/ ^^i^^^U-^c^A^^^o^ <^i--' l^j ^^ .6\ ^^ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction 3 Factors in the Planning of Meals 4 Tests for Food 6 Classes of Food 9 Total Nutrients 10 Chemical Composition of Vegetables 11 Chemical Composition of Fruits and Nuts 12 Foods Low in Cost in Proportion to Total Food Value 13 Estimated Requirement for Food without Muscular Labor 14 Dinner Estimated in Calories 15 Foods High in Cost in Proportion to Total Food Value 16 Percent and Net Cost of Edible Meat 17 Variations in Cost Due to Season of Year 18 Commercial Prepared and Home Prepared Food 19 Cost Due to Special Manipulation 20 Comparison of Cost Due to Difference in Quality and Method of Preparation 21 Comparative Cost of Different Fuels Used in Cooking 22 Rules for Planning of Meals 24 Menus from Four Foods 26 THE PLANNING OF MEALS "What shall we eat?" "What shall we drink?" "Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" These are ever-present questions for the housekeeper. Comparatively few people recognize the very great importance to the welfare of the family and of society that attaches to the answer that is made to these questions. Indeed, the housekeeper herself often has very little conception of the importance of her work from the standpoint of health and efficiency. As one has said, billions of money are spent by women for food, without any knowledge of the economic principles involved, in a way that would not be tolerated in any other business enterprise. The business of housekeeping is really "big business", whether one considers the capital invested or the health and efficiency of the individuals concerned. How to secure a suitable food supply for the family, for the nation, is a live question that taxes the ingenuity alike of producer and consumer, of rich and poor, of legislator and statesman. It is quite time that the woman responsible for the selection and preparation of the food supply realize her responsibility as a distributor of the world's wealth and make serious preparation to meet this obligation wisely and well. The planning of meals is not a task for either the idle or the ignorant. It requires ability of a high order, know- ledge of many kinds, an intelligent appreciation of values, imagination to enable one to see the finished product, and executive ability to provide an attractive and suitable food supply three times a day, year in and year out. Author's Acknowledgment: — The author of this bulletin acknowledges the valuable help given by Mrs. Harriet Rinaker Howe and other members of the stafif in compiling the data for this publication. It is the purpose of this bulletin to contribute in a small way some data that may be helpful to the woman in- terested in studying the problem of the food supply. In be- ginning this study, it is assumed that the woman who plans the meals knows: 1, The amount of money she can spend for food; 2, The character and quantity of food her family needs, not desires; 3, The limitations of her market or cellar; 4, The limitations of preparation and service. These will be discussed in turn. 1. The amount of money she can spend for food. Some interesting work has been done in finding out the propor- tion of different incomes to be expended for food. The work done by the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City, by the Massachusetts Commission, and by the British Board of Trade, on the cost of living all agree that a minimum income for a decent standard of living is not less than $600 per year for a normal family of father, mother, and three children, — a girl of ten and boys of six and four. This means an average of 22 cents per person per day for food. The New York Report says further that with an income of $700 or $800, if 25 cents per person per day is spent for food, a family can barely support itself, and that $825 per year is required to maintain a decent standard of living. It is interesting in this connection to note that statistics show that 60 to 70% of adult males earn less than $600 per year. This fact emphasizes the need of careful expenditure of in- come. Table I shows the proportion of incomes between $500 and $2000 that should be expended for food. At present prices one would need to expend much ingenuity to provide an adequate food supply for five people for $1.20 per day, and yet that means an income of $1000. The table also shows that an income of $2000 does not mean that twice as much is to be expended for food as with a $1000 income. Table I Proportion of Income to be Spent for Food Income per Year Percent for Food per Year Total for Food per Year Amount per Day for Family of Five Amount per Day per Person $ 500 55. 45.6 45. 44.6 45. 36.8 30. $275 365 450 490 540 552 600 $ .75 1.00 1.20 1.34 1.48 1.50 1.64 $ .15 ?o $ 800 $1000 '^4 $1100 $1200 $1500 $2000 .27 .29+ .30 33 2. The character and quantity of food her family needs, not desires. People often desire both in food and drinli: that which is not good for them. The requirement for food is modified by age, sex, and occupation, and this fact must be taken into consideration in the selection of the family diet- ary. The food requirement for a growing boy and that for an old man are very different and often provision must be made for both in one meal. The growing boy needs more food than the old man because of the fact of the boy's greater muscular activity and also his need for. material to supply more tissue for his growing body. The old man aeeds food for repair but not for growth ; also, his muscular activity is less than that of the boy, so that his total require- ment for food is less. See page 16. 