Elements of the theory and practice of cookery

— Most fresh fruits contain from 80 to 90 per cent of water, and considerable cellulose. They have al- most no proteid or fat, and, Avhen ripe, little or no starch. Ripening changes their starch to sugars and gums. One of these gums is pectin, a sort of " plant gelatin." We shall learn more about it when we make jelly. Sugar is the only foodstuff found in any con- siderable quantity in fruit. Apples, cherries, pears, peaches, and oranges contain, on an average, about the same amount of sugar (7 to 14 per cent) ; lemons, cranberries, and currants, less ; grapes, bananas, and dried fruits, more. Excepting bananas, fresh fruits have little food value. We eat them for their delicious taste, their refreshing, thirst-quenching juices, their organic salts, and mineral compounds. These last supply sodium, calcium, phos- phorus, and other elements essential to pure blood and sound tissues. 365. Bananas contain more carbohydrates than other fruits do. In ripe bananas these are mostly in the 228 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COOKERY form of sugar and gum, but the bananas in our mar- kets, like all fruits sold far from where they are grown, are picked green, and never ripen as perfectly as they would on the tree. In this condition they contain con- siderable starch, and, therefore, need cooking to develop all their food value and flavor. Pineapples contain a proteid-digesting ferment. Huckleberries are indigesti- ble and irritating unless cooked. If eaten raw, they must be well chewed. 366. Dried fruits. — Dates, raisins, figs, and prunes contain 50 to 75 per cent of grape and other fruit sugars. This makes them really nutritious. Prunes are dried plums ; raisins, dried grapes ; the black cur- rants used in cake are dried currants from Greece and Asia Minor. Citrons belong to the same family as lemons, oranges, grape-fruit, and limes. Citron and currants are believed to be quite indigestible. Rules for eating Fruit 367. 1. Eat only sound, ripe fruit. Unripe fruit is dangerously indigestible. Over-ripe or partly spoiled fruit is poisonous from the bacteria it contains. The cheap fruit hawked about the street, after it is too far gone for reliable storekeepers to sell, is fit only to be thrown away. 2. As a rule, cooked fruit is less likely to cause sick- ness than raw fruit. Fruit not quite ripe and fruit kept a little too long may be made safe to eat by thorough cooking. ACID AND SALT SUPPLYING FOODS 229 3. Fruit is most wholesome eaten by itself, at the beginning of a meal, or as dessert ; least wholesome in pudding or pie, or after a hearty dinner that has included a dessert besides the fruit. 4. Sweet fruits, such as dates, bananas, figs, are best with breakfast cereals and other starchy foods ; acid fruits sometimes interfere with the digestion of the starch. Explain this. Dates, figs, or prunes supply all the sweetening needed with mush. 5. Do not eat peach, plum, or any other tough fruit- skins raw. It is safer not to eat grape seeds. 6. Eat moderately of raw fruit, especially in hot weather. Do not imagine, because it is watery and comparatively innutritions, that you can safely eat it in unlimited quantities. 7. Avoid taking milk or cream at the same time with acid fruits, particularly with oranges or cherries. What is the effect of acids on milk ? HOW TO PREPARE AND SERVE FRESH FRUIT