320 



DIET 



for this reason alone, since there are many- 

 other ways in which this substance can be 

 provided for. 



One food which is not being utiUzed as 

 much as it might be is nuts. Their nutri- 

 tional value is high, their keeping quaUty 

 good, and they provide a welcome variety. 



Food Serving 



Even under ordinary conditions on a sub- 

 marine, it is impossible for all men to eat 

 at the same time. To provide those men 

 who are unable to eat at the scheduled hours 

 with a warm, nourishing meal may, under 

 certain circumstances, be rather trouble- 

 some. Most of the difficulties might 

 be overcome by means of the Meal-pack, 

 similar to that used by air-lines for serving 

 meals while in flight. The submarine cook 

 could prepare food for the men who were 

 absent, and by means of the Meal-pack he 

 could be sure that it would remain in essen- 

 tially that condition until eaten. 



The Meal-pack^ container consists of an 

 insulated double-walled metal case and a 

 removable pyrex dish from which the meal 

 can be eaten directly. The usefulness of 

 this container has been demonstrated in hos- 

 pital practice. Unbiased reports indicate 

 that food is kept hot (or cold) for several 

 hours after packing. The containers can 

 be stored in a minimum of space, a point 

 which is of primary importance on a sub- 

 marine. 



Food Supply and Food Storage 



In addition to fuel, the supply of food is 

 the factor limiting the radius and duration 

 of a submarine patrol. The need for eco- 

 nomic utiHzation of space is evident. To do 

 this requires the development of space-saving 

 foods and space-saving methods of packaging 

 them. 



The ideal in this respect would be dehy- 

 drated foods. Certain of these, such as po- 



1 Manufactured by the Meal-pack Corp. of 

 America, New York, N. Y. 



tatoes and cabbage, can be used at present 

 for mass feeding and on rehydration are 

 fully acceptable. However, most of the de- 

 hydrated products demand further research 

 before they will be developed to the point 

 of complete acceptability. 



Partly dehydrated and frozen foods repre- 

 sent a compromise in this direction. Be- 

 cause of their lower moisture content they 

 take up less space, and, since they have 

 undergone only mild treatment, they show 

 less alteration in taste, color, and odor than 

 do dehydrated foods. 



Different meats can be prepared in ways 

 that produce a marked reduction in the 

 space required for storage. Chickens cut 

 up for frying require less space than the in- 

 tact birds, with no undesirable effect either 

 in storage or preparation. In the same way, 

 boneless beef would affect a great saving 

 of space, but, under the present conditions, 

 its quality is frequently inferior. Additional 

 research should be done on the development 

 of high-grade boneless meats. Under ordi- 

 nary circumstances, the carcass contains from 

 25 to 30 percent bone and a relatively small 

 amount of visible fat. 



During the past war, reports to the Com- 

 mittee on Food Composition of the National 

 Research Council indicated that there was a 

 large increase in the amount of fat left on 

 the meat by the packers. When the meat 

 was prepared in the camps, much of this 

 fat was discarded by the cooks. If the latter 

 did not trim off enough fat, the service men 

 left it on their plates. The net result of 

 the campaigns to conserve this foodstuff 

 was a large recovery of fat from the garbage 

 cans and grease traps. All of this "recov- 

 ered" fat could have been removed before 

 the meat was shipped to the service depots, 

 thus saving that much storage space and the 

 time required of the crew for the recover}'' of 

 the fat. 



The magnitude of the wastage of cold 

 storage space by improper trimming of the 

 meat at the slaughter houses can be gauged 

 from the fact that, at a single meal aboard 