3. The limitations of her market or cellar. If the sup- ply of vegetables is limited to those grown on the farm, it is quite possible that the quantity and variety are less than they should be. Men accustomed to work in a ten- or forty- acre field feel very much hampered in a garden and are apt to regard such work as "putterin'." And yet a well-cared- for garden can be a real source of profit and satisfaction besides a valuable acquisition to the food supply. Many vegetables lose very much in flavor by being carted about, and hence all possible efforts should be made to encourage the home garden. A suggestion from one familiar with the difficulties of caring for a garden is to the effect that it should be long and narrow so that it may be worked by a 6 horse without too frequent turning, and that it should be located near the barn, preferably between that and the corn- field, so that it will be easy to "turn in" when passing to and from work. Even the small market is improved by the aid of the skilful buyer who makes reasonable demands. Lettuce is available in most places the year round. In a college town, it was found that fifty different vegetables were in market once a week during the winter, and the following fifteen can usually be found in season almost anywhere : parsnips, carrots, beets, turnips, rutabaga, Irish and sweet potatoes, cabbage, spinach, Brussel's sprouts, celery, cauliflower, squash, and radishes. The market man really wishes to satisfy his customers, and a persistent request from even a few women will bring results. 4. The limitations of preparation and service. In most homes this is a large question. If one pair of hands must keep the house, take care of the children, do the laundry work, ansvi^er the door bell and telephone, and cook and serve meals between times, not many six-course dinners are to be expected. The woman is tempted always to get the food that will take the least time to prepare and, as will be shown later, Ihis often means that food of poorer quality is secured and at greater cost. Tests for Food All products have certain tests by which their value is determined. If a woman buys cotton or linen or china, she applies to it certain tests, such as "feel" and appearance, but in food the test is often limited to the one of appearance only. There are other and more important tests, however, to be applied to foods. Hutchison gives four, viz., chemical, physical, physiological, economic, and a fifth, psychological, may well be added. The Chemical Test. First, then, what is meant by the chemical test for a food? Women whose school days are far behind them are apt to turn away rather quickly at the suggestion of chemistry of foods, but the problem is not at all a difficult one. Since the Exposition in Chicago in 1893, there has been published a steadily increasing number of chemical analyses of food materials by which their compo- sition is known. Even the children in the schools know now that food materials are composed of nutrients, non-nutri- ents, and water, and statements like the following are in common use. Table II Chemical Co imposition Kind of P'ood Beef, round Oysters ... Eggs Chee.se Wheat tlour Bread Beans, navy dried. Cabbage • . ^ Apples Prunes Total Nutrients Percent 32.1 117 23.3 72.6 87.2 P. 4. 7 87.4 7.3 11.4 66.0 In other words, Table II shows that if a person buys a pound of round steak, she really gets about one-third of a pound of nutritive material ; of oysters, one-ninth ; of cheese, three- fourths; of prunes, two-thirds. The chemical test, then, enables one to know whether she is buying nutrients or refuse or water or all of these, and in what proportion. The Physical Test. Everyone understands that it re- quires energy to walk, talk, play, work, or rest, and that the real basis of this energy is the food eaten. The measuring unit used in determining this energy is not so familiar a unit a« the pound or the yard stick. It is the calorie, the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water 4° Fahrenheit. Tables such as the follow- ing, giving the value in calories of many diiTerent food ma- terials, are in quite general use among dietitians. Table IIP Calories per Pounl Kind of Food Beef, chuck, ^ Porterhouse steak, ^ Round steak, 2. . . Sirloin steak, ^ Bread, average, ^ , , . Cabbage Cheese Chocolate Eggs, raw,^ Apples. 2 Asparagus, conked Bacon, smoked, ^ . . . Beans, dried Beans, string.^ Beans, canned.^ . . . . Calories per Pound 797 1077 649 960 1182 121 1890 2768 594 285 100 2372 1565 176 585 iSherman's Food and Nutrition." pp. 319-29. 