FoodNet

Mazdaznan encyclopedia of dietetics and home cook book

1909

Page 4

Presented as published in 1909. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Buckwheat should be used sparingly on account of its heating properties. It will overheat the blood and cause skin eruptions unless combined with the free use of large quantities of fruit. Rice, when unpolished, serves as an excellent article of food, and combined with fruits and vegetables is equal in nourishing properties to that of v/heat, providing it is not swamp-raised. Polished rice, sago, tapioca, arrowroot, etc., are from 75 to 90 per cent starch and may be used sparingly when combined with foods of greater value. Maize, or Indian corn (yellow variety), is rich in car- bon in the form of oil, and very valuable as food in colcf climates for generating bodily heat. Little, if any, should be eaten in summer. Corn meal readily spoils because of the ease with which the fatty matter undergoes oxidation. White, or southern, corn contains less oil and may be used as food at all times of the year, tho with less benefit than wheat or rye. The use of yeast in bread-making is not advisable un- less baking is thoro. The process of fermentation, when 10 not checked by sufficient heat during baking, continues after the bread has been taken into the stomach, and when that organ is in a weakened condition great distress is a result. Statements have been erroneously made that the yeast plant is destroyed during baking, but if investigation is made it will be found that the crust is practically the only portion of a loaf of bread which is entirely free from ferment. All this may be demonstrated by soaking a piece of white yeast bread in a cup of warm water for four hours and noting the changes which take place. White yeast bread should not be eaten unless it has been toasted to a golden brown in a moderate oven, but not on top of the stove. The browning process changes the starch to dextrin, which is nutritious and easily di- gested, and also effectively destroys the ferment. Scientific investigation has shown that the excessive use of white yeast bread is one of the prime causes of inebri- ety. As there is a considerable amount of alcohol in this kind of bread, its use creates a morbid craving for ardent liquors. This accounts for the reason why many persons are wedded to white yeast bread like a bibber to the morn- ing glass. Should those sanctimonious, motherly souls, working so diligently in the ranks of the Temperance So- cieties, turn their attention toward the exclusion of meat, yeast bread and starch foods from the family table, intem- perance would be a thing of the past. Our confinement to white bolted flour foods and bake- wares has driven man to the excessive use of fleshmeats. Our forefathers used very little or no flesh because they had wholesome bread, which constituted the *'staf¥ of life;" they used vegetables in season and made good use of fruit juices, fermented and unfermented. Give us good bread and whole-grained foods, eaten in moderate quanti- ties, and the flesh pots of Egypt will be left behind even as Israel left a state of bondage. Hot bread, rolls and biscuits for supper are synonymous with "midnight visions," delightful sensations in the epi- gastrium, and timely visits from the family doctor. A word to the wise is sufficient. The "sour-dough" method of bread-making should be decried. It is indelicate, and savors of degeneration. The 11