A handbook of invalid cooking : $b for the use of nurses in training, nurses in private practice, and others who care for the sickBoland, Mary A.
Science
A handbook of invalid cooking : $b for the use of nurses in training, nurses in private practice, and others who care for the sick
Boland, Mary A.
Cooking for the sick
It is a curious fact that coffee is most frequently made in such a
way that its valuable flavors are undeveloped or destroyed. Care
must be taken that the roasting be not carried so far as to char
the coffee-beans, yet far enough to convert the sugar into caramel,
and to change the nature of the volatile oil, so that the highest
point of flavor will be reached. This can be best accomplished in
regular roasting-houses, where the temperature and time may be
accurately measured.
It is best to get a supply of fresh roasted coffee every day, but
when this is not practicable, once in three days, or once a week,
will do. Although theoretically the roasting of coffee should be a
part of its preparation--that is, it should be roasted, immediately
ground, and made into drink--practically it is very seldom done.
COFFEE. No. 1
A favorite mixed coffee is made with two thirds Java and one third
Mocha. It should be ground just before it is needed. For a pot of
coffee use the proportions of one heaped tablespoon to a cup of
water. It is well to calculate the number of persons there are to
be served, and allow one cup (one half pint) for each; this amount,
with the milk or cream used, will make two ordinary china cups of
coffee. To the ground coffee add a little yolk or white of egg,
with a spoonful of water to dilute it; mix thoroughly until all
the grains are coated over with albumen, then pour on the boiling
water, simmer for five minutes, and steep at a temperature just
short of simmering for ten minutes more. The coffee is then done.
It should be served at once with _loaf-sugar_, and either hot or
cold cream, or hot milk. The coffee should be perfectly clear and
of fine color and flavor.
There are many methods of making coffee, but the above, everything
considered, seems the most desirable for family use. One egg is
enough to clear three quarts of coffee, and both yolk and white are
of equal value for the purpose.
COFFEE. No. 2
For every cup of water use a heaped tablespoon of coffee; soak the
coffee overnight or for several hours in cold water, then bring
it to the boiling-point, and let it simmer for a few minutes just
before using. This is said to be the most economical method of
making, as more is obtained from the coffee by this treatment. The
flavor is certainly fine.
Long boiling dissipates the delicious aromatic oils, and as
probably these are the most valuable properties of the coffee, the
necessity of preserving them is easily seen. Care should be taken
not to boil coffee for more than from three to five minutes, and
simmer rather than boil, so as to preserve as much as possible the
fine flavors which are so quickly dissipated by boiling; yet the
high temperature seems to be necessary to extract the desirable
properties of the bean. One must therefore ever bear in mind the
seeming paradox that coffee should reach the boiling-point, and yet
not boil.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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