENUS FOR LARGE NUMBERS 3 The eccHiomic condition of the group to be served may limit variety in the menu, on the one hand, or may permit of maximum variety on the other. The eight-page menu of the fashionable tea room as defi- nitely reflects the ability of the patrons to pay as does the simple meal of three or four dishes served the immigrants at Ellis Island. The occupation of the patrons, whether active or sedentary, determines to a large extent the kind of food served to them, from the dietetic standpoint and from the commercial standpoint as well. The lumber- jacks of the north woods require a diet very different in quality and quantity from that of the telephone operators in a city exchange. In institutions serving set menus, with little or no choice, special attention should be given to dietetic principles. Examples of such institutions are college dining halls or dormitories, hospitals, benevolent "homes", boarding houses, fraternities and clubs. For those who have had little or no training in dietetics and who yet have the responsibility of plan- ning menus, it may be said that if ample variety is provided, with emphasis on fruits and vegetables, the dietetic requirements will probably be met. The sequence of foods in the menu is important. Where several courses are to be served, and it is the aim of those planning the menu to keep the appetite stimulated, acids, meat extractives and warm foods should be served first. Cloying foods such as sweets, very cold foods and foods which are satisfying tend to depress the appetite and hence have no place in the first course of a meal, except for luncheon where the menu may be very simple. In institutions which have fixed menus, it is especially desirable that the meal, no matter how simple, be so planned that it may 4 QUANTITY COOKERY be served in courses. Children especially are likely to hurry through their meals, and the serving of food in courses prevents too rapid eating. It is true, of course, that extra service requires more labor, and so may not prove possible, even though desirable.