VEGETABLE FOOD. 289 



AERATED BREAD, made by forcing pure carbonic acid into the 

 dough, keeps better than other kinds, is free from remains of yeast, 

 does not induce the fermentative changes in the stomach which 

 cause dyspepsia, flatulence and heartburn, and is more likely to be 

 wholesome than ordinary baker's bread. 



SOUR BREAD and mouldy bread are unwholesome and may pro- 

 duce injurious and even fatal consequences. As bread is poor in 

 fat and salts (when only white flour is used), the common practice 

 of eating butter, bacon, dripping or other fat with it is, therefore, 

 more than the gratification of a taste ; it is a physiological necessity. 



TOASTING BREAD generally increases its digestibility, provided 

 the process be properly carried out. To cut the bread into slices so 

 thick that while the sides are rendered crisp the interior becomes 

 spongy, and then to soak the whole with butter, is to render toast 

 very indigestible. The slice should be toasted brown, not burnt, so 

 that it may be crisp and firm throughout. It then constitutes the 

 best form in which starchy food can be given, for much of the 

 starch is changed into glucose by the heat, and in wheat-bread there 

 is some little gluten which partly supplies the place of albumen. 

 Toast should be buttered as eaten, so that it may not become soaked 

 with butter. By some it is much enjoyed without butter, and is 

 then more readily digested. Toast-water, when properly prepared, 

 forms an almost indispensable article in the sick-room. If good, 

 stale bread or biscuits be nicely toasted, not burnt, and then placed 

 in a dish or jug, and hot water poured on and allowed to cool, the 

 drink will often prove more palatable than water alone. 



HUSKS, ZWEIBACK and PULLED BREAD are forms of toast. Rusks 

 and zweiback are made of flour, butter, milk, eggs and sugar, baked 

 and dried. Pulled bread consists of the interior only of a new loaf 

 from which the crust is stripped, dried and browned in a quick oven, 

 and constitutes a suitable form of bread for those whose digestion 

 is weak. 



BISCUITS and RUSKS are not likely to become mouldy and 

 unwholesome. Biscuits have this further recommendation, that as 

 they contain little water, they are, bulk for bulk, more nutritious 

 than bread, three-quarters of a pound being about equal to a pound 

 of bread. Those made without butter are sometimes not easily 

 digested and patients soon tire of them from lack of variety. 



WHEAT BISCUITS, either sweet or plain, are made of whole wheat 

 finely ground for the purpose and are most suitable for those who 

 suffer from dyspepsia and constipation. They are not cloying and 

 indigestible like brown bread new, nor dry and husky like brown 

 bread stale, but are sweet and agreeable to the palate. They may 

 be used either at tea and breakfast or with meat at dinner, as the 

 consumer pleases, and in such quantities as may be requisite. 



BISCUIT-POWDER, made from captain's, or ship's biscuits, which 

 consist of flour and water only, and prepared with milk, can be 



