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A Handbook of Invalid Cooking

by Mary A. Boland

By Mary A. Boland · Science · Public domain

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A Handbook of Invalid Cooking is a public-domain classic of science by Mary A. Boland.

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Author
Mary A. Boland
Length
84,739 words · about 7 hours to read
Chapters
81
Price
Free — public domain

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Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by underscores.

Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=.

A subscript is denoted by {x}, for example CO{2} or C{6}H{10}O_{5}.

Basic fractions are displayed as ½ ⅓ ¼ etc; other fraction are shown in the form a/b, for example 1/7 or 1/3000.

Some minor changes are noted at the end of the book.

A HANDBOOK

INVALID COOKING

FOR THE USE OF

NURSES IN TRAINING-SCHOOLS NURSES IN PRIVATE PRACTICE AND OTHERS WHO CARE FOR THE SICK

CONTAINING EXPLANATORY LESSONS ON THE PROPERTIES AND VALUE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD, AND RECIPES FOR THE MAKING OF VARIOUS DISHES

MARY A. BOLAND

INSTRUCTOR IN COOKING IN THE JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL TRAINING-SCHOOL FOR NURSES; MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION

NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1893

Copyright, 1893, by MARY A. BOLAND.

THE DE VINNE PRESS.

PREFACE

In preparing the following pages for publication, it has been my object to present a collection of recipes and lessons on food, for the use of nurses. The idea was suggested by the need of such a book in the training-school of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It is hoped that it will be found useful in other hospitals and schools where the teaching of the subject of food is receiving attention, and also to those who care for their own sick and invalid ones at home.

Part I--the explanatory lessons--includes general remarks on chemistry, lessons on the properties of the different classes of foods, and special articles on Air, Water, Milk, Digestion and Nutrition. Part II consists of recipes, menus of liquid, light, and convalescent's diet, and articles on Serving, Feeding of Children, and District Nursing.

In arranging the explanatory lessons, information has been drawn from many sources, but particularly from the works of Atwater and Parkes. It is the intention that these lessons be studied in connection with the practical work; they contain matter suggestive of that which it is necessary to understand in order that something may be known of the complex changes which take place in food in the various processes of cooking.

The recipes have been carefully chosen and perfected, some having been changed many times before final adoption. In most of them the quantities are small,--such amounts as would be required for one person,--but by multiplying or dividing the formulæ any quantity may be made, with uniform results.

Detailed descriptions have been given in order that those who know nothing of cooking may be able, by intelligently following the instructions, to make acceptable dishes. Repetition and similarity of arrangement will, it is hoped, serve to impress upon the mind certain points and principles.

In some instances the recipes are original, but for the most part the ideas have been gathered from lessons and lectures on cooking, and from standard books, among them Mrs. Lincoln's "Boston Cook Book." Generally the order in which each recipe has been written is the order in which the different ingredients should be put together. The proportions have been placed first, and separately from the description of the process, for greater convenience in using.

Valuable information for the chapter on the feeding of children was found in Uffelmann's "Hygiene of the Child."

I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Drs. Simon Flexner and William D. Booker of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in reviewing, respectively, the explanatory lessons and the chapter on the feeding of children.

M. A. B.

Baltimore, Jan. 18, 1893.

CONTENTS

Part 2

INTRODUCTION

PART I

EXPLANATORY LESSONS

PAGE

PREPARATION OF FOOD 9

CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CHANGES 10

ELEMENTS 12

AIR 14, 38

FIRE 14

COMPOSITION OF THE BODY 16

PRINCIPAL CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS IN THE BODY 17

THE FIVE FOOD PRINCIPLES 18

WATER 19

PROTEIN 24

FATS 28

CARBOHYDRATES 31

MINERAL MATTERS 65

MILK 44

DIGESTION 49

NUTRITION 53

PART II

RECIPES

BEEF-JUICE, BEEF-TEA, AND BROTHS 75

GRUELS 83

MUSH AND PORRIDGE 90

DRINKS 95

JELLIES 120

TOAST 128

Part 3

SOUPS 134

OYSTERS 145

EGGS 153

POTATOES 161

MEATS 168

STEWS 185

SWEETBREADS 188

FISH 191

CUSTARDS, CREAMS, PUDDINGS, AND BLANC-MANGE 195

SALADS 211

ICE-CREAM, SHERBETS, AND ICES 217

COOKED FRUITS 225

BREAD 232

CAKE 246

DIET LISTS OR MENUS FOR THE SICK 254

LIQUID DIET--FIVE MENUS 254

LIGHT DIET--FIVE MENUS FOR BREAKFAST, DINNER, SUPPER, AND LUNCH 256

CONVALESCENT'S DIET--EIGHT MENUS FOR SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, AND WINTER 260

SERVING

IMPORTANCE OF SKILL IN COOKING THE THINGS TO BE SERVED 267

GOOD SERVING A NECESSITY FOR THE SICK 268

PREPARATION OF THE INVALID'S TRAY 268, 270

IMPORTANCE OF HARMONY OF COLORS IN DISHES, LINEN, AND FLOWERS 269

CARE OF DISHES AND TRAY IN CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 271