2As Purcliased SEdible Portion The Physiological Test. Most people are more or less familiar with this test in some of its phases. For example, they say, "Eggs do not agree with me," or, "I cannot digest fresh bread." This test deals not only with the behavior of the food in the intestinal tract, but also with its absorption and assimilation in the body. The Economic Test. To many people this seems the most universal and important test, and yet, unless the other tests are understood, this one cannot be used wisely. It is not simply, "What does this fo6d cost?" but rather, "If I pay this money am I getting a fair supply of nutrients that my system can digest?" The chemical analysis may show that beeswax is rich in the elements found in food sub- stances, but what can the stomach do with it? It is well at this point to recall another of Hutchison's definitions. He says, "A good food contains an ample pro- portion of nutritive constituents which is easily digested and absorbed and which can be obtained at a reasonable cost." The Psychological Test. This test is of far greater im- portance than is generally understood. Scientific expert- 9 ments have demonstrated that both the desire for food, or appetite, and its satisfaction are greatly influenced by the impression the food makes on the mind or by the state of mind in which it is eaten. This is the philosophy which un- derlies the universal custom of choosing for the dinner hour a time free from care, congenial associates, attractive service, and the other accessories which add to the pleasure of a social hour. Few people are totally indifferent to the influence of well prepared food, a clean table cloth, or good company. Glasses op Food The purchaser of the family food supply should be fa- miliar with the general classes of food stuffs, the principal sources of each, and the work which each is supposed to do in maintaining the body. The division most familiar is an inheritance from the recreations of her childhood when the world and the fullness thereof belonged either to the animal, the vegetable, or the mineral kingdom. Science has shown that these kingdoms contain substances not so different as once supposed, so the classification of food materials is made not on the basis of their source but of the work they can do in the body. This body needs material such as pro- teins to supply the worn-out tissues and to make new cells. It needs material such as carbohydrates and fats to provide energy for its activities. It needs also certain mineral sub- stances for the bony structure or framework, and water, a cleansing agent within as well as without. Thus the classi- fication of food materials takes the following form : Food Materials Nitrogenous Protein Non-nitrogenous Carbohydrates Fats Mineral matters Water Examples of protein are the casein of cheese, the myosin of meat, and the gluten of wheat. The special work of pro- tein is to build and repair tissue, but it also yields energy. Familiar forms of carbohydrates are sugar and starch ; of fat, butter and olive oil. Both carbohydrates and fats give energy, but they do not build tissue. 10 The purchaser should understand that all foods contain water and that all yield energy, and also that most foods are combinations of what are known as the five food princi- ples. The woman does not expect to ask her butcher for protein, nor her grocer for carbohydrates, but she should know what to buy in order to secure protein or fat or car- bohydrates. The following tables may be helpful in de- termining food values and uses. Table IV shows the quantities of various foods that are required to equal a quart of milk in total nutrients. A quart of standard milk weighing 34.4 ounces con- tains 3.3% protein, 4% fat, 5% carbohydrate, and .7% min- eral matter, or 13% total nutrients, equal to 4.47 ounces. Table IV Total Nutrients Kind of Food Beef, round, medium fat. Oysters Codfish, boneless dried. . Eggs at 25C per doz Cheese, Cheddar Wheat flour Macaroni Cornmeal, granular Potatoes at $1 per bu Beans, navy dried Cabbage Cauliflower Apples at $1.60 perbu Bananas at 200 per doz.. . Prunes Total Nutrients Percent Amount Required Ounces 32.1 11.7 42.7 23.3 72.6 87.2 89.7 87.5 17.4 87.4 7.3 7.7 H.4 16.1 66.0 13.9 38.2 10.4 19.1 6.1 5.1 4.9 5.1 25.7 5.1 61.2 58.0 39.2 27.7 6.8 Cost per Pound .160 .200 .150 .180 .200 .030 .150 .025 .016 .062 .025 .120 .028 .085 .125 Net Cost $.14 .477 .097 .215 .076 .009 .046 .008 .025 .019 .076 .435 .068 .147 .053 It is evident from the first column of this table that when one buys a pound of round steak, one probably se- cures 32.1%, or about Vs pound, of nutritive materials; of cheese, about % pound ; and that a pound of either wheat flour, corn meal, dried navy beans, or macaroni, will mean about ®/io pound of nutritive material. 11 The second column shows how different quantities of various foods, because of difference in chemical composi- tion, yield equal weights of nutritive material. For example It requires 38.2 ounces of oysters to yield 4 ounces, or y' pound of nutrients, and only 13.9 ounces of beef round practically 3 times as much, by weight, of oysters as of beef' ihis IS one of the times when a pound does not seem to be a pound. This shows how much chemical analysis has nelped to determine real food value. Beef contains 32.1% nutrients; oysters, only 11 7% or about 1/3 as much as beef. So about 3 times as much o'ys- ters must be taken to secure an equal amount of nutrients 1 he problem works out in this way ; ?? 7^ ^l IP ^ ^-^i^^- nutrients in 13.9 oz. beef. Tn I'f w«^ ''^- =/-.^^?