62 



RECREATION. 



THE FOOD VALUE OF BEANS. 



Beans and other legumes are among the 

 oldest foods known to mankind, yet com- 

 paratively few studies of their food value 

 have been made, with the exception of 

 analyses which show the chemical com- 

 position. Studies like those recently made 

 by Prof.. Harry Snyder, at the University 

 of Minnesota, are therefore of especial in- 

 terest. He studied the thoroughness with 

 which beans are digested by man ; the 

 changes which beans undergo, when par- 

 boiled, with the addition of soda before 

 baking, which is a common domestic method 

 employed in preparing them for the table ; 

 the characteristics of the chemical bodies 

 which make up the different constituents ; 

 and related topics. A number of artificial 

 digestion experiments were also made, in 

 which digestion was accomplished by 

 means of ferments similar to those found 

 in the intestinal tract. The conclusions 

 which Professor Snyder drew from his 

 experiments follow : 



"-Beans were found to be more digestible 

 when combined in a ration with milk, but- 

 ter and other foods, and the highest de- 

 gree of digestibility was secured in a 

 mixed ration. The carbohydrate nutrients 

 of beans were found to be more digestible 

 than any of the other nutrients. The pro- 

 tein was the most variable in digestibility; 

 its range of digestibility varying between 

 72.26 and 86.81 per cent. When soda was 

 used in the preparation of the beans, it 

 was found that 84 per cent, of the soda 

 remained in chemical combination with 

 the proteid material, and 16 per cent, was 

 removed in the drain water. Less than 

 0.66 of one per cent, of the total nitrogen 

 of- beans was lost in the water used in 

 parboiling, while 99.33 per cent, of the 

 total protein remained " in the beans. 

 When the skins of beans were removed 

 by parboiling in water containing a little 

 soda, about 6.5 per cent, of the total dry 

 matter of beans was removed in the skins. 

 The skins contain a large quantity of 

 crude fiber and a relatively small quantity 

 of protein. About 3 per cent, of the total 

 protein in the beans was removed in the 

 skins. When the skins of beans were 

 removed there was less tendency to the 

 formation of gas in the intestines during 

 digestion. A small quantity of germ ad- 

 hered to and was removed with the skins ; 

 the germ and the skin are the parts of 

 the bean which are the most fermentable 

 and which produce sulphureted gaseous 

 products during digestion. Beans contain 

 a large quantity of protein and a small 

 quantity of fat ; hence, in their preparation 

 as human food, fat is necessary in order 

 to make a more balanced food. When 

 the skins of the beans were removed, the 



beans were more readily acted on by 

 digestive solvents as pepsin, diastase, and 

 pancreatin. In 12 hours, 25 per cent, more 

 of the protein nutrient was digested when 

 the skins of the beans were removed than 

 when the beans were baked in a similar 

 way without the removal of the skins. At 

 ordinary prices, beans are one of the 

 cheapest foods for supplying protein in 

 rations. A pound of beans, costing 5 

 cents, contains about 1-5 of a pound of 

 digestible protein and somewhat less than 

 3-5 of a pound of digestible carbohydrates, 

 mainly in the form of starch. 



"The nutrients in beans are different in 

 character from the same class of nutrients 

 in cereal foods. The protein in beans is 

 mainly in the form of legumin, while that 

 in the cereals is in the form of glutens. 

 Bean starch granules are larger than and 

 differ in miscroscopic structure from the 

 cereal starch granules. Beans contain only 

 a small quantity of ether extract, a por- 

 tion of which is in the form of lecithin 

 and free fatty acids. The ether extract 

 from beans, however, has about the same 

 caloric or heat producing power as the 

 ether extract from other foods. In these 

 experiments over a pound of baked beans 

 was consumed per day by men engaged, 

 part of the time, in active outdoor work. 

 It is believed, however, that not more than 

 4 ounces of uncooked beans or 6 ounces of 

 baked beans should be consumed in the 

 daily ration. While beans are slow of 

 digestion, they can not be considered as 

 indigestible when .the availability or total 

 quantity of nutrients actually utilized bv 

 the body is considered. In these experi- 

 ments, over 90 per cent, of the dry matter 

 in the beans was digested and utilized by 

 the body." 



PASTEURIZING AND STERILIZING MILK. 



When milk is heated to 158 degrees and 

 over, in other words, when it is cooked, its 

 milk sugar, according to a recent article 

 by Professor Julius Nelson, becomes 

 changed, being caramelized, or scorched, and 

 certain of the albuminous constituents are 

 coagulated and precipitated on the bottom 

 of the kettle. "They then become super- 

 heated and charred, imparting a bad taste 

 to the milk. By constant stirring, this 

 sort of scorching is prevented. There are 

 other changes produced in milk by cooking. 

 Some enzymes are destroyed, and the taste 

 is so altered that the milk is less palatable 

 to most persons. It is also less readily 

 digested, though apart from the loss 6f some 

 of its nutrients by precipitation, its nutri- 

 tious value has not been seriously impaired. 



Milk that is boiled when perfectly fresh 

 has a different flavor from ordinary boiled 

 milk. The true cooked flavor is then 





