360 METHODS OF PREPARING FOOD. 



mer, and when a sufficient time has elapsed the meat is done, quite 

 tender and well adapted to the invalid. 



Soups, Broths, Etc. If it is desirable to extract the nutri- 

 ment so that it may be given in the form of broth, the meat should 

 be finely chopped or minced, put into cold water, soaked for a short 

 time, then gradually heated to a temperature just below boiling 

 point, at which it should be kept for half an hour or more. But if 

 sou]) be wanted, the heating should go on to boiling point, and be 

 maintained there, in order that the gelatine may be extracted to 

 solidify the soup. It should be carefully observed that the minced 

 meat be put into cold water for a time, never into boiling water at 

 first. The leanest meat is the best for soup-making; the least parti- 

 cle of fat is out of place in broths or soups, and indeed renders it 

 absolutely unwholesome as well as nauseous. Bones which require 

 long boiling, yield abundant gelatine. 



SALTING meat makes it less nutritious, not by the addition of 

 salt, but by the removal of the fluids and salts by the brine. The 

 dried flesh is difficult of solution by the digestive secretions. Soak 

 ing in water softens it and removes the salt, but does not restore the 

 nutritive value. The longer the salt remains in the tissues, the 

 harder they become. 



DRYING is less prejudicial to the meat; when the process is com- 

 pleted the meat becomes no worse until the decomposition sets in. 



SMOKING imparts a flavor to dried meat which many prefer. 



MEAT PRESERVED IN TINS is too much cooked to be very digest- 

 ible. It contains a good measure of nutritive elements and is 

 economical, but is not agreeable to every palate. It is best eaten 

 only warmed up, not cooked again, and served with macaroni and 

 vegetables. 



The utensils employed in the preparation of food should be 

 kept scrupulously clean. Cooks do not seem to be aware how often 

 their dishes are unpalatable, and therefore unwholesome, solely from 

 being prepared in a vessel which has a disagreeable flavor remain- 

 ing in it. Those lined with porcelain should always be used in 

 preference to those of plain iron or tin, which are not so easily 

 cleaned and are therefore likely to affect the flavor of the dishes. 

 Still it must be admitted that they burn more easily, so that without 

 close watching it is very difficult to boil milk in them. Soap is 

 sometimes employed in washing pots instead of soda and it is 

 deemed sufficient to wipe out a saucepan with a dish-cloth when it 

 should be scrubbed out with a hard brush or metal shavings. The 

 grease of the soap and cloth adhere to the metal and its rankness 

 spoils the delicate flavor of something intended to tempt the appe- 

 tite or satisfy the fastidious digestion of an invalid. Especially is 

 it important that anything witn strong and persistent odor, such as 

 onions and other condiments, should be cleansed from vessels, 

 knives, and other utensils before they are used for another purpose. 

 Food is the only thing that should come unexpectedly to the 