^- nutrients in 1 lb. oysters. oSo^ m,:^^ ^/- nutrients would require 4.46 -- 1 87 = 2.38 Therefore 2.38 lb. oysters equal 13.9 oz. beef in total nutrients. The last column in this table helps to an appreciation of the terms "cheap" and "dear"; for example, 5 ounces of wheat flour, about 1 pound of round steak, and about 4 pounds of oysters, yield about 1/4 pound of nutrients each and their cost varies as V,o of a cent, 14 cents, and 47 cents respectively. One is led to use the terms cheap and dear rather carefully in the face of these facts, and to understand why oysters are a luxury and wheat flour one of the cheap- est and best sources of protein. Even the despised prune shows good food value. Table V gives good examples of what are known as watery foods. One buys vegetables not for the amount of nutritive material, but for the mineral salts, water, and bulk which they give to the diet, as well as the attractiveness and freshness they add to a meal when prepared and served nicely. Moreover, asparagus, lettuce, and spinach give the necessary element of iron to the system in an attractive and useful form. This table is further interesting in showing how the calories, and consequently the fuel values, in- crease as the percentage of water decreases, and that, as a 12 Table V Chemical Composition of Vegetables^ Kind of Food Cucumbers Lettuce Celery Rhubarb Tomatoes^ Asparagus^ Cauliflower^ Spinachl Cabbage Turnips Boans> string. Carrots Onions Beets Parsnips Potatoes Corn, green Peas, green. . . . Lima beans Lima beans, dried^. . Peas, dried'^ Water Protein Percent Fat Carbo- Ash Per- Per- hydrates Per- cent cent Percent cent 95.4 .8 9 3.1 .5 94.7 1.2 .3 2.9 .9 94.5 1.1 .1 3.3 1.0 94.4 .6 ./ 3.6 .7 94.3 .9 .4 3.9 .5 94.0 1.8 .2 3.3 .7 92.3 1.8 .5 4.7 .7 92.3 2.1 .3 3.2 2.1 91.5 1.6 .3 5.6 1.0 89.6 1.3 .2 8.1 .8 89.2 2.3 .3 7.4 .8 88.2 1.1 .4 9.3 1.0 87.6 1.6 .3 9.9 .6 87.5 1.6 .1 9.7 1.1 83.0 1.6 .5 13.5 1.4 78.2 2.2 .1 18.4 1.0 75.4 3.1 1.1 19.7 .7 74.6 7.0 .5 16.9 1.0 68.5 7.1 .7 22.0 1.7 0.4 18.1 1.5 65.9 4.1 9.5 24.6 1.0 62.0 2.9 Calories Per Lb. 80 90 85 105 105 105 140 110 145 185 195 210 225 215 300 385 470 465 570 1625 1655 iCompiled from Bulletin 28. "Composition of American Food Materials", Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept of Agriculture. As Purchased. whole, vegetables are low in nutritive value, but do supply- bulk and mineral salts. It is to be remembered that a cer- tain amount of the indigestible residue of vegetables has an important work to do in stimulating the movements of the alimentary canal. The so-called "predigested foods" and animal foods in general lack this "indigestible residue." Table VI shows the composition of two attractive and widely dilTering forms of food. Fruits are high in water content; nuts, low. The nutrient of fruits is very largely sugar, while nuts are relatively rich in fat and protein. The high food value of bananas, prunes, figs, dates, and raisins, because of their sugar, should not be overlooked, neither the high value in calories of the various nuts. One realizes that a dessert of fresh fruits might add a pleasing flavor and not much nutritive material to a meal, while a dessert of nuts might be entirely too heavy. 13 Table VI Chemical Composition of Fruits and Nuts' Kind of Food Water melons Strawberries . Lemons Cranberries . . Oranges Apples Pears Raspberries. . Plums Grapes Bananas Prunes, dried. Figs, dried... . Dates, dried... Raisins Chestnuts . . . Butternuts.. . Almonds.. . . Hickory nuts., Water Percent 92.4 90.4 89.3 88.9 86.9 84.6 84.0 84.0 78.4 77.4 75.3 22.3 18.8 15.4 14.6 5.9 4.4 4.8 3.7 Protein Percent .4 1.0 1.0 .4 .8 .4 .6 1.7 1.0 1.3 1.3 2.1 4.3 2.1 2.6 10.7 27.9 21.0 15.4 i Fat I Per- cent .2 .6 .7 .6 2 ^5 .5 1.0 Carbo hydrate? Percent .3 2.8 3.3 7.0 61.2 54.9 67.4 6.7 7.4 8.5 9.9 11.6 14.2 14.1 12.6 20.1 19.2 22.0 73.3 74.2 78.4 76.1 74.2 3.5 17.3 11.4 Ash] Per- Calories cent' .3 .6 .5 .2 .5 .3 .4 .6 .5 .5 .8 2.3 2.4 1.3 3.4 2.2 2.9 2.0 2.1 140 180 205 215 240 290 295 310 395 450 460 1400 1475 1615 1605 1875 3165 3030 3345 ^Compiled from Bulletin 28, "Composition of American Food Materials," OflBce of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Table VII shows yet another method of estimating food values, viz., their heat value or "calories per pound." In some sanitariums, the daily menu is given in terms of calories instead of the usual a la carte form. Perhaps the day v^^ill come when the housekeeper will order her food in calories instead of pounds. In this table it is easy to see that corn meal and wheat flour still deserve honorable mention, and that cross ribs of beef appear much cheaper than round steak, while the fig- ures for corned beef and rice are somewhat surprising. Per- haps more surprising is the comparison that may be made in the cost of whole milk and round steak. Even at 10 cents per quart, which is at least two or three times as much as milk costs the farmer, it is cheaper than round steak at 15 cents per pound. If these facts were better understood, a more liberal use of whole milk might prevail. 