FOOD. 



to observe that the egg of the common fowl is that 

 most extensively used, on account of its supe- 

 rior flavour and digestibility. Both the white and 

 yolk consist chiefly of albumen, the former almost 

 entirely so. Thus, 100 parts of white of egg yield 

 about 80 water, 16 albumen, and 4 incoagulable 

 mucilaginous matter ; the yolk about 54 parts 

 water, 18 albumen, and 28 a peculiar yellow oil. 

 The solid matter of eggs consists of 14 parts of 

 nitrogenous and ioi of carbonaceous material. 

 They are therefore deficient in carbon, and hence 

 they are properly combined with bacon, with 

 bread, with oil in salads, or with farinaceous sub- 

 stances in puddings. 



With respect to the eligibility of eggs as an 

 article of diet, much depends upon the mode of 

 preparation ; and, as a general rule, the lower the 

 temperature employed in cooking them, and the 

 shorter the duration of the cooking, the greater 

 their digestibility. The yolk is more easily di- 

 gested than the white ; probably because the oil 

 in the yolk prevents the albumen from coagulating 

 in large masses, and thus allows the gastric juice 

 to act more readily upon it. ' It is an important 

 fact/ writes Dr Robertson, ' that either the white 

 or the yolk of egg, if eaten raw, and therefore 

 uncoagulated, is much more easily digested than 

 when it has been previously boiled. The albumen 

 is, of course, in this case, coagulated by the acid 

 secretion of the stomach, as the first step to its 

 digestion ; but this coagulation is different from 

 the coagulation by heat, and does not offer the 

 same degree of resistance to the solvent powers of 

 the stomach. The digestibility of egg is much 

 influenced by its having been recently laid. Con- 

 taining so much azotised matter, and the usual 

 proportion of sulphur and phosphorus, egg soon 

 undergoes the changes of decomposition ; and 

 probably to a considerable extent before these are 

 to be detected by the sense of smell.' Eggs remain 

 fresh for two or three days in summer, and for 

 from three to six in winter. The shell being 

 porous, the fluid contents gradually evaporate, and 

 the shell becomes less full. To ascertain the age 

 of eggs, dissolve about four ounces of table salt in 

 forty ounces of water, and plunge the egg into it 

 If the egg is only one day old, it will fall to the 

 bottom of the solution ; if two days old, it will 

 sink, but not to the bottom ; if three days old, it 

 will float near the top ; and if five or more days 

 old, it will remain at the surface and project more 

 or less according to the age. When an egg is 

 quite stale, the yellow falls to one end, and may 

 be seen there on holding it before a light or the 

 sun ; and if the egg be shaken, a slight shock is 

 felt, which is not felt if the egg be fresh. 



Turtle. Of the reptiles, which rank next in the 

 descending scale of animated life, none can be 

 regarded as a staple of food in this country. We 

 leave the edible frog to our continental neigh- 

 bours, and the turtle to the inhabitants of those 

 regions of which it is a native. As a luxury, 

 however, turtle is consumed by the wealthy, 

 and is yearly becoming more common, as the 

 facilities of steam-navigation bring it in much 

 better condition, and much more abundantly. 

 When cooked, the flesh of the green or edible 

 turtle somewhat resembles that of chicken or veal; 

 is pale, watery, soft, rich in gelatine, poor in fibrin, 

 and contains little or no osmazome. It is said to 

 be of easy digestion and nutritive ; and by decoc- 



tion, yields highly restorative soups. The eggs of 

 several of the turtle family are eaten as a palatable 

 article of food. 



Fish Crustacea and SMJ-JisXt.Th.is division 

 embraces a large amount of the food of our country- 

 men, and is steadily, though slowly, on the increase. 

 Unlike the flesh of birds, that of fish is not always to 

 be eaten with impunity. Many, indeed, are highly 

 poisonous ; and even the best are not always in 

 season. They are said to be in season after full 

 recovery from the operation of spawning, up to the 

 time when the roe and milt are ripe, and about 

 to be shed and the nearer this point the better. 

 Almost every portion of the common edible fishes 

 is available as food ; but the muscular, fleshy, or 

 flaky part is that which forms the staple. It 

 differs little in composition in the various kinds, 

 being composed mainly of water, albumen, and 

 gelatine. Thus, 100 parts of cod-flesh yield 79 

 water, 14 albumen or fibrin, and 7 gelatine ; and 

 that of the sole, 79 water, 15 albumen, and 6 

 gelatine. In many fishes, the flesh is mixed or 

 covered with fat or oil, as in the salmon, herring, 

 pilchard, &c. ; but after the spawning season, this 

 fat is greatly diminished. In the salmon, for 

 instance, Sir Robert Christison finds, that while 

 the fat amounts to 18-53 P er c ent - m 'clean' fish, 

 it amounts to only 1-25 per cent in kelts the 

 place of the lost fat in the latter being occupied by 

 water. In other fish, as the cod, skate, &c. the 

 fat seems concentrated in the liver, leaving the flesh 

 nearly devoid of it. Fish-flesh contains, theoreti- 

 cally, a fair amount of nutritive matter ; but this 

 is greatly depreciated in many instances by its 

 indigestibility. Ranged in their order of digesti- 

 bility, fish, Crustacea, and shell-fish may be thus 

 classified : i. White-fleshed fish ; 2. Flat-fish ; 3. 

 Shell-fish ; 4. Fresh-water fish ; 5. Red-fleshed 

 fish ; and, lastly, the more oleaginous fish and 

 the crustaceans, such as crabs and lobsters. From 

 the quantity of water which the flesh of fish con- 

 tains, it is less satisfying to the appetite than 

 butcher-meat or poultry, at the same time that it 

 is less substantial and nourishing. Besides the 

 albumen, gelatine, mucus, and oil usually found in 

 the substance of fishes, there are phosphates, 

 chlorides, and iodides of lime, magnesia, soda, 

 &c. which may give to it peculiar dietetic and 

 medicinal properties. 



For dietetic purposes, fishes have frequently to 

 undergo some sort of preparation, varying accord- 

 ing to the situation, the necessities, or the tastes 

 of the consumers. ' When circumstances permit,' 

 says Dr Fleming, ' they are in general used in a 

 fresh state. . . . Where fish are to be procured 

 only at certain seasons of the year, various 

 methods have been devised to preserve them 

 during the periods of scarcity. The simplest ot 

 these processes is to dry them in the sun. They 

 are then used either raw or boiled, and not unfre- 

 quently, in some of the poorer districts of the 

 north of Europe, they are ground into powder, to 

 be afterwards formed into bread. But by far the 

 most successful method of preserving fish, and 

 the one in daily use, is by means of salt For this 

 purpose they are packed with salt in barrels as 

 soon after being taken as possible. In this man- 

 ner are herrings, pilchards, cod, and salmon, as 

 well as many other kinds of esculent fish, pre- 

 served. The fish, in many instances, after having 

 been salted in vessels constructed for the purpose, 



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