Olive-oil must find mention here. No fat of either the
animal or vegetable kingdom surpasses tliis in delicacy
and puritj^ Palm-oil fills its place with the Asiatics in
part ; but the olive has no peer in this respect, and we
lose greatly in our general distaste for this form of food.
The liking for it should be encouraged as decidedly as
106 THE CHEMISTRY OF VEGETABLE FOOD.
the liking for butter. It is less heating, more soothing to
the tissues, and from childhood to old age its liberal use
prevents many forms of disease, as well as equalizes di-
gestion in general.
Leguminous Seeds are of more importance, embracing
as thej do the whole tribe of beans, pease, and lentils.
Twice as much nitrogen is found in beans as in wheat ;
and they rank so near to animal food, that by the addi-
tion of a little fat they practically can take its place.
Bacon and beans have thus been associated for centuries,
and New England owes to Assj^ia the model for the pres-
ent Boston bean-pot. In the best table-bean, either
Lima or the butter-beau, will be found in a hundred
parts, thirty of nitrogen, fifty-six of starch, one and a
half of cellulose, two of fatty matter, three and a half
of saline, and eight and a half of water. The propor-
tion of nitrogen is less in pease, but about the same in
lentils. The chestnut also comes under this head, and is
largely eaten in Spain and Italy, either boiled, or dried
and ground into flour.
Tubers and Roots follow, and of these the Potato leads
the van. Low as you may have noticed their standing
on the food-table to be, they are the most economical and
valuable of foods, combining as weU with others, and as
little cloying to the palate, as bread itself. Each pound
of potatoes contains seven hundred and seventy grains of
carbon, and twenty-four grains of nitrogen ; each pound
of wheat-flour, two thousand grains of carbon, and one
hundred and twenty of nitrogen. But the average cost
of the pound of potatoes is but one cent ; that of the
pound of wheat, four. It is obtainable at all seasons, and
thus invaluable as a permanent store, though best in the
THE CHEMISTRY OF VEGETABLE FOOD. 107
winter. Spring, the germinating season, diminishes its
nutritive value. New potatoes are less nutritious than
older ones, and in cooking, if slightly underdone, are said
to satisfy the appetite better ; this being the reason why
the laboring classes prefer them, as they say, " with a
bone in them."
In a hundred parts are found but two of nitrogen,
eighteen of starch, three of sugar, two-tenths of fat,
seven-tenths of saline matter, and seventy-five parts of
water. The Sweet-potato, Yam, and Articlioke are all of
the same character. Other Tubers, the Turnip, Beet, Car-
rot, and Parsnip, ajce in ordinary use. The turnip is nine-
tenths water, but possesses some valuable qualities. The
beet, though also largely water, has also a good deal of
sugar, and is excellent food. Carrots and parsnips are
much alike in composition. Carrots are generally rejected
as food, but properly cooked are very appetizing, their
greatest use, however, being in soups and stews.
Page 53
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
Olive-oil must find mention here. No fat of either the animal or vegetable kingdom surpasses this in delicacy and purity Palm-oil fills its place with the Asiatics in part ; but the olive has no peer in this respect, and we lose greatly in our general distaste for this form of food. The liking for it should be encouraged as decidedly as
the liking for butter. It is less heating, more soothing to the tissues, and from childhood to old age its liberal use prevents many forms of disease, as well as equalizes digestion in general.
Leguminous Seeds are of more importance, embracing as they do the whole tribe of beans, pease, and lentils. Twice as much nitrogen is found in beans as in wheat ; and they rank so near to animal food, that by the addition of a little fat they practically can take its place. Bacon and beans have thus been associated for centuries, and New England owes to Assyria the model for the present Boston bean-pot. In the best table-bean, either Lima or the butter-beau, will be found in a hundred parts, thirty of nitrogen, fifty-six of starch, one and a half of cellulose, two of fatty matter, three and a half of saline, and eight and a half of water. The proportion of nitrogen is less in pease, but about the same in lentils. The chestnut also comes under this head, and is largely eaten in Spain and Italy, either boiled, or dried and ground into flour.
Tubers and Roots follow, and of these the Potato leads the van. Low as you may have noticed their standing on the food-table to be, they are the most economical and valuable of foods, combining as weU with others, and as little cloying to the palate, as bread itself. Each pound of potatoes contains seven hundred and seventy grains of carbon, and twenty-four grains of nitrogen ; each pound of wheat-flour, two thousand grains of carbon, and one hundred and twenty of nitrogen. But the average cost of the pound of potatoes is but one cent ; that of the pound of wheat, four. It is obtainable at all seasons, and thus invaluable as a permanent store, though best in the
winter. Spring, the germinating season, diminishes its nutritive value. New potatoes are less nutritious than older ones, and in cooking, if slightly underdone, are said to satisfy the appetite better ; this being the reason why the laboring classes prefer them, as they say, " with a bone in them."
In a hundred parts are found but two of nitrogen, eighteen of starch, three of sugar, two-tenths of fat, seven-tenths of saline matter, and seventy-five parts of water. The Sweet-potato, Yam, and Artichoke are all of the same character. Other Tubers, the Turnip, Beet, Carrot, and Parsnip, are in ordinary use. The turnip is nineteen-tenths water, but possesses some valuable qualities. The beet, though also largely water, has also a good deal of sugar, and is excellent food. Carrots and parsnips are much alike in composition. Carrots are generally rejected as food, but properly cooked are very appetizing, their greatest use, however, being in soups and stews.