14 Table VIJ Foods Low in Cost in Proportion to Their Total Food Value' Kind of Food Corn meal Wheat flour Oat meal Sugar, granulated Beef heart Beans, dried navy ,... Cross ribs of beef Lard, best leaf Potatoes at $1 perbu Peanuts, shelled White bread Brisket of beef Rice Oleomargarine Flank of mutton Bacon Dates Corned beef •. Skim milk at .10c per gal.. Whole milk at .10c per qt Salt mackerel • Butter Cheese, cheddar Walnut meats Round steak Cost per Lb. (Jan, 1913) $.025 .03 .45 .06 .05 .062 .08 .18 .016 .12 .07 .07 .10 .22 .125 .20 .10 .14 .0125 .046 .10 .36 .22 .45 .15 Calories per Lb. 1655 1655 1860 1860 1320 1605 1765 4220 385 2560 1225 1165 1630 3525 1900 3030 1450 1990 170 314 1155 3605 2145 3300 895 Ounces in lOOCalories .96 .96 .86 .86 1.21 .99 .906 .37 4.15 .62 1.30 1.37 .98 .45 .85 .52 1.10 .80 9.40 5.09 1.38 .44 .74 .48 1.70 Cost of 100 C alories $.0015 .0018 .0024 .0032 .0037 .0038 .0040 .0040 .0041 .0046 .0057 .0060 .0061 .0062 .0065 .0066 .0068 .0070 .0073 .0101 .0086 .0099 .0102 .0136 .0167 iCompiled from Bulletin 28. "Composition of American Food Materials," Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. The calorie as a unit of measure is not so improbable as at first considered because it develops that 100 calories frequently means the amount usually served one person, of bread, mashed potatoes, and meat. The accompanying menu card, Table VIII, shows the calorie portion in actual use. No hard and fast rules can be given as to the total calories required by an individual for a day's ration, be- cause so many factors, such as age, size, and occupation enter into the problem. This requirement is usually esti- mated in kilograms per pound of body weight. (A kilogram is 2.2 pounds.) Sherman^ estimates that children of from 10 to 13 years of age require 70 to 60 calories per day per kilogram of body weight; of from 14 to 17 years, 60 to 45 2Sherman: Chemistry of Food and Nutrition, p. 172. 15 Table VIII Dinner Estimated in Calories' Total Cal- ories Soups — Cream of vegetable soup Tomato bouillon Entrees — Braized protose Nuttolene Fricassee... Bean croquettes Vegelables — Baked potatoes . Savora cream sauce Potato loaf Baked squash Brussels sprouts Relishes — Celery Fruit salad Grape catsup Malt honey Malt honey with butter Malt sugar Breads — Whole wheat bread — 1 slice White bread — 1 slice... Entire graham bread — 1 slice Breakfast toast-2 pieces Toasted granose (wheat) biscuit — 2 Toasted rice biscuit — 2 Bran biscuit — 2 Nut butter Dairy butter — 1 square Conked Fruits — Peach sauce Stewed figs Beverages — Apple juice Grape juice Milk Yogurt buttermilk. . . Sanitas cocoa Hot malted nuts — Minute brew — 1 teacup- ful Cream — 1 pitcherful Sugar — 1 sugar- spoonful — Kaffir tea Desserts — , Layer cake Oranges Almonds 125 75 125 100 125 100 75 68 50 50 6 J 5 ' 75 200 200 100 75 75 75 50 50 50 125 150 100 75 150 50 50 125 75 125 200 10 115 25 10 325 75 50 Pro- tein Cal- ories 11 17 53 25 14 11 7 14 12 9 10 4 21 28 1 3 6 4 23 28 13 36 1 6 1 20 4 7 Fats Cal- ories 94 36 48 56 40 1 50 25 6 31 8 7 100 16 12 1 31 105 99 1 1 2 67 5 89 96 1 107 1 115 2 38 Car- bohy. Cal- ories 20 22 24 19 71 18 29 40 14 5 62 66 200 100 81 61 62 61 34 42 46 73 17 71 143 50 44 35 42 23 68 12 25 190 69 5 Oun- ces 4% 4% 4 2y2 2% 3 2% 31/0 2 ¥2 3% 1 2 1 21.4 11/2 74 V2 V2 31/2 3 2% 4 6 6 5 iVi 4 2% 21/2 4 y^ Por- tion Cal- ories Eaten iy4 % n4 1 ly^ 1 % iy4 y2 V2 Vie % % 2 2 1 % % y2 y2 y2 1% iy2 1 % iV2 ya ya ly* % ly^ 2 '/lo iy4 Vio 3y4 % ¥2 To ascertain the number of calories eaten, find the sum of the lotal calories of each article eaten. ^ Courtesy of Battle Creek Sanitarimn. 16 calories per kilogram; while the need of middle-aged men and women with moderate exercise is 40 to 45 calories per kilogram of body weight. He further emphasizes this dif- ference in food requirement for different ages by a table in which it is shown that the boy of 10, without muscular labor, requires 70 calories per Idlo of body weight; the boy of 15, under similar circumstances, 56 calories ; the man of 40, 36 calories ; the man of 60, 34 calories ; and the man of 80, 27 calories. This latter statement in terms of pounds would read thus: Table IX Estimated Requirement for Food Without Muscular Labor Age Years Calories per Day per Pound of Body Weight Total Calories per Day (Approximately) 10 15 31.7 25. /» 16.3 15.4 12.2 1800 2800 40 60 80 2500 2200 1600 Table X deals with the more expensive foods. It shows that rib roast and white fish, at the same price per pound, have a very different value in calories of fuel value, while sweetbreads at 80 cents per pound are cheaper per 100-calorie portion than chicken broilers at 30 cents per pound, also that the difference in price between porterhouse and tenderloin of beef is not warranted by the cost per calorie portion. Note also the contrasts afforded by a com- parison of beef heart^ and tenderloin represented by the cost price of 5 cents per pound and 60 cents per pound, respec- tively, with a difference of only 10 in fuel value per pound. Truly, flavor has a high place, as it should, in food values. iSee page U 17 Table X Foods High in Cost in Proportion to Their Total P'ood Value^ Kind of Food as Purchased Mushrooms Lettuce Lobster, fresh Black bass Chicken, broiler Sweetbreads Oysters Cauliflower Rhubarb . . Celery White fish Oranges Tenderloin of beef Porterhouse steak . — Sirloin steak Roquefort cheese Leg lamb, medium fat. Rib roast, medium fat. .65 .15 .25 .30 .30 .80 .20 .12 .05 .05 .20 .10 .60 .30 .25 .45 .18 .20 t- o 03 210 75 140 205 295 825 230 140 05 70 325 170 1330 1110 985 1700 870 1155 8.1 7.6 21.3 11.4 7.8 5.4 1.93 6.9 11.4 24.6 22.8 4.9 9.4 1.2 1.44 1.62 .94 1.80 1.38 IS c 0.2 ^ o o © V) f O O o $ .309 .200 .178 .146 .101 .095 .087 .085 .077 .070 .061 .058 .045 .027 .025 .024 .020 .017 'Based on Bulletin 28, "Composition of American Food Materials." Office of Experi- ment Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Most women feel more at a loss in the selection of cuts of meat than of almost any other single article of food. A daily visit to the meat market for about two weeks, with a study of meat charts, will familiarize one with cuts by the name the local butcher gives