H^^rA^• Nutrition. 793 



The underlying principles in meat cookery are (i) to coagulate the 

 proteid without toughening it, and (2) to soften the connective tissue 

 without toughening the proteid. This is accompHshed by cooking 

 tough meat a long time at a low temperature and by not over-cooking 

 tender cuts. 



Losses in cooking meat. The losses in cooking meat are less than is 

 generally thought. The broth in which meat is cooked may contain a 

 good percentage of the mineral matter at one time present in the meat, 

 but as far as actual nutritive value is concerned most of that remains 

 in the meat. In other words, meat soups and broths, delicious and 

 appetizing as they may be, are stimulants rather than foods., and the 

 soup meat, flat and tasteless as it is, is rich in nutrients. 



Sugar cookery. When water is heated, the temperature rises until 

 the boiling point of the water, 2i2°F or ioo°C, is reached. No further 

 rise in temperature occurs. Heat applied to the water thereafter is 

 used to change it to steam. If sugar and water are cooked together, the 

 temperature does not remain constant after the mixture begins to 

 boil. After the syrup begins to boil the water is driven off and the 

 mixture becomes more concentrated. The temperature continues to 

 rise as the syrup thickens until finally the mixture turns brown and 

 chars. 



In cooking a sugar syrup, the temperature is always the same at a 

 given concentration. The reverse of this rule is also true. At a given 

 temperature a sugar solution always has the same degree of concentra- 

 tion. For this reason, it is possible to cook sugar solutions very accurately 

 by using a thermometer which will register high temperatures. For 

 example: If a sugar syrup is cooked until the thermometer shows the 

 temperature to be 238-242°F, a little of the syrup poured into cold 

 water will form a ball which holds its shape when under water but which 

 loses its shape when lifted from the water. This is called the soft ball 

 stage of a syrup. A temperature of 246-2 5o°F gives a ball which is 

 firm under water and holds its shape out of water. This is called the 

 hard ball stage. A temperature of 2 9o°F gives a syrup which will crackle 

 under water but which will stick to the teeth when chewed. A tempera- 

 ture of 3io°F gives a syrup which will crackle under water and is hard 

 and very brittle when cold. At 35o°F the syrup turns brown, giving 

 a substance known as caramel, which has a very agreeable flavor and 

 which is used frequently to flavor various desserts. If the syrup is 

 cooked beyond this point it chars or carbonizes. 



If a thick syrup is made from the ordinary sugar of commerce, which 

 is one form of cane-sugar, and the syrup is allowed to stand a few days, 



