Cheese as Seasoning. Cheese is used as a means of adding flavor and food value to many dishes. Its use with macaroni, spa¬ ghetti, and other pastes is referred to above. It also may be used in seasoning vegetables by blending into a sauce, or used in the prep¬ aration of the au-gratin dishes. SELECTED REFERENCES Doane, C. F., and Lawson, H. W. (revised by K. J. Matheson). Varieties of Cheese : Descrip¬ tions and Analyses. Bulletin No. 608, United States Department of Agriculture, rev., 1932. Lowe, Belle. Experimental Cookery, 3d ed., pp. 323- 328 and 332-335. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New- York (1943). [135] X * Fats and Their Uses in Cookery Fat is essential for the proper functioning of every living cell and is found in small amounts in all natural foods. Many foods, such as whole milk and cream, fat meats and fish, soybeans, nuts, egg yolk, cheese, olives, and avocados, contribute important amounts of fat to the diet. Fat contained in foods, the so-called "invisible” fat, makes up about one-half the fat in the diet. Just as some plants store their excess energy in the form of sugar or starch, so others store their reserves of energy in the form of fat. The fat is separated from the parts of the plant where it is stored — cotton seed, peanuts, soybeans, and corn germ — and reaches the consumer in visible form, as the fats and oils of commerce. In tropical areas, nuts, especially coconuts and palm nuts, are abundant sources of fats. Since animals store all their excess energy in the form of fat, one of their important functions in food economy is to convert the more abundant plant carbohydrates into this more concentrated form of energy. Much of the corn grown on the rich farm lands goes to market in the form of pork and corn- fed beef. In addition to well-marbled muscle meat, these products yield considerable amounts of visible fat, which reaches the consumer in the form of oleomargarine, lard, and other household fats. In separated or visible form, fats and oils contribute essential nutrients and flavor to the diet, and serve many useful functions in the preparation of food. This chapter dis¬ cusses the selection and use of these fats and oils. As a basis for this discussion it is neces¬ sary to understand, in a general way, the chemical structure of fats and the properties which determine and limit their use. Fats, like carbohydrates, contain only the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Just as the carbohydrates are built from the sim¬ ple sugars, fats are built from combinations of a series of acids, called "fatty acids,” and glycerin. Each molecule of glycerin com¬ bines with three molecules of one or more fatty acids with the elimination of water, in accordance with the general reaction indi¬ cated by the simple equation given below: 3 fatty acids + glycerin = fat -f- water During the war, when there was a shortage of fat, soap, and glycerin, there were adver¬ tisements in the newspapers urging women, as a patriotic duty, to turn in all waste fats for use in making soap. In the commercial manufacture of soap, glycerin is a by-product which had many important wartime uses.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Cheese as Seasoning. Cheese is used as a means of adding flavor and food value to many dishes. Its use with macaroni, spa¬ ghetti, and other pastes is referred to above. It also may be used in seasoning vegetables by blending into a sauce, or used in the prep¬ aration of the au-gratin dishes. Doane, C. F., and Lawson, H. W. (revised by K. J. Matheson). Varieties of Cheese : Descrip¬ tions and Analyses. Bulletin No. 608, United States Department of Agriculture, rev., 1932. Lowe, Belle. Experimental Cookery, 3d ed., pp. 323- 328 and 332-335. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New- York (1943). [135] X * Fats and Their Uses in Cookery Fat is essential for the proper functioning of every living cell and is found in small amounts in all natural foods. Many foods, such as whole milk and cream, fat meats and fish, soybeans, nuts, egg yolk, cheese, olives, and avocados, contribute important amounts of fat to the diet. Fat contained in foods, the so-called "invisible” fat, makes up about one-half the fat in the diet. Just as some plants store their excess energy in the form of sugar or starch, so others store their reserves of energy in the form of fat. The fat is separated from the parts of the plant where it is stored — cotton seed, peanuts, soybeans, and corn germ — and reaches the consumer in visible form, as the fats and oils of commerce. In tropical areas, nuts, especially coconuts and palm nuts, are abundant sources of fats. Since animals store all their excess energy in the form of fat, one of their important functions in food economy is to convert the more abundant plant carbohydrates into this more concentrated form of energy. Much of the corn grown on the rich farm lands goes to market in the form of pork and corn- fed beef. In addition to well-marbled muscle meat, these products yield considerable amounts of visible fat, which reaches the consumer in the form of oleomargarine, lard, and other household fats. In separated or visible form, fats and oils contribute essential nutrients and flavor to the diet, and serve many useful functions in the preparation of food. This chapter dis¬ cusses the selection and use of these fats and oils. As a basis for this discussion it is neces¬ sary to understand, in a general way, the chemical structure of fats and the properties which determine and limit their use. Fats, like carbohydrates, contain only the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Just as the carbohydrates are built from the sim¬ ple sugars, fats are built from combinations of a series of acids, called "fatty acids,” and glycerin. Each molecule of glycerin com¬ bines with three molecules of one or more fatty acids with the elimination of water, in accordance with the general reaction indi¬ cated by the simple equation given below: 3 fatty acids + glycerin = fat -f- water During the war, when there was a shortage of fat, soap, and glycerin, there were adver¬ tisements in the newspapers urging women, as a patriotic duty, to turn in all waste fats for use in making soap. In the commercial manufacture of soap, glycerin is a by-product which had many important wartime uses.

Foods, their selection and preparation