THE FOOD WE EAT.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 72, 26 March 1921, Page 17

THE FOOD WE EAT.

COOKING IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. (By HERBERT A. YELDHAM.) The varieties of food used by man are all but limitless, and the methods by which it is prepared extend to infinity. From Francatelli and Soyer to the "Incomparable Joseph," and Colonel Xewnkazn Davis, tnere stretches a string of recipes which represent the thought and knowledge of ages of civilisation in cookery, and in Drs. Kavy and Hutchinson we have scientific authorities of no mean attainments in food lore; yet we are, from time to time, advised by "experts" to venture into strange realms and consume such things as raw meat, uncooked vegetables, or edible fungi, or confine ourselves to a diet oi ""fruit and nuts" (is not a nut a fruit?), milk, fish, or grain. There has been talk of "food values," " calories," " \ itamines," " enzymes, ,, "nema," and so on, whilst most people continue to .eat "anything which comes along," not actually repulsive, and some things that are. Dyspeptics fight their stomachs daily, and healthy men shovel in supplies with the reckless hardihood of stokers. Now, it is quite obvious that men all over the world are sufficiently alive to make it possible to ascertain, on the broadest lines, what is good, -what is bad, and what is best as food, with such . eliminations, additions, and modifications [as may be rendered necessary by climate or occupation. If all the adult population of the globe had only wheat, beef, fruit, and water, with mill, knife, and fire, I do not think that the general death rate would be augmented. If we admit that a simple diet is best, we have to face the fact that simplicity involves monotony unless the cook has talent and imagination, and it is here , that cooks fail. To-day the "clever" cook is one who can handle an enormous variety of material, with a tremendous outfit of appliances; who can juggle with flavourings, colourings, and heat (both wet and dry), and easily make anything appear to be something that it is not. Moses published the most efficient laws relating to food, and the preparation of it, that can be found, and if men—as food consumers—have altered much since his day, it is for the ■worse. The desire for novelty produces amusing results. The man who scorns his housekeeper's modest hashed n>utton will smack his lips, and twirl his wineglass contentedly, after a "ragout do mouton" (to quote from the menu), served amidst the opulent surroundings of his club. That French cooks have long charmed us with their skill is no sound reason why they should have conveyed their kitchen language to us, for it is quite possible for a. nasty dish to have a prettily-sound-ing neme. Even those to whom French is as familiar as English, submit to the menu-mysteries of "a la" this or that, which leaves the origin of the food, its nature or composition, unknown. \Vhy vegetarians descend to deceit, both in food preparation and nomenclature, I have never understood, for if a man believes in the reasonableness of vegetarian diet, he gains nothing by pretending that burnt bread is "'coffee'"; crushed nut, "butter"; and vegetable products, "chicken" and "sole." The method by which the living body converts various substances into energy and heat is a much more complicated

process than was at one time supposed, and is altogether beyond the scope and limits of study of a. cook, but it is advisable and necessary for tho.-e ivho prepare food to acquire knowledge of something beyond mere cleaning, heating, and flavouring. In public places where food is served it is usual to see heavy, heating, indigestible dishes, placed before guests on summer days, when the ten>perature renders such diet injurious; to see. a "cut from the joint" (possibly pork) followed by etodgy puddings, washed down with hot tea. And many of the guests who take these meals are employed in sedentary occupations! The cook is often the arbiter of a man's fiitc. The cook should Iμ? ii teacher, a disciple of Nature, and not a mere machine producing anything which his fellows may be foolish enough to eat, or his employer deniaiul. He should be able to suggest, advise, warn, and explain adjust his Work to "times and seasons," and feed those ivho repose their trust in him, on definite lines of health and sanity. 1 doubt greatly if cooks generally realise the responsibilities ot their position. They should rank equally with trie chemist, for they have more to do with the health of their clients: and even life itself may depend upon them. At present the ignorant, indifferent, or eagerly hungry guest is left to make a. selection (sometimes from a hopelessly inadeqato assortment) of a possilJy entirely inappropriate food, or mixture of foods, and goes his way with a more dangerous load than he might have chanced upon at the chemist's in the same manner. The blight of "cheap and easy"' fell upon cooks and cookery many years ago, when the open fire, wßieh roasted meat into a pleasant and wholesome food. was exchanged for the closed-oven stove, or range, in which meat is baked into a rich, over-flavoured, sodden mess, than which only the produce of the gas oven is worse. The popularity of the frying pan is of "cheap and easy" origin, and, as used hy the million, is a food and body destroyer. Frying, as understood by Continental cooks, is another thing altogether, although food raised to an unnecessarily high temperature in boiling oil is probably less beneficial than, say, fish as eaten by the Japanese, and superheated fat iv any form is an objectionable addition to any foodThe cheapand-easy blight has recently extended to food itself, and the window of any grocer's shop will convince you of this. American •'hustle" has forced "canned" meat, fish and vegetables (both cooked and uncooked) upon an unsuspecting public, always ready to take the easy road, and to be charmed by bright metal, gaudy labels, and printed promises and assurances. Xo questions are asked about the condition of the food previous to "canning," about adulteration, preservatives, colourings, and "it's quite nice"; "The label say* "; or "Mary's children had some." must bo sufficient recommendation. I wonder, has America forgotten Upton Sinclair's "•fungle," or have we? A red, green, and jiold label is to the. housewife like a flower to a bee. Destructive criticism is easy, and most cooks dislike if. Kiom the point of view of health, the best methods of cooking— like the foods—are the simplest. Boiling, steaming, grillins. open-fire roasting. A food that requires flavouring (for those whose sense, of taste is normal) is rare. and the careless, almost reckless tj.-c of common salt in cooking may aggravate, if not produce, disease- The enormous quantity of sodium chloride now used (considering that it is a drug with a definite, physiological action) must be deleterious. As a man grows old his sense of tar-te becomes less acute, and in him it is an easily-understood craving which turns his attention to* strong liavours. and keeps him in dose company with the cruet. In young people "condiments" are only an evil, desiruc-

