Our bodies are, in this respect, much
more perfect than any engine, for they are able so to
prepare, by the processes of digestion and absorption,
such food as lean meat, that it may be built up into
the tissues of the body and thus allow its growth or
repair. Even the foods that are used principally as
fuel must undergo changes in digestion before the body
can absorb them and make use of them.
3
4 DOMESTIC SCIENCE.
We may distinguish different constituents in our
foods which may be classified as follows*: —
I. NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS.
1. Proteids.
(1) Higher Proteids — these are coagulated by heat. White
of egg consists largely of proteids of this kind, and
hence when boiled is set and firm. Lean meat, fisli
and eggs contain considerable percentages of higher
proteids and somewhat smaller amounts of them are
found in milk, legumes and cereals.
(2) Albuminoids. These yield gelatin on boiling, which
dissolves in the water. Connective tissue, bones
and cartilage contain them most abundantly.
2. Non-Proteids.
They may bo roughly termed extractives. They are
soluble in water, and aid jn giving flavor to food-
stuffs, especially meat. To them in a large measure
is due the flavor of meat soups.
II. CARBO-HYDRATES.
(1) Starches are soluble only in hot water, and are contained
in large amounts in potatoes, cereals, eto.
(2) Sugars are readily soluble in cold water. Considerable
amounts are found in sugar cane, maple sap, beets
and some otlier vegetables, fruits and milk.
(8) Gums and doxtrins are not so readil}' soluble in water as
sugars. They occur in fruits and vegetables.
(4) Cellulose is insoluble in even boiling water. It forms
the framework of all plants.
*The olmMlfltnitlon uhmI In the former edition of thin )>ook waa that proponed by
W. O. Atwaivr, and oitoptMl hy the Aniurican Itiircati of A)(ri(mlt)iru. In It the
term " Altmniinoldii" woa umsd In plotw of what ar(< tfniii'd "Higher I'roli'ids" in
ttw atravc, Mid " Oelatinoldi " In pluoo of what are here termed "Albuminoids."
FOOD.
III. FATS.
Fat, as it occurs in our foods, in meat for example, is
a mixture of two or three different fats ; of these
one is a liquid at ordinary temperatures, and is the
main constituent of olive oil. The other two are
solid, but also differ from each other. The differ-
ences in the fat of different animals depends on the
varying mixtures of these fats.
IV. MINERAL MATTER AND ACIDS.
Mineral matter, that is, the salts of various chemical
elements, is found in smaller or larger proportions
in all foods.
Organic acids occur in fruits and aid in giving them their
characteristic flavors.
V. WATER.
Forms the largest constituent, by weight, of many of our
foods — for example, fruit, vegetables and meat — and
also a large proportion of all but such dried foods as
peas, beans, rice, etc., in which only ten per cent, to
fifteen per cent, is found.
Page 4
Presented as published in 1905. 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
Our bodies are, in this respect, much more perfect than any engine, for they are able so to prepare, by the processes of digestion and absorption, such food as lean meat, that it may be built up into the tissues of the body and thus allow its growth or repair. Even the foods that are used principally as fuel must undergo changes in digestion before the body can absorb them and make use of them.
We may distinguish different constituents in our foods which may be classified as follows*: —
I. NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS.
1. Proteids.
(1) Higher Proteids — these are coagulated by heat. White
of egg consists largely of proteids of this kind, and hence when boiled is set and firm. Lean meat, fish and eggs contain considerable percentages of higher proteids and somewhat smaller amounts of them are found in milk, legumes and cereals.
(2) Albuminoids. These yield gelatin on boiling, which
dissolves in the water. Connective tissue, bones and cartilage contain them most abundantly.
2. Non-Proteids.
They may be roughly termed extractives. They are soluble in water, and aid in giving flavor to foodstuffs, especially meat. To them in a large measure is due the flavor of meat soups.
II. CARBO-HYDRATES.
(1) Starches are soluble only in hot water, and are contained
in large amounts in potatoes, cereals, etc.
(2) Sugars are readily soluble in cold water. Considerable
amounts are found in sugar cane, maple sap, beets and some other vegetables, fruits and milk.
(8) Gums and dextrins are not so readily soluble in water as sugars. They occur in fruits and vegetables.
(4) Cellulose is insoluble in even boiling water. It forms the framework of all plants.
*The olmMlfltnitlon uhmI In the former edition of thin )>ook waa that proponed by W. O. Atwaivr, and oitoptMl hy the Aniurican Itiircati of A)(ri(mlt)iru. In It the term " Altmniinoldii" woa umsd In plotw of what ar(< tfniii'd "Higher I'roli'ids" in ttw atravc, Mid " Oelatinoldi " In pluoo of what are here termed "Albuminoids."
FOOD.
III. FATS.
Fat, as it occurs in our foods, in meat for example, is a mixture of two or three different fats ; of these one is a liquid at ordinary temperatures, and is the main constituent of olive oil. The other two are solid, but also differ from each other. The differences in the fat of different animals depends on the varying mixtures of these fats.
IV. MINERAL MATTER AND ACIDS.
Mineral matter, that is, the salts of various chemical elements, is found in smaller or larger proportions in all foods.
Organic acids occur in fruits and aid in giving them their characteristic flavors.
V. WATER.
Forms the largest constituent, by weight, of many of our foods — for example, fruit, vegetables and meat — and also a large proportion of all but such dried foods as peas, beans, rice, etc., in which only ten per cent, to fifteen per cent, is found.