Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 15 June 1916, Page 49

Domestic

(Bv Maureen.)

Honey as a Health. Food.

Sugar constitutes, together with meat and fat, an indispensable food for the maintenance of the normal equilibrium of health. It is necessary to eat these three articles in order to be well. " Up to the present time we have only milk as a complete food— is including the three substances mentioned as being necessary for a daily ration. Sugar is represented to a great extent in fruits. One gets but little of it from vegetables. It exists extensively in meats, but the quantity which one thus assimiliates is quite insufficient. In winter one has at his disposal as sugared dishes nothing but pastry, canned stuffs, and honey. Pastry is very indigestible and cannot be served as a regular food. Tinned stuffs are but slightly valued, and justly. As for honey, it seems its usage is rather limited, and this is a great pity, for it is a food and a medicament of the first rank. Honey includes, in large quantity, sugar in connection with other blood substances in a form eminently easy to digest and assimilate. It does not irritate the stomach and passes through rapidly, for it is not digested by that organ but rather by the intestines, as are all sugars. Thanks to the properties in it, it is easily assimilated by the intestines without overloading them from any undue length of time, as is the case with certain ripe fruit. Besides it is very nutritious and nearly every particle of its own weight is assimilated. -

Honey is a medicament which can be used for various purposes. Dyspeptics whose real treatment consists in a strict food regimen should use it as dessert in place of cakes, fruits, and nuts, such as almonds. Honey has still one more advantage, which is that it

acts as a mild laxative, and that is a valuable property, for habitual constipation gives rise to many disorders. Without doubt it is to this double action that honey owes its reputation. ~ As a narcotic it may be recommended for sleeplessness. Two teaspoonfuls of honey in a glass of water will suffice to induce sound sleep all night. It is probable that honey in such cases serves to displace indigestible foods, which retained in the stomach disturbs the nightly rest. That is not all. • Honey mixed with water serves as an excellent gargle, and has the merit of being agreeable to the taste, either swallowed by accident pr on purpose, for honey mingled with water is delicious. And the ancient Gauls thought such a beverage was a drink of the gods and termed it hydromel. To Break a Glass Bottle Evenly. To break a glass jar or bottle easily and evenly, soak a piece of string in turpentine, and tie it round ihe glass just where you wish the break to come. Then fill the bottle up to that point with cold water, and set fire to the string. The glass will then snap all along the heated line. By breaking off the top of a broken decanter it may, if the base be intact, be converted into a useful sugar basin or fruit dish. Bread Sauce. The chief fault in the making of bread sauce is that it is so often sent to the table thick and lumpy and pasty. It should be smooth and not too thick. The bread should not be boiled in the milk. To make the sauce, take one breakfast-cupful of crumbs, a halfpint of milk, one onion, . a blade of mace, a dust of nutmeg, salt and pepper, and loz of butter. Place the milk in the saucepan, add the salt, pepper, mace, also the onion, peeled. Allow to stand on the stove half an hour before serving dinner. Remove the onion and seasoning, add crumbs and butter, and.make all very hot. Serve in a tureen.