“In the preparation of food, the golden rays of light are to be kept shining, teaching those who sit at the table how to live.”
Who is the teacher?—The cook. The skilful, hygienic cook holds a place second to none as a teacher of hygienic living. In a measure she controls the destinies of those that gather around her board.
Good cooking will not take the place of an individual Christian experience, but bad cooking may do much to spoil a Christian experience. Bad cooking makes dyspeptics, and dyspeptics are not very successful Christians. The irritability and nervousness incident to poor digestion are bad accompaniments of a Christian profession.
What are some of the qualifications of good food?
“Food” should be thoroughly cooked, nicely prepared, and appetizing.” “The food should have been prepared in a simple form, free from grease, . . . nutritious, healthful, and inviting.” “Food should be prepared with simplicity, and yet with a nicety that will tempt the appetite.” “In every line of cooking the question which should be considered is, How can the food be prepared in the most natural and inexpensive manner?”
The characteristics of a hygienic meal, then, are that it should be simple and economical, thoroughly cooked, nutritious and healthful, and tempting to the appetite.
This implies more than simply dropping meat, tea, and coffee from the bill of fare. It means more than simply adding beans and peanuts to take the place of meat. It presupposes much study and planning.
It includes a consideration of the amount of money available for kitchen supplies (and it is not true economy to cut too close here), the characteristics of each article of food as to digestibility and nutritive value, alone and in combination with other foods, and the likes and dislikes of your family. In cooking, it will imply an avoidance of “rich and complicated mixtures” on the one hand, and of tastelessness and unvarying sameness on the other.
It means dishes made palatable without the use of condiments and spices; for “condiments and spices, used in the preparation of food for the table, aid digestion in the same way that tea, coffee, and liquor are supposed to help the laboring man to perform his task. After the immediate effects are gone, those who use them drop as far below par as they were elevated above par by these stimulating substances.”
There will not be much liquid served with the meals; for “the more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest.” The food will be served in a condition requiring mastication, for thorough mastication facilitates digestion. “In order to have good digestion, food should be eaten slowly.” Dry foods should therefore form an important part of the meal. Zwieback is far better than soft, warm bread, especially for those who are inclined to eat too rapidly.
There will be an avoidance of too much variety at the table; for “rich and complicated mixtures are health destroying.”
There will be no elaborate dessert placed before the guests after they have already eaten all they ought to. “At too many tables, when the stomach has received all it requires to carry on the work of nourishing the system, another course, consisting of pies, puddings, and highly flavored sauces, is placed upon the table. . . . Many, though they have already eaten enough, will overstep the bounds, and eat the tempting dessert, which, however, proves anything but good to them.”