derstand it, is alwaj's lightened by the addition of yeast
or some form of baking-powder, 3'east making the most
wholesome as well as most palatable bread. Carbonic-acid
gas is the active agent required ; and jesist so acts upon the
little starch-granules, which the microscope shows as form-
ing the finest flour, that this gas is formed and evenly
distributed through the whole dough. The process is
slow, and in the action some of the natural sweetness of
the flour is lost. In what is known as aerated bread,
the gas made was forced directly into the dough, b}^ means
of a machine invented for the purpose ; and a very scien-
tific and very good bread it is. But it demands an appara-
tus not to be had save at great expense, and the older
fashions give a sufficiently sweet and desirable bread.
Hye and Indian Corn form the next best-known varie-
ties of flour in bread-making ; but barley and oats are
also used, and beans, pease, rice, chestnuts, in short, any
farinaceous seed, or legume rich in starch, can fill the
oflSce.
Oatmeal may take rank as one of the best and most
digestible forms of farinaceous food. Some twenty-eight
per cent of the grain is husk, seventj-two being kernel ;
and this kernel forms a meal containing twelve parts of
nitrogenous matter, sixty- three of carbo-h3^drates, five
and a half of fatty matter, three of saUne, and fifteen of
water. So little gluten is found, that the flour of oats
can not be made into loaves of bread ; although, mixed and
baked as thin cakes, it forms a large part of the Scotch-
man's food. It requires thorough cooking, and is then
shghtly laxative and very easily digested.
Buckwheat is very rich in nitrogenous substances, and
as we eat it, in the form of cakes with butter and sirup,
THE CHEMISTBY OF VEGETABLE FOOD. 105
SO heating a food, as to be only suitable for hard workers
in cold weather.
Indian corn has also a very small proportion of gluten,
and thus makes a bread which crumbles too readity. But
it is the favorite form of bread, not only for South and
West in our own countr}^, but in Spanish America, South-
ern Europe, Germany, and Ireland. • It contains a larger
amount of fatty matter than any other grain, this making
it a necessity in fattening animals. In a hundred parts
are eleven of nitrogen, sixty-five of carbo-hydrates, eight
of fatty matter, one and a half of saline, and fourteen
of water. The large amount of fatty matter makes it
difficult to keep much meal on hand, as it grows rancid
and breeds worms ; and it is best that it should be ground
in small quantities as required.
Bice abounds in starch. In a hundred parts are found
seven and a half of nitrogen, eightj-eight of starch, one
of dextrine, eight-tenths of fatty matter, one of cellulose,
and nine-tenths of mineral matter. Taken alone it can
not be called a nutritive food ; but eaten with butter or
milk and eggs, or as by the East Indians in curry, it holds
an important place.
We come now to Oleaginous Seeds ; nuts, the cocoa-
nut, almonds, &c., coming under this head. While they
are rich in oil, this very fact makes them indigestible, and
they should be eaten sparingly.
Page 52
Presented as published in 1881. 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
derstand it, is always lightened by the addition of yeast or some form of baking-powder, 3'east making the most wholesome as well as most palatable bread. Carbonic-acid gas is the active agent required ; and yeast so acts upon the little starch-granules, which the microscope shows as forming the finest flour, that this gas is formed and evenly distributed through the whole dough. The process is slow, and in the action some of the natural sweetness of the flour is lost. In what is known as aerated bread, the gas made was forced directly into the dough, by means of a machine invented for the purpose ; and a very scientific and very good bread it is. But it demands an apparatus not to be had save at great expense, and the older fashions give a sufficiently sweet and desirable bread.
Hye and Indian Corn form the next best-known varieties of flour in bread-making ; but barley and oats are also used, and beans, pease, rice, chestnuts, in short, any farinaceous seed, or legume rich in starch, can fill the office.
Oatmeal may take rank as one of the best and most digestible forms of farinaceous food. Some twenty-eight per cent of the grain is husk, seventy-two being kernel ; and this kernel forms a meal containing twelve parts of nitrogenous matter, sixty- three of carbo-hydrates, five and a half of fatty matter, three of saline, and fifteen of water. So little gluten is found, that the flour of oats can not be made into loaves of bread ; although, mixed and baked as thin cakes, it forms a large part of the Scotchman's food. It requires thorough cooking, and is then slightly laxative and very easily digested.
Buckwheat is very rich in nitrogenous substances, and as we eat it, in the form of cakes with butter and sirup,
SO heating a food, as to be only suitable for hard workers in cold weather.
Indian corn has also a very small proportion of gluten, and thus makes a bread which crumbles too readity. But it is the favorite form of bread, not only for South and West in our own country, but in Spanish America, Southern Europe, Germany, and Ireland. • It contains a larger amount of fatty matter than any other grain, this making it a necessity in fattening animals. In a hundred parts are eleven of nitrogen, sixty-five of carbo-hydrates, eight of fatty matter, one and a half of saline, and fourteen of water. The large amount of fatty matter makes it difficult to keep much meal on hand, as it grows rancid and breeds worms ; and it is best that it should be ground in small quantities as required.
Bice abounds in starch. In a hundred parts are found seven and a half of nitrogen, eighty-eight of starch, one of dextrine, eight-tenths of fatty matter, one of cellulose, and nine-tenths of mineral matter. Taken alone it can not be called a nutritive food ; but eaten with butter or milk and eggs, or as by the East Indians in curry, it holds an important place.
We come now to Oleaginous Seeds ; nuts, the cocoanut, almonds, &c., coming under this head. While they are rich in oil, this very fact makes them indigestible, and they should be eaten sparingly.