them. These names vary in different localities, and it is well to begin by understanding one man's terms well. Then the problem remains of the choice and use of these different cuts. There are people to whom nothing is so desirable as a juicy steak, and with them an attempt to substitute a cheaper cut results in a large expenditure of time, gas, and energy with very unsatisfac- tory results. Those who have had that experience will be interested in seeing how little porterhouse and chuck rib differ in the net price per pound of edible meat. Many savory dishes are made from the cheaper cuts of meat, but 18 sometimes in estimating the value of this cheaper dish, the time and the labor involved are forgotten. There are people who prefer one good steak one day and no meat the n^xt to a daily offering of cheap cuts or meat substitutes. Table XI emphasizes again the large proportion of edible meat the rump yields. Table XI Pergent and Net Cost of Edible Meat From Different Cuts^ Kind of Meat Percent of Edible Meat Oz. Edible Portion in Pound B^ef Brisket.. . Rump Chuck rib. .. Porterhouse Ribs Round Shin Tongue Veal Cutlets Breast Mutton Leg Chops Fore quarter cut Pork Loin Salt pork ... Bacon Ham 76.7 81.0 46.2 87.3 79.9 91.5 61.7 73.5 96.6 75.5 82.3 85.2 78.8 80.7 91.9 91.3 12.27 12.96 7.39 13.96 12.78 14.64 9.87 11.76 15.45 12.08 13.16 13.63 12.60 12.91 14.70 14.60 14.04 Price per Pound .Jan. 1913 .07 .10 .10 .20 .15 .15 .03 .22 .20 .125 .15 .15 .125 .15 .125 .20 .20 Net Price per Pound Edible Meat .09 .125 .22 .23 .20 .16 .05 .298 .21 .17 .18 .175 .20 .20 .13 90 !23 'Based on Bulletin 28, "Composition of American Food Materials." ment Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Office of Experi- One other factor w^hich enters into the cost of food is its seasonableness. If the dweller in the North v^dll have strawberries in mid-winter, she must expect to pay the cost of transportation and the consequent loss entailed by the process. The wise buyer does not expect to buy sugar in the canning season, but in January or February, and she pre- pares her own cold storage eggs for the winter of her need. 19 Table XII Variations in Cost of Foods Dub to Season of Year' Kind of food Fresh eggs Butter Spring lamb Chicken broilers. . Oysters Lettuce Tomatoes Cucumbers New beets Egg plant Mushrooms Apples, Ben Davis. Grape fruit Oranges Cranberries • Pineapples Strawberries Rhubarb Sugar January S. 50 doz. ,45 lb. .42 lb. .25 lb. .45 qt. .20 tb .20 Tb .20 apiece ,08 bunch .25 apiece .00 lb. .00 bu. .10 apiece 40 doz. .125 qt. .25 tb. .75 qt. .25 lb. .40 cwt. April July October $.22 $.30 $.35 .35 .28 .30 .25 .18-.20 .18-.20 .35-.40 .22-.25 .20 .40 .40 .25 .10 .15 .15 .01 .05 .15 .01 .03 .05 .02 .08 .20 .10 .15 .75 .65 .65 1.75 2.00 .50 .20 .25 .30 .60 .45 .15 .10 .20 .10 .25 .25 .10 .20 .015 .10 5.60 6.25 5.60 'Prices in Urbana and Champaign, Illinois, 1910. Table XIII suggests many questions, some of which are not easily answered. Two meals, one of "homemade," the other of commercial foods, were served to thirteen peo- ple, the former at a cost of 16 cents per person, and the lat- ter at a cost of 25 cents per person. Those who partook of the food said that the "homemade" had much the better flavor. The one notable exception to the general rule that the "homemade" was cheapest was found in the cake, which cost more money than the "store" one and tasted "twice a? good." It may be necessary to prepare a meal from commer- cial goods, but one ought to do it understanding what the facts are and not labor under the delusion that one is saving both time and money. It sometimes happens that this ap- parent necessity of using canned goods is due to the fact that the planning of the meals has been neglected until it is too late to secure and cook supplies, so a visit to the grocer and a supply of canned goods seems necessary. 20 Table XIII Comparison of Cost of Meal from Commercially Prepared and Home Prepared Foods for Dinner for Thirteen People Menu Tomato soup . . 'least Pork and beans Lettuce Salad dressing. Rolls Butter Cake Grape juice. .. Commercially Prepared (Jan., 1910) .30 (3 cans) .10 1 pkg. Holland Rusks) .45 (3 cans* .10 M head; .25 (1 bottle Yacht Club) .15 ^11/2 doz.) .17 '8 oz.. .30 (IVs til.) 1.00 (4 pis.) $ 2.82 Home Prepared (Jan., 1910) .112 (3% cups) .050(1 loaf) .210(7i/L'C.ups) .100 1 head) .045 (1 cup) .095 (11^ doz.) .162 (7 oz.) .35(1 loaf cake) cake .194 icing .156 .20 (4 pts) $1,324 Commercially Prepared Home Prepared Costoftime,2 y^hrs. atl50$ .375 Cost of gas 0057 Cost of food 2.82 Total cost $3.2007 Cost per person $ .246 4y4 hrs. at 150 $.6375 069 . $ 1.324 $2.0305 $ .156 Table XIV brings up another phase of buying, viz., in bulk or in package, the large quantity or the small. The answer to that question depends upon several things, — upon the amount of storage room available, whether the goods purchased keep well, whether one has money to buy in quan- tity, whether one has time to prepare the food from the raw materials. The examples given show the economy of buying in the larger quantity. Anyone expecting to use olive oil would certainly prefer to buy it at the rate of $3.50 per gallon rather than at $6.40 by the pint bottle. It is also clear that one would not care to pay 16 cents per quart for gelatin when it can be had for 6 cents. 21 Table XIV Costs Due to Special Manipulation Food How Purchased Remarks Cost (Jan. 1913) Olive oil . . . 