Food Formulas

Beef Juice.—One pound of rare round steak, cut thick, slightly broiled, and the juice pressed out by a lemon-squeezer, or, better, a meat-press. From two to four ounces of juice can generally be obtained. This, seasoned with salt, may be given cold, or warmed by placing the cup which holds it in warm water. It should not be heated sufficiently to coagulate the albumin which is in solution, and which then appears as flakes of meat floating in the fluid.

Beef Juice by the Cold Process.—One pound of finely chopped round steak, six ounces of cold water, a pinch of salt; place in a covered jar and stand on ice or in a cold place, five or six hours or overnight. It is well to shake occasionally. This is now strained and all the juice squeezed out by placing the meat in coarse muslin and twisting it very hard. It is then seasoned and fed like the above.

Beef juice so made is not quite as palatable as that prepared from broiled steak, but it is even more nutritious, and is more economical, as fully twice as much juice, can be obtained from a given quantity of meat. Beef juice prepared in either of these ways is greatly to be preferred to the beef extracts sold.

Mutton Broth.—One pound of finely chopped lean mutton, including some of the bone, one pint cold water, pinch of salt. Cook for three hours over a slow fire down to half a pint, adding water if necessary; strain through muslin, and when cold carefully remove the fat, adding more salt if required. It may be fed warm, or cold in the form of a jelly.

A very nutritious and delicious broth is made by thickening this with cornstarch or arrowroot, cooking for ten minutes and then adding three ounces of milk, or one ounce and a half of thin cream, to a half pint of broth.

Chicken, Veal, and Beef Broths.—These are made and used in precisely the same manner as mutton broth.

Meat Pulp.—A rare piece of round or sirloin steak, the outer part having been cut away, is scraped or shredded with a knife; one teaspoonful to one tablespoonful may be given, well salted, to a child of eighteen months. Scraping is much better than cutting the meat fine.

For this on a large scale, as in institutions, a Hamburg-steak cutter may be employed.

Junket, or Curds and Whey.—One pint of fresh cow's milk, warmed; pinch of salt; a teaspoonful of granulated sugar; add two teaspoonfuls of Fairchild's essence of pepsin, or liquid rennet, or one junket tablet dissolved in water; stir for a moment, and then allow it to stand at the temperature of the room for twenty minutes, or until firmly coagulated; place in the ice box until thoroughly cold. For older children this may be seasoned with grated nutmeg.

Whey.—The coagulated milk prepared as above is broken up with a fork and the whey strained off through muslin. It is best given cold. If some stimulant is desired, sherry wine in the proportion of one part to twelve, or brandy one part to twenty-four, may be added. Whey is useful in many cases of acute indigestion.

Barley Jelly from the Grains.—Three tablespoonfuls of pearl barley; soak overnight, then place this in one quart of fresh water; add pinch of salt, and cook in double boiler steadily for four hours down to one pint, adding water from time to time; strain through muslin. When cold this makes a rather thick jelly. If a thinner gruel (barley water) is desired, one half the quantity of barley should be used.

Oat, Wheat, or Rice Jelly.—These are prepared from oatmeal, wheaten grits, and rice grains in the same manner as the barley jelly.

Barley Jelly from the Flour.—Either Robinson's patent barley or prepared barley flour of the Health Food Company may be used. One rounded tablespoonful of the flour, thoroughly blended with a little cold water, is added, stirring, to one pint of boiling water containing a pinch of salt; cook for twenty minutes in a double boiler, and strain. This makes a jelly of about the consistency of that made from the grains as above. It is essentially the same in composition, and much less trouble to prepare. A thinner gruel (barley water) is made by using half the quantity of flour.

When this is to be mixed with milk, it is well to add the milk to the barley gruel before removing from the fire, and stir two or three minutes, or until the milk has nearly reached the boiling point, when it should be removed and bottled.

Oat or Wheat Jelly from the Flour.—These are made from the prepared oat flour of the Health Food Company or Hubbell's prepared wheat flour. They are used like the barley.

Imperial Granum.—This is prepared and used in precisely the same way as the barley flour above mentioned, the gruel being mixed with milk before it is removed from the fire.

Albumin Water.—The white of one fresh egg; half a pint of cold water; pinch of salt; teaspoonful of brandy. This should be shaken thoroughly and fed cold either with a spoon or from a bottle. It is useful in cases of vomiting, and can sometimes be retained by a very irritable stomach.

Lime-water.—One heaping teaspoonful of slaked lime; one quart boiled or distilled water; place in a corked bottle and shake thoroughly two or three times during the first hour. The lime should then be allowed to settle, and after twenty-four hours the upper clear fluid carefully poured or siphoned off for use.

Dried Bread.—Either stale or fresh bread may be used; it is cut in thin slices and placed in the oven, with the door open, and quickly dried until it is crisp, but not browned. It is in many respects preferable to crackers for little children.

Coddled Egg.—A fresh egg, shell on, is placed in boiling water which is immediately after removed from the fire. The egg then cooks slowly in the water, which gradually cools, for seven or eight minutes, when the white should be about the consistency of jelly. For a delicate digestion the white only should be given, with salt; it can be easily separated from the yolk.

PART IV
MISCELLANEOUS