178 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
‘ 
above gives the prices of the principal food materials used in 
the menus. 
In the receipts for dishes prepared at home only the propor- 
tions of the different nutritive ingredients are indicated. Con- 
diments, flavorings and other accessories which have little or 
no value as food are left out of account in the estimates of 
nutrients. The values given under the head ‘‘tea’’ or ‘‘ cof- 
fee’’ are obtained by calculating the actual cost and nutrients 
of the ingredients entering into the coffee. It is calculated that 
the cost of the coffee, milk and sugar for one cup of coffee or 
tea will be not far from one cent, and the protein and energy 
furnished by the milk and sugar not far from .o08 pound and 
250 calories respectively. The coffee or tea infusion itself 
contains practically no nutrients. | 
In table 43 above a number of common food materials are 
arranged in groups. One purpose of putting the different 
articles of similar nutritive value into the same group, is to 
show how they may be interchanged in making up the menus. 
That is to say, any one of the materials in either menu may be 
taken out and another of the same group put in its place with- 
out changing the nutritive value of the whole. The change 
thus made may increase or diminish the cost of the food. Thus, 
for dinner in menu No. 1, 2 pounds 3 ounces of porterhouse 
steak (beef loin) costing, at 18 to 25 cents a pound, about 50 
cents, might be substituted for the 214 pounds of beef neck, 
which, at 7 cents a pound, would cost but 17% cents. ‘This 
change in the menu would, perhaps, give a more palatable meal, 
but at an increased cost of 33 cents, and without essential 
change of nutritive value. In menu No. 6 the 244 pounds of 
beef rib costing, at 16 cents a pound, 4o cents, could be replaced 
by the same amount of boiled beef brisket costing, at 6 cents a 
pound, 15 cents. This would make a saving of 25 cents with- 
out loss of nutritive value. Or, in this same menu, I pound g 
ounces (about 14 pints) of dried beans, costing not far from 6 
cents, might be used in the place of the 2% pounds of beef rib, 
thus reducing the cost 34 cents. 7 
In like manner, in menu No. 4, instead of 1 pound of bana- 
nas (four) for breakfast, costing 7 cents, there might be sub- 
stituted 1 pound of blackberries (1 pint), costing 4 centsag 
pounds of oranges (4 large or 8 small ones), costing 14 cents, 