1 pt. bottle 1 ¥2 cup- $.60 or $6.40 gal. Olive oil 1 qt. can 4 cups 1.00 or 4.00 gal. Olive oil 1 gal. can 16 cups 3.50 gal. Rice In bulk Good quality .08 to .10 per tb. Rice In pkg. " " .125 to .15 per tb. Rice Puffed in pkg. 100 per pkg. .27 per IT). Corn meal, . . In paper sack Good quality .025 per tb . Coin meal. .. In pkg. Quaker brand .04 per tb. Cornflakes=EC In pkg. 100 per pkg. .147 per tb. Wheat In bulk Whole wheat .02 per tb. Wheat Whoat meal biscuits In pkg. .50 per tb. Di'ied heef. . Sliced in market Good quality .35 per tb . Dried beef. . In jai- sliced 150 per jar .51 per IT). Bacon Sliced in market Goiid quality .25 per tl).' Bacon In glass jar 280 per jar .47 per tb. Gelatin, Knox 12y20 per pkg. Makes 2 qts. .063 per qt. Gelatin. Cox.. 12%0 per pkg. Makes 1 qt. .12 per qt. Gelatin, Ply- mouth Rock 121/2 per pkg. Makes % qt. .156 per qt. Jello (sweet- ened; 8% per pkg Makes V2 qt. .166 per qt. Filled dates. . In glass jar 38 dates .25 per jar Filled dates.. Made at home 38 dates .108 Corned beef hash In tin can 300 per can . 48 per tb . Corned beef hash Made at home Duplicate of above .099 per It). Table XV is interesting because it shows com- parative costs due to both quality of food and to method of preparation. It is convenient to know how much more a meal costs when porterhouse steak is used instead of Ham- burg, or the difference in cost between nut bread and butter rolls, and how escalloped and fried potatoes compare in cost. With these data one could plan an expensive meat with cheaper vegetables, or vice versa. 22 Table XV Comparison of Costs Due to Difference in Quality and Method OF Preparation of Food in Quantity to Serve Thirteen People ^ Meat Porterhouse steak $1.20 Rib roast 1.13 Corned beef hash .57 Hamburg steak. . .56 Tongue 45 Flank steak 45 Stuffed round steak 38 Beef loaf 34 Short ribs 32 In Shepherd's pie .30 Creamed dried beef 25 Corned beef 15 ^Compiled in 1910. Potatoes Stuffed $ .18 Escalloped 14 Mashed 11 Creamed 09 Riced 09 Browned 09 Baked 09 Boiled, butter and parsley 08 French fried 06 Boiled 05 Potato in Shep- herd's pie 04 Bread Nut bread $ .37 'Whole wheat mufTins. 27 Butter rolls 19 French rolls. . . .17 Popovers 17 "Whole wheat gems .15 Light rolls 09 White bread... .08 White muffins.. .08 Graham muffins .07 Baking powder biscuit 05 Graham bread.. .05 One very important factor in the cost of ttie day's food is the character and amount of fuel used. The following data was obtained by Mrs. Harriet Rinaker Howe in her study of economy of fuels. (See Home Economics Journal, Vol. 1, p. 416.) Table XVI Comparative Cost of Cooking with Coal, Gas, and Electricity Coal Gas Electricity Pounds Cost Cu. Ft. Cost Watt hours Cost Breakfast .. lAint-h Dinner Total 12.125 6.625 13.750 32.500 $.0303 .0165 .0344 $.0813 1 32.30 1 $.0403 43.43 I .0542 71.59 i .0894 li7.32 $.1839" 2 295.60 2 683.45 5 028.47 10 007.60 $.1148 .1342 .2514 $.5000 The menu was as follows: Breakfast: Cereal, Bacon, Biscuits, Apples, Coffee Lunch: Sponge Cake, Croquettes, Peas, Cocoa, Rolls Dinner: Soup, Bread, Roast, Coffee, Dressing 23 In this particular instance to cook the three identical meals for one day required 32.5 pounds of coal, 147.32 cubic feet of gas, 10,007 watt hours of electricity, at a cost of $,.0813 for coal, $.1839 for gas, $.50 for electricity; or, to put it another way, the cost of cooking by gas was 2.26 times, and of electricity 6.15 times as great as that of cooking by coal. In this experiment, coal was $5.00 per ton, gas $1.25 per 1000 cubic feet, and electricity, 5 cents per watt hour. As Mrs. Howe says, at these same prices, $1.00 invested in coal would provide for the same amount of cooking as $2.26 invested in gas, or $6.15 invested in electric current. It may appear to the reader that it takes a long time by this process to get ready to plan a meal, but not all of this in- formation is of necessity to be secured before there is any practice. In this, as in most efforts, one learns by doing, but one should have in mind some basis from which to proceed and some goal to be attained. Practice makes for perfec- tion in this as in other arts. The ultimate aim of the house- wife in regard to the food supply is to provide, at a reason- able cost, a diet adapted to the needs of her family, one that shall have the necessary constituents in due proportion and in an attractive and varied form. The family purse must be considered and family needs must decide the time of the meals and their character. The custom is quite universal of serving each day one meal consisting of a greater variety and quantity of food than either of the other two. This meal is known as the dinner and consists usually of a meat, one or tw^o vegetables, a salad, a dessert, and coffee or tea if de- sired. With formal dinners, a soup and fish course are often used. Dinner is eaten at mid-day or at night. The lunch or supper consists usually of one hot dish, made, it may be, from the meat left from dinner, or a cheese dish, or some people prefer the soup with this meal. Then the order is soup, cold meat or salad, sauce and cake, and hot drink as preferred. Opinions and practice differ greatly as regards the breakfast. In these later years, the town dweller has come to use more largely the French breakfast of rolls and coffee, but the farmer who does an hour's good work before break- 24 fast, wishes something more substantial and finds ham and eggs, creamed potatoes, toast, coffee, and fruit more to his Uking. Rules for the Planning op Meals With these facts in mind, some definite rules may be given for the planning of meals. 