========================+==========+=======+============================ | | | Nutrients in Daily Food. Author. | Protein. | Fats. |---------------+------------ | | | Carbohydrates.| Fuel Value. ------------------------+----------+-------+---------------+------------ | lb. | lb. | lb. | Calories. Playfair, England | .26 | .11 | 1.17 | 3.140 Moleschotte, Italy | .29 | .09 | 1.21 | 3.160 Wolff, Germany | .28 | .08 | 1.19 | 3.030 Voit, Germany | .26 | .12 | 1.10 | 3.055 Atwater, United States | .28 | 17.33 | 88.1.21 | 3.500 ------------------------+----------+-------+---------------+------------ Quality of Food. It is a great mistake to think that the best is the cheapest in regard to the food question, that the higher priced meats, fish, butter, etc., contain special virtues lacking in the cheaper articles. _Poor cooking is the chief cause of this error in judgment._ No doubt a well broiled steak is more appetizing and delicate in flavor than some of the cheaper cuts, but in proportion to the cost is not equal in nutritive value; careful cooking and judicious flavoring render the cheaper pieces of beef equally palatable. That expensive food is not necessary to maintain life has been clearly demonstrated by the traditional diet of the Scotch people with their oatmeal and herring; the Irish, potatoes and buttermilk; New England, codfish and potatoes, and pork and beans; the Chinese, rice, etc. Monotony of diet, however, is not recommended, for reasons given in a previous chapter, and in the countries where a special diet prevails owing to the climate, nature of soil and markets, the results have not warranted us in believing that it is as good as a mixed diet. From this necessarily brief outline of the food question we have learned (1) that a knowledge of the requirements of the body are absolutely necessary in regulating a proper diet; (2) to furnish the food principles in a cheap rather than a dear form; (3) to understand the art of cookery so as to secure the full nutritive value and at the same time stimulate the appetite; (4) the value of economy in regard to food principles. When the housekeeper has acquired this knowledge she will have covered the field of food economy. Prof. Atwater says: "When we know what are the kinds and amount of nutritive substances our bodies need and our food materials contain, then and not till then shall we be able to adjust our diet to the demands of health and purse." Cooking of Food.