School and Home Cooking Part 69

Beat the egg, add the egg and b.u.t.ter to the flour and milk mixture. Return to the fire and cook over water until the egg is coagulated; then add the salt. Cool, and add flavoring.

For economy the b.u.t.ter may be omitted.

_Chocolate Filling_ may be made by following the recipe for Cream Filling, increasing the sugar to 1 cupful and adding a paste made by cooking 1 square (or ounce) of chocolate with 1/4 cupful of water as directed in Chocolate Corn-starch Pudding.

QUESTIONS

Note the quant.i.ty of flour and water used in cream puff mixture. What kind of batter do these quant.i.ties of flour and moisture usually make? How do you account for the consistency of the cream puff batter when it is ready to bake?

From the difference in the methods of preparing Cream Puffs and Popovers before baking, explain the difference in the stiffness of the mixtures.

By what gas is the mixture lightened? By what means is this gas introduced into the mixture?

Why is it necessary to bake the mixture for so long a time?

What is the result of baking this mixture for too short a time?

In Cream Filling, what is the purpose of mixing the flour and sugar before cooking (see Experiment 24)?

Give two reasons for cooking this mixture in the double boiler, rather than directly over the flame.

How long a time does it take to thicken the flour mixture? Why is it necessary to cook it for 20 minutes?

What is the use of eggs in the filling? Why are they not cooked as long as the flour mixture?

Determine the number of Cream Puffs this recipe will make.

From _U.S. Department of Agriculture_, Bulletin No. 28, tabulate the percentage composition of the edible portions of whole eggs (see Figure 75), of egg yolk, and of egg white. Compare the last two. Which contains the more fat? Which contains the more protein? Which contains the more water? Which contains the more nutriment?

Tabulate the percentage composition of milk (see Figure 64).

RELATED WORK

LESSON CXXIV

FOOD REQUIREMENT

DAILY ENERGY REQUIREMENT.--One hears much concerning working efficiency, _i.e._ the ability to do the maximum amount of work of the highest type with a minimum waste of effort. There is no doubt that the kind and quant.i.ty of food that an individual consumes has much to do with his working efficiency, and that it is consequently a matter worthy of serious consideration. Enough gasoline is used in an automobile so that there is produced sufficient power to move the car at the desired speed. So sufficient food should be used by the individual that enough energy be supplied to his body for its greatest usefulness.

Since foods furnish the body with energy, _the energy which the body spends in doing its work is a measure of the fuel food needed_. If the body requires a certain amount of energy for its needs, this energy, measured in Calories, can be supplied by a definite quant.i.ty of combustible food. Hence, daily energy requirements can be measured in Calories.

Scientists have done much experimenting and investigating concerning the quant.i.ty of food that individuals require. They have concluded that many factors may be taken into consideration in determining daily food requirements or _dietary standards_. Some of these factors are: (1) weight; (2) occupation; (3) age.

(1) _Relation of Weight, Size, and Shape to Daily Energy Requirement_.--In general the quant.i.ty of food required increases with the size of an individual but not at the same rate as the body weight increases. Two persons may be equal in weight, yet very different in height and shape. A tall, slender person requires more food than a short, fleshy person of the same weight. For this reason, size and shape rather than weight are found more accurate in computing the daily food requirement. However, for practical purposes, energy requirement is generally based upon body weight.

(2) _Relation of Occupation to Daily Energy Requirement_.--From the previous consideration of energy, it is obvious that muscular exercise, even though very slight, requires some expenditure of energy. It has been found that, even during sleep and rest, energy is required to carry on the functions of the body (such as the beating of the heart, etc.). Since the energy for both the voluntary and involuntary activities of the body is furnished by the fuel foods, it is clear that one's occupation is an important factor in determining the kind and quant.i.ty of food an individual should use.

The man who is doing hard physical work needs more food than the man who sits quietly at his employment.

The following table, showing the energy required for different conditions of activity, has been formulated by scientists: [Footnote 96: At.w.a.ter and Benedict, United States Department of Agriculture, Yearbook 1904, p. 215.]

Man sleeping requires 65 Calories per hour Man sitting at rest requires 100 Calories per hour Man at light muscular exercise requires 170 Calories per hour Man at active muscular exercise requires 290 Calories per hour Man at severe muscular exercise requires 450 Calories per hour Man at very severe muscular exercise requires 600 Calories per hour

From these data, it is possible to compute the dietaries of people of different occupations. For example, the energy requirement for a bookkeeper (male) leading an inactive muscular life is:

8 hours sleep (65 Calories per hour) 520 Calories 9 hours work at desk (100 Calories per hour) 900 Calories 4 hours sitting at rest and reading (100 Calories per hour) 400 Calories 3 hours walking (170 Calories per hour) 510 Calories ------------- 2330 Calories

The energy requirement for a man of severe muscular activity, such as excavating, is:

8 hours sleep (65 Calories per hour) 520 Calories 8 hours excavating (450 Calories per hour) 3600 Calories 1 hour walking (170 Calories per hour) 170 Calories 7 hours sitting at rest (100 Calories per hour) 700 Calories ------------- 4990 Calories

Another authority [Footnote 97: "Textbook of Physiology," p. 141, Tigerstedt.] gives these data pertaining to men engaged in muscular work:

Shoemaker requires 2001-2400 Calories per day Weaver requires 2401-2700 Calories per day Carpenter or mason requires 2701-3200 Calories per day Farm laborer requires 3201-4100 Calories per day Excavator requires 4101-5000 Calories per day Lumberman requires 5000 or more Calories per day