TRAY DECORATION 272

VARIETY, INTERVALS OF FEEDING, AND QUANTITY OF FOOD TO BE GIVEN 273, 274

A PLAN FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN INVALID'S BREAKFAST 278

THE FEEDING OF CHILDREN

Part 4

WAYS IN WHICH A CHILD MAY BE SUPPLIED WITH FOOD 280

ARTIFICIAL FEEDING 280

COMPARISON OF THE COMPOSITION OF COW'S AND HUMAN MILK 281

BUYING, CARE, AND STERILIZATION OF COW'S MILK 281, 284

MELLIN'S FOOD AND OTHER ATTENUANTS 283, 290, 291

PREDIGESTION 283, 284

BACTERIAL POISONS IN MILK 285, 286

APPARATUS FOR STERILIZING MILK 287

CARE OF FEEDING-BOTTLES 287

USE OF CONDENSED MILK 288

PRESERVED MILK 289

FARINACEOUS FOODS, MELLIN'S FOOD, MALTED MILK, ETC. 289, 290

AMOUNT OF FOOD FOR EACH MEAL--DILUTION OF--MANNER OF GIVING 293

TEMPERATURE OF FOOD WHEN GIVEN, AND INTERVALS OF FEEDING 294

GENERAL RULES FOR FEEDING 294

FOR THE FIRST WEEK 295

AFTER THE FIRST WEEK AND UNTIL THE SIXTH WEEK 295

FROM THE SIXTH WEEK TO THE SIXTH MONTH 296

FROM THE SIXTH TO THE TENTH MONTH 297

FROM THE TENTH TO THE TWELFTH MONTH 298

FROM THE TWELFTH TO THE EIGHTEENTH MONTH 299

AFTER EIGHTEEN MONTHS 299

FOODS TO BE CAREFULLY AVOIDED 300

DISTRICT NURSING

DISTRICT NURSING 301

TO MAKE A FIRE 302

TO WASH DISHES 303

SWEEPING AND DUSTING 303

Part 5

BILLS OF FARE FOR SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY, AND TUESDAY:

IN MAY 304-308

IN SEPTEMBER 308-310

IN JANUARY 310-313

LITERATURE

A LIST OF BOOKS ON THE CHEMISTRY OF FOODS, BACTERIOLOGY, NUTRITION, HEALTH, PRACTICAL COOKING, AND ALLIED SUBJECTS, USEFUL FOR REFERENCE 313

CHARTS OF THE COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS FOODS FOR USE IN A COOKING-SCHOOL 314

APPARATUS FOR FURNISHING A COOKING-SCHOOL 315

INTRODUCTION

The work of the nurse is to care for her patient, to watch, to tend, and to nurture him in such a way that he shall gain and maintain sufficient strength to overcome disease, that he may finally be restored to a state of health. Her greatest allies in this work consist in the proper hygienic surroundings of good air, warmth, cleanliness, and proper nourishment.

The most scrupulous cleanliness in the care and preparation of food is an important point in her work, and practically to appreciate this, some knowledge of bacteriology is necessary, for the various fermentative and putrefactive changes (often unnoticed) which take place in both cooked and uncooked foods are caused by the growth of microscopic forms of life. Most of us realize the necessity for removing all visible impurities, but that is not enough; we should also combat those unseen agents which are everywhere at work, in order that we may prevent their action upon food material or destroy the products of their growth. Often these products are of a poisonous nature, and cause grave physical disturbances when they occur in our foods. When such knowledge is more general, we shall have arrived at a state of progress in the care and preparation of foods not yet universally reached.

The indications at present are that nothing of importance will be done to change for the better the existing methods of housekeeping, until housekeepers are educated in the science of household affairs. They should comprehend (1) that the atmosphere is an actual thing; that it has characteristics and properties like other actual things; that it is a necessity of life, and may be made a medium for the transmission of disease; and that it is as necessary that it should be kept clean as the floor, the table, or the furniture; (2) that food is a subject which may be studied and mastered like any other subject; that the changes it undergoes in its care and preparation are governed by fixed laws; (3) they should have a knowledge of heat in order to appreciate the effects of temperature on different food materials, to regulate the ventilation of their houses, and to control fires wisely and economically; and (4) they should have some knowledge of bacteriology, that milk and water, flesh, fruit, and vegetables may be kept, or rendered, absolutely free from disease-giving properties, and that perfect cleanliness may be exercised in preparing all materials that enter the body as nutrients.

It is not the intention to imply that all micro-organisms produce injurious effects wherever they are found; on the contrary, they are as essential to man's existence as are the higher forms of life; but often they seriously, even fatally, interfere with that existence, and in order to discriminate and to combat the evil a knowledge of their ways and modes of life is essential.

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