35fe METHODS OF PREPARING FOOD. 



turn in disgust from what may be the most appropriate nourish- 

 ment, often compelling doctor and nurse to seek some other which 

 may be less suitable and less easily provided. Food prepared with- 

 out the knowledge of a patient will generally be better relished than 

 if he is first consulted as to what he will have and how it is to be 

 dressed. The cooking should be done at such a distance that no 

 odor from it can come to the sick-room. The room itself is the last 

 place in which food should be prepared if it can be done elsewhere. 



Roasting' on a spit is by far the best method of preparing 

 food for the table. To retain the nutritive juices, the joint should- 

 be placed close to a clear, strong fire for five minutes at first, and 

 then removed to a greater distance until the last five minutes, when 

 it should be brought near the fire again. The albumen and extrac- 

 tive matters are thus hardened into a case, which keeps together 

 the valuable fibrinous particles till they have undergone the desired 

 changes by slow heat, while objectionable oils generated by the char- 

 ring of the surface are carried off. The dripping is wholesome for 

 the healthy, but (especially if at all burnt) is indigestible if the 

 stomach be at all weak. When the joint is thoroughly roasted the 

 retained gravy will flow out freely at the first incision, and the meat 

 while yet red, will have lost all purple color even to the bone. The 

 time of roasting depends partly on the kind of meat, partly on the 

 size and weight of the joint. Beef, mutton and goose require a 

 quarter of an hour for each pound ; veal and pork require an addi- 

 tional five minutes; poultry and game require less than this 

 proportion. Lamb, veal, pork, chicken and tne flesh of all young 

 animals is better roasted, oecause it contains a larger proportion of 

 albumen and gelatine in the tissues, which is partly lost in boiling. 



Broiling is roasting applied to small portions of meat. A 

 beefsteak or mutton-chop should be done quickly on a gridiron over 

 a clear, hot fire, free from smoke, so as to retain the juices; it should 

 therefore not be pricked with a fork. Fish is best troiled. 



Baking meat at a high temperature is but an imperfect 

 method of roasting imperfect, because it takes place in an 

 oven, from which there is usually no escape for the volatile fatty 

 acids which are generated. The meat is therefore richer and 

 stronger than when roasted before an open fire and less adapted for 

 weak digestion. If, however, the meat be enclosed in a thick pis- 

 dish, a crust of some sort or a coat of clay (as Gipsies, Indians, etc., 

 cook their joints and fowls), it is delicious. No charring then takes 

 place, but all the fat and gravy which generally ooze out assist in 

 the cooking. The process still goes on after the dish is removed 

 from the oven, if it is kept hot by being enveloped in thick flannel 

 or put in a " Norwegian nest," or " self-acting cooking-apparatus." 

 The " nest " is a box thickly padded inside with felt, so as to retain 

 the heat in the enclosed vessel. It would often be very useful as an 

 appurtenance of the sick-room. Vegetables and fruit should be 

 likewise slowly baked. Eggs should be only sparingly used in baked 