The following data regarding the energy requirements of the average woman in some of her common occupations have been formulated [Footnote 98: See "Feeding the Family," p. 76, by Mary Swartz Rose, Ph.D.]:

At rest 1600-1800 Calories per day Sedentary occupations 2000-2200 Calories per day Milliners Teachers Bookkeepers Seamstresses Stenographers Machine operatives Occupations involving standing, walking, or manual labor 2200-2500 Calories per day Cooks in family groups Chamber maids General housekeepers Waitresses Occupations developing muscular strength 2500-3000 Calories per day Laundresses Cooks for large groups

(3) _Relation of Age to Daily Energy Requirement._--Young children, _i.e._ those under eight or nine years of age, do not require as much food as adults. The food requirement of a child and of an adult is not proportional to weight, however. In proportion to his weight a child requires more food than an adult. The growing child needs food, not only to give energy to the body and rebuild tissue, but to build new tissue. An aged person needs less food to build new tissue. Furthermore, since an old person's strength is somewhat lessened, he needs less food to carry on the activities of the body. Hence, the aged person requires less food than the adult of middle life. The following table [Footnote 99: From "Chemistry of Food and Nutrition," Second Edition, by Henry C. Sherman, Ph.D., p. 197.]

gives the differences in energy requirement of children from one to seventeen years inclusive. It is thought that after the age of seventeen, food requirement will depend quite as much upon occupation as upon age.

Hence, the foregoing tables can be used to estimate energy requirement for all ages above seventeen:

Children of 1-2 years inclusive 1000-1200 Calories per day Children of 2-5 years inclusive 1200-1500 Calories per day Children of 6-9 years inclusive 1400-2000 Calories per day Girls of 10-13 years inclusive 1800-2400 Calories per day Boys of 10-13 years inclusive 2300-3000 Calories per day Girls of 14-17 years inclusive 2200-2600 Calories per day Boys of 14-17 years inclusive 2800-4000 Calories per day

The fact that the energy requirement of the boy from 10 to 17 years is greater than that of the girl of equal age is due probably to the greater restlessness or muscular activity of the boy.

DAILY PROTEIN REQUIREMENT.--If a person's energy requirement were 2500 Calories, sufficient energy might be supplied by using b.u.t.ter or beef steak for a day's ration. Yet this would be extremely unpalatable and would not meet the needs of the body. The body should be nourished by all the combustible foodstuffs,--carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Now the question arises: How many of the required Calories shall be supplied by each of these foodstuffs?

Too much or too little protein is often harmful and produces serious results. As mentioned previously, too much protein may cause intestinal disturbances, and an overtaxing of the excretory organs. On the other hand, the use of too little protein may produce imperfect nourishment.

Concerning the quant.i.ty of protein used in diet, there has been much difference of opinion. At.w.a.ter, an American authority, thought that there should be a generous supply, i.e. a surplus of protein, to supply the demands of body-building. Chittenden, another American authority, believes in just enough protein to meet the demands of the body. However, the use of sufficient protein food to produce from ten to fifteen per cent of the total Calories has been found both practical and satisfactory.

Daily Carbohydrate and Fat Requirement.--Although protein may furnish the body with energy, it should not serve as the princ.i.p.al source of fuel. Its more essential function is to help build the body. If carbohydrates and fat are present with protein, the former supply energy and allow the protein to perform its more important function of body-building. There should always be enough carbohydrates and fat to furnish energy to the body, so that the protein can be used chiefly for body-building. In the growing period of youth or after a wasting disease, it might seem that "flesh" could be "put on" by increasing the quant.i.ty of bodybuilding food.

But such is not the case. The most effective work in building the body can be accomplished by using a normal amount of food rich in protein and a generous supply of foods rich in ash, carbohydrates, fat, and vitamines.

With such a combination, the protein can be used to best advantage for body-building.

For practical purposes, the following general statement concerning the carbohydrates and fat requirement is believed to be adequate: If the total Calories and the number of Calories yielded by protein meet the requirement of a dietary standard and the food composing the diet is varied in composition, the carbohydrates and fat will exist in satisfactory proportion.

DAILY ASH REQUIREMENT.--Since ash is not a combustible foodstuff, it cannot be included in the foodstuffs whose energy requirement can be measured. Although ash exists in small quant.i.ty in food, the use of certain ash const.i.tuents is considered as necessary as the use of protein.

A diet may meet the total energy, the protein, the carbohydrate, and the fat requirements, yet may be lacking in certain essential mineral materials. It is especially necessary to include food containing phosphorus, iron, and calcium in one's diet.

THE APPEt.i.tE AND FOOD REQUIREMENT.--The appet.i.te is the most common measure of daily food requirement. If one relies upon his appet.i.te as an index of the quant.i.ty of food he should consume, and if his health and weight remain normal, the appet.i.te may serve as a guide for daily food requirement. But one may be a little over weight or under weight, and yet have normal body functions.

There can be no doubt, however, that the whims of the appet.i.te often lead to unwise selection of food. A study of food composition is absolutely essential in overcoming this fault. Lack of energy or loss of flesh may be due to improper feeding. If the needs of the body and the kind and quant.i.ty of food that will supply these needs are understood by the home- keeper, she may do much in maintaining the health, happiness, and usefulness of the members of the family.