five of taste ami digestion. To c]uote David Criuhoir. "How rarely v.o t;<-te the real ilavour of bread! We dUguisc it with butter, we toast it, we ea , .. it in milk or with gravy, oi jam. so that we seldom, or ii.-ver'. get the d.nvnr.sht delicious Ilavour <>l the bread itself.' . If-anybody kncV tin- real undisguised taste or flavour of good food.-, many cooks would be speedily unemployed. Health and food an- blood relations: "the blood is the life." the blood is ma.lβ of constituents dr.iwn from food ingested, the eye, the nose, and the tongue are guides and guardians, and to eat and drink unwisely is to court (lisa-tor, now or later. All your teaching about when and how and how mil,lt to e;ir is u-r!e.-s ;f the foo<l itself is not wisely selected and properly cooked. Shun nil substitutes. T wonder Scotchmen have not Ion? ngo riscji in kilter! nratli against the wicked men who had led the public to attach the sacred word porridge (or is it..more properly, ''parritch" , . , ) to the .rolled and crushed' and pounded, llourlike "breakfast foods." "madc-in-ainimite" into excellent adhesive paste, and eaten sloppily by foolish families who know no lx-tter. We are always being remin k-,1 :hat we eat too much, but irom Wxtil i< seen 111 savage' races, it very difficult t<i eat too much of a good, nat'iral and suitable food. "1 think." saya Goodhart, "that the stomach requires a considerable bulk," and points out that it i; Jess liable, to diaea.se tha-i any other organ. 1; is the kitchen of the body, and makes the best of the food material sent, in for preparation. As we live nntv,. however, few of us eat. too little, for Ihe body is ever striving to messes ami mixtures of food neither natural nor suitable. It is a common mistake to "coax the appetite.' . When the stomach is crying out for rest, the nwnor. or the owmi's friends, persistently urga a little of this or a little of that, when probably water afc<! lemon juice only would be necessary Tor four or live days. "Wild and domestic animals av--wl food v.-he n sick, and rven in health, will sometimes, indulge in a voluntary fast, all.!'..i:gh "Kido" ,s s> spected of'illness and is given castor oi by his over-a ucioiis m : t-tress. In hospital it is of*, in hap. work to convince a patient that lie ,<t not being "starved"' for the purposes of hc-cpital economy, but for his own lient n> "Three sucks at a them mi -vr every four hours was all they giv' mc, an' then the nurse took it away i>rk.i. 1 fnisl r<i, sometimes." said th? ao'di ■-. "'o.p'tal for me.' No bloomin' fear-"' 1 think, of all our people, the farmer comes nearest to the desirable simplicity in food and cookery I have been trying to indicate. The following is copied from the sides of an ancient jug: — "I. r-t the miglitj- anil "rear Knll in si)!en<l<.iir iinrl stnle; I envy them no:. I Uoelarp li, I eat my own hrnb. My own .-hi.ken ami ham; I shear my own wool and wear It. T have lawus. I hsne liowers I have fruit. I have flowers: The lurk is my morning charmer; So iJ.ifl hleps the pl.mAUfl all jolly clogs now. U>ns life and eonicnt io tlie Farmer." There is much doubt if the "good mixed meal" —th.it is, Hesh, vegetable and grain—is the best for the hum.in body. The digestive, apparatus acts by different means and in a different way when called upon to dissolve grain, and when di_:i'-t iiu: llesh tood. It is probable that by separating the foods and making a llesh meal at one time and a griiiu (and perhaps fruit) meal at another, many dy.-ipepties might derive benefit.. Singleness of purpose mostly leads to success. vii remember: — "Jack Spraft nte a!I 11: ■■ f.v. His wife ate all Hie leun; K«i it «.i--. VI Aie , : ,;<.,■ ii o.idi i i licy II \ic>\ 111 ■ jilati. r clean."