COOKING. 193 



digestible before they are cooked as after, often more so, as 

 they are very frequently badly cooked. But many foods in 

 the raw state are unattractive, or even repellent, whereas 

 cooking usually develops an agreeable odor and taste. Cook- 

 ing should soften the harder and tougher tissues, such as cel- 

 lulose in vegetables and the connective tissue of animal foods. 



If meat be put into cold water and the water gradually 

 warmed, the soluble material of the meat may be extracted ; 

 and this is the principle followed in making soups. But if 

 we wish to cook the meat itself, the juices should be retained 

 instead of withdrawn. For this purpose boiling water is 

 poured over the meat to coagulate the outer layer, and pre- 

 vent the extraction of the juices. The same principle applies 

 to baking and roasting and also to broiling. The outside is 

 subjected to high heat at the beginning of the cooking, which 

 forms a layer nearly impervious to the nutritious material 

 inside. In these modes of cooking, it is often very desirable 

 to reduce the heat applied after the first few minuter,, so that 

 the interior may be more gradually cooked ; this is, perhaps, 

 especially true in broiling. 



Frying, as ordinarily done, is not a good mode of cooking, 

 in fact, is often very bad, as the food is frequently penetrated 

 with fat, and rendered very indigestible. But true frying, 

 that is, by immersion in boiling fat, is a good mode of cook- 

 ing. This coagulates the albuminous substance on the out- 

 side, keeps in the nutritious juices, and prevents soaking 

 with the fat. Often the food to be thus cooked is first coated 

 with white of egg, which is very quickly coagulated, and 

 helps form a protecting outside crust. 



Cooking starch causes the starch grains to swell and burst, 

 and makes the starch much more digestible. 



(For further information read, in the Appendix, the ex- 

 tended quotations from Mrs. Abel.) 