1. Take one whole day, at least, as a unit. Two or three are better because they prevent repetition of the same article. In actual practice many people find from Monday to Thursday a good working plan. , 2. Try to have representatives of all the food principles at each meal, — not too much of protein or fat or carbohy- drate. To that end, do not have meat and macaroni and cheese together, nor rice and potatoes, nor fried potatoes and doughnuts. There has been much misunderstanding about the term "balanced rations." One would get the impression from many of the statements made that Nature checks accounts after each meal, and that one must have just the right pro- portion of each food at each meal. As a matter of fact, we live today on what we ate yesterday, and we do well if we keep the balance within the day. It is possible that one may get as much protein in the dinner as in the other two meals combined, or that the lunch may give a large proportion of starchy food. But there is a kind of balance to be secured by observing the following rules. 3. A clear soup and an ice, instead of a cream soup and heavy dessert, should be used with a substantial main course; or if one wishes to use a rich soup and a heavy dessert, such as plum pudding, the main course should be lighter. 4. Do not repeat the same food even in different forms in the same meal, as tomato soup and tomato salad. Use fruit for the salad. 5. Make some contrast between courses. Monotony and 25 a general grayness or deadly dullness are not any more de- sirable in food than in people. Hamburg steak, canned corn and mashed potatoes, leave one wishing for something to give snap and character to the meal. Tomato sauce and baked potato would add color, flavor, and character. 6. Make combinations pleasing in appearance and color. Have the salad an attractive color and fresh, the pastry crisp, the bread a good brown. The question of variety, of which one hears so much, cannot be disposed of in a single sentence. One must first have a definition of what is meant by variety. To some peo- ple, it means cucumbers and strawberries in mid-winter; in other words, out-of-season foods : to others, it means five kinds of vegetables and two kinds of pie and cake at one meal: to still others, differer' methods of preparing the same article; for example, five ways of preparing potatoes. The cost of the out-of-season foods prohibits for most people the first method for obtaining variety. The abundance indi- cated in the next method defeats its own purpose, besides giving too much food at one meal. Mrs. Richards said once that ten staple articles represent nine-tenths of the average food supply for a family. It is easy, then, to see that at the rate of five vegetables in one meal one soon exhausts the available supply and brings repetition rather than variety. The method of securing variety coming into more general favor is, (a) By the use of a few materials at a time; and, (b) By different methods of preparing the same article. The man who was offered a choice of four kinds of meat for breakfast for a month secured variety by deciding that he would have no meat for breakfast ; that was reserved for dinner. The woman who had mashed potatoes every night for dinner for three months, was greatly relieved to be given a baked potato. The following menus^ show the use of four com- mon foods, beef, cabbage, apples, and potatoes, for twelve meals, differently prepared each time. This is a satisfactory and feasible way of obtaining a pleasing variety. iBulletin 32, Vol. XI. Household Science Dept., University of Illinois 26 1. Porterhouse Steak 2. Mashed Potato Cabbage Salad with Nuts Baking Powder Biscuit Apple Pie Goftee 3. Roast Ribs of Beef 4. Baked Potatoes Cabbage Salad (Sour Cream Dressing) Plain Bread Baked Apples with Cream Coffee 5. Shepherd's Pie 6. Creamed Cabbage White Muffins Apple Souffle, with Whipped Cream Cocoa 7. Short Ribs 8. French Fried Potatoes Steamed Cabbage Apple Dumplings and Cream Graham Gems Coffee 9. Hamburg Steak 10. Riced Potatoes Escalloped Cabbage Graham Bread Apple Tapioca Coflfee 11. Beef Loaf Creamed Potatoes Cold Slaw Nut Bread Dutch Apple Cake with Cream Coflfee 12. Tongue Cabbage and Potato Salad Popovers Apple Turnovers with Cream Tea Creamed Dried Beef Stuffed Potatoes Creamed Cabbage with Peppers Graham Muffins BrowTi Betty with Cream Coffee Corned Beef Boiled Potatoes Boiled Cabbage Butter Rolls Apple Pudding Coffee Rolled, Stuflfed Steak Browned Potatoes Hot Slaw Baked Apples, Cream, Jelly, Nuts Coffee Corned Beef Hash Potatoes with Butter and Parsley Cabbage au Gratin Entire Wheat Muflflns Dutch Apple Cake, Lemon Sauce Tea Pan Broiled Flank Steak Escalloped Potatoes Fried Cabbage French Rolls Apple Short Cake and Cream Cocoa 27 In the preceding pages there have been indicated some of the factors that enter into the cost and preparation of food, and some of the knowledge necessary to the skilful buying of it, as well as to the successful planning of meals. If this bulletin helps women to a better appreciation of the possibilities and satisfactions of this phase of the work, it will have accomplished its purpose. 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