The application of these general principles, given throughout this book in connection with the various articles used as food, must be left to each individual; but to those who have given the subject no serious study a few hints may be helpful. They will be found in the article treating of Cooking for the Invalid. 470 The Boston Cook Booh NOUKISHIJSrG AND STIMULATING FOOD. There is another classification of food which it is well to con- sider briefly. In its effect upon the system food is nourishing and stimulating, or the reverse. Nourishing foods are those which serve to develop perfectly every animal function, but do not increase the strength and speed of organic action beyond the point of full nutrition. Bread, vegetables, fruits, sugar, salt, and water are nourishing foods. Nourisliing and Stimulating Food. — All food that nourishes the body is in one sense stimulating, as it gives renewed energy to the bodily functions. But there are foods which impart a speed and energy to the organs above that necessary to per- fect nutrition; these are termed stimulating foods. Animal food is of this class. Stimulants. — Alcoholic drinks and condiments are classed as stimulants, because they impart no nourishment, but act simply as excitants to preternatural activity. Innutritious foods are those which are not assimilated ; which are by nature indigestible, or have been made so by improper combinations and modes of cooking. The bran of wheat, fried or greasy food, heavy bread, and rich soggy pastry are either entirely unassimilated, and therefore not nourishing, or they weaken the system by exciting particular organs to excessive action. The Boston Cook Book. A7i DIG-ESTION. In studying digestion, it is well to keep in mind the twofold division of food into nitrogenous, or flesh-forming, and carbona- ceous, or heat-producing, elements. The process of digestion differs with the character of the food. The purpose of diges- tion is to change and combine all the elements of food into a fluid which will mingle with the blood, become assimilated, and furnish nutriment for the body. Digestion is not confined to the stomach. It begins with in- salivation in the mouth, and, after deglutition^ is carried on in the stomach and intestines, the process continuing through the entire length of the alimentary canal, — a tube varying in diameter, and thirty-six feet in length. The first process in digestion, as in any chemical analysis, is to crush the materials. The teeth are the grinders for reducing the food. If we bolt our food or swallow it in lumps, the soft coats of the stomach are made to do the tearing and grinding work of the teeth. A solvent being necessary, the saliva is secreted from the blood, and is poured through three pairs of glands into the mouth, each pair supplying a different saliva. This softens the starch and tender cellulose. Animals, like the beaver, which feed chiefly on woody matters, have very large salivary glands. In health the saliva is always alkaline, especially during and after meals. It lubricates the mouth, and moistens the food so that it may assume a pasty condition. It is also necessary to . the sense of taste, everything being tasteless that the saliva can- not dissolve. For this reason we cook and season our food so that it will excite the flow of the saliva.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The application of these general principles, given throughout this book in connection with the various articles used as food, must be left to each individual; but to those who have given the subject no serious study a few hints may be helpful. They will be found in the article treating of Cooking for the Invalid. The Boston Cook Booh NOURISHING AND STIMULATING FOOD. There is another classification of food which it is well to consider briefly. In its effect upon the system food is nourishing and stimulating, or the reverse. Nourishing foods are those which serve to develop perfectly every animal function, but do not increase the strength and speed of organic action beyond the point of full nutrition. Bread, vegetables, fruits, sugar, salt, and water are nourishing foods. Nourishing and Stimulating Food. — All food that nourishes the body is in one sense stimulating, as it gives renewed energy to the bodily functions. But there are foods which impart a speed and energy to the organs above that necessary to perfect nutrition; these are termed stimulating foods. Animal food is of this class. Stimulants. — Alcoholic drinks and condiments are classed as stimulants, because they impart no nourishment, but act simply as excitants to preternatural activity. Innutritious foods are those which are not assimilated ; which are by nature indigestible, or have been made so by improper combinations and modes of cooking. The bran of wheat, fried or greasy food, heavy bread, and rich soggy pastry are either entirely unassimilated, and therefore not nourishing, or they weaken the system by exciting particular organs to excessive action. The Boston Cook Book. 471 DIGESTION. In studying digestion, it is well to keep in mind the twofold division of food into nitrogenous, or flesh-forming, and carbonaceous, or heat-producing, elements. The process of digestion differs with the character of the food. The purpose of digestion is to change and combine all the elements of food into a fluid which will mingle with the blood, become assimilated, and furnish nutriment for the body. Digestion is not confined to the stomach. It begins with insalivation in the mouth, and, after deglutition, is carried on in the stomach and intestines, the process continuing through the entire length of the alimentary canal, — a tube varying in diameter, and thirty-six feet in length. The first process in digestion, as in any chemical analysis, is to crush the materials. The teeth are the grinders for reducing the food. If we bolt our food or swallow it in lumps, the soft coats of the stomach are made to do the tearing and grinding work of the teeth. A solvent being necessary, the saliva is secreted from the blood, and is poured through three pairs of glands into the mouth, each pair supplying a different saliva. This softens the starch and tender cellulose. Animals, like the beaver, which feed chiefly on woody matters, have very large salivary glands. In health the saliva is always alkaline, especially during and after meals. It lubricates the mouth, and moistens the food so that it may assume a pasty condition. It is also necessary to . the sense of taste, everything being tasteless that the saliva cannot dissolve. For this reason we cook and season our food so that it will excite the flow of the saliva.

Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book