Maintaining Health (Formerly Health and Efficiency)Alsaker, Rasmus Larssen
Science
Maintaining Health (Formerly Health and Efficiency)
Alsaker, Rasmus Larssen
Diet; Hygiene
_Boiling_: When meats are boiled they lose muscle sugar, flavoring
extracts, organic acids, gelatin, mineral matters and soluble albumin.
That is, they lose both flavor and nourishment. Therefore the liquid in
which they are cooked should be used.
The proper way to boil meat is to plunge it into plain boiling water.
Allow the water to boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. This coagulates
the outer part of the piece of meat. Then lower the temperature of the
water to about 180 degrees F. and cook until it suits the taste. If it
is allowed to boil at a high temperature a long time, it becomes tough,
for the albumin will coagulate throughout.
Salt extracts the water from meat. Therefore none of it should be used
in boiling. The meat should be cooked in plain water with no addition.
No vegetables and no cereals are to be added. All meats contain some
fat, and this comes into the water and acts upon the vegetables and
starches, making them indigestible. Season the meat after it is cooked,
or better still, let everyone season it to suit the taste after serving.
Meats that are to be boiled should never be soaked, for the cold water
dissolves out some of the salts and some of the flavoring extracts, as
well as a part of the nutritive substances. It is better to simply wash
the meat if it does not look fresh and clean enough to appeal to the
eye, which it always should be.
_Stewing_: If meat is to be stewed, cut into small pieces and stew or
simmer at a temperature of about 180 degrees F. until it is tender. It
is to be stewed in plain water. If a meat and vegetable stew is desired,
stew the vegetables in one dish, and the meat in another. When both are
done, mix. By cooking thus a stew is made that will not "repeat" if it
is properly eaten. Foods should taste while being eaten, not afterwards.
_Broths_: If a broth is desired, select lean meat. Either grind it or
chop it up fine. There is no objection to soaking the meat in cold
water, provided this water is used in making the broth. Use no
seasoning. Let it stew or simmer at about 180 degrees F. until the
strength of the meat is largely in the water.
When the broth is done, set it aside to cool. Then skim off all the fat
and warm it up and use. One pound of lean meat will produce a quart of
quite strong broth.
_Broiling_: Cut the meat into desired thickness. Place near intense
fire, turning occasionally, until done. Be careful not to burn the
flesh. An ordinary steak should be broiled in about ten minutes. Of
course, the time depends on the thickness of the cut and whether it is
desired rare, medium or well done, and in this let the individual suit
himself, for he will digest the meat best the way he enjoys it most.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account