28 BULLETIN 471, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



These statements must not be understood as advocating a free use 

 of eggs at any price, but merely as pointing out that even at the 

 higher prices the occasional use of eggs in place of meat need not be 

 regarded as a luxury. This is illustrated by observations made by 

 Miss Isabel Bevier and Miss M. E. Sprague 1 during a dietary study 

 of some 115 women, most of them college students. It was found that 

 the amount of certain foods required for a single meal, when any one 

 of them was served, was: Beefsteak, 36 pounds; mutton chops, 45 

 pounds; hamburg steak, 24 pounds; sausage, 30 pounds; bacon, 12 

 pounds; dried beef ,4 pounds; and eggs, 15 pounds, or 10 dozen. 



At the price at which board was furnished, steaks and chops were 

 too expensive for use as breakfast dishes. At the time the study was 

 made bacon and dried beef were both considered cheap. Hamburg 

 steak and sausage were regarded as practicable and were occasionally 

 used, but eggs at 22 cents per dozen were thought expensive and at 25 

 cents per dozen so dear that they could not be used. Yet, as the study 

 showed, at either price the quantity of eggs actualh 7 required to 

 satisfy the members of the club cost less than the amount needed of 

 any of the foods except bacon and dried beef. Furthermore, it was 

 easier to utilize boiled eggs not consumed at table than the left-overs 

 of meat. It appears, therefore, that in this case, as regards both 

 economy and palatability, the use of eggs as a breakfast dish was 

 warranted, and the problem discussed is one worth a housekeeper's 

 attention. 



The eggs, the steaks, and other materials used were not equivalent 

 in nutritive value, but it must be remembered that other foods were 

 served with the meat or eggs, and that the total amount of nutrients 

 consumed at the meal need not have varied greatly from day to day, 

 although the menu was quite different. Variety from meal to meal 

 and from day to day is recognized as desirable in the daily diet, and 

 this is another reason why such uses of eggs are worth considering. 



It is generally recognized that eggs require less time and labor for 

 cooking than most common foods, and for this reason their use as the 

 hot dish at a meal may often be an economj 7 . There are undoubtedly 

 cases in which a small saving of gas or other fuel is of importance, 

 but in many others it is less important than a saving of time or labor. 

 Without question a reason for the popularity of eggs in most house- 

 holds is that they may be so easily and quickty prepared for the table 

 in appetizing ways. 



In the case of eggs, like other foods, the income and the need for 

 economy must determine how far and in what ways they are to be 

 used when they are high in price. Judged by their composition and 

 digestibility, eggs are worthy of the high opinion in which they are 



iTI. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 91 (1900), and unpublished data furnished by 

 Miss Sprague. 



