m^ ^niwqii n i|i| Hi|ii>)M^ ' l i lt i * |ii i iii i|i i ii |i liiii iiiij|fi^» Mrt. ^^i'fir M >ii< riliiV '^ i i1H li ^Wi>tpi^ii u < >>ii^^>^^-a^i«M.;^. ll! lil wt> »»> t t l*(W«(>A>JCv<v* fp^ t*i JliiliUJI i ii^jlHMShnir UftU-^ ^mt *K n n r* l f iPii»>!i' W) ^ WWT>;*yw^iii M i M i»iM>M**M>****#4'ym IHlnH'***'-"' LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS CORNELL UNIVERSITY ITHACA, NEW YORK Gift of Mrs. G. N. Lauman Courtesy of Ag. Ec. Library S 3 The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003564774 «... 4' ELLEN GOODELL SMITH, M. 1). H PBHGTIGHL COOK m TEXT BOOK FOR GENERAL OSE. THE Fat of the Land HOW TO LIVE ON IT. SPECIAL CHAPTERS ON NUTS AND VEGETABLE OILS, AND HOW TO USE THEM IN COOKING; MILK; BAKERIES; FEEDING INFANTS, AND VARIOUS OTHER SQB- JECTS RELATING TO THE FOOD PROBLEM. By ELLEN QOODELL SMITH, M. D., Pansy Pzirk^ Dwight^ Mass. AMHERST, mass: Press of Carpenter & Morehouse, 1896. Copyright 1896 by Ellen Goodell Smith, M. D. To THE MILLIONS OF THINKERS WHO THINK IN NEW DIRECTIONS, AND TO OTHER MILLIONS WHO DO NOT STOP TO THINK WHETHER THEY SHOULD " LIVE TO EAT " OR " EAT TO LIVE ' THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED. — "Whatever hath Hfe thou shalt not kill." " If it happens that thou see anything to be killed, thy soul shall be moved with pity and compassion." —Buddhist Scripture. Thou shalt not kill. Christian Scripture. CONTENTS. — But words are things, and a small drop Of ink Falling like dew upon a thought, Produces that which makes thousands, Perhaps millions think. Byron. The address of an ancient and distinguished priest of India. " Children of the sun, hsten to the dying advice of your faith- ful and affectionate instructor, who hastens to the bosom of the great Allah, to give an account, and to enjoy the expected rewards of his services. Your regimen ought to be simple and inartificial. Drink only the pure, simple water. It is the bever- age of nature ; and not by any means, nor in any way, to be improved by art! Eat only fruits and vegetables. Let the predaceous animals prey on carnage and blood. Stain not the divine gentleness of your natures by one act of cruelty to the creatures beneath you ! Heaven, to protect them, hath placed you at their head. Be not treacherous to the important trust you hold by murdering those you ought to preserve; nor defile your bodies by filling them with putrefaction. There is enough of vegetables and fruits to supply your appetites, without oppress- ing them by carrion, or drenching them in blood." PREFACE. This book is because of the agitation and discussion upon the various phases of the food question. The title indicates its character to be vegetarian ; this word how- ever is a misnomer, but as none better has yet been coined, we will simply state that we are vegetarians, be- cause we think nature designed us to subsist on the " fat of the land," and not on the flesh and blood of beasts, or any living, sentient creature. Necessity alone compelled mankind to eat flesh, that life might be sustained, and that page in the history of the race should have been gradually closed as other forms of food appeared. But changes are difficult to make, consequently a portion of the world adhered to a flesh diet. By making great im- provements (?) in the animal world, that they might become a source of greater profit, many have been ren- dered so unlike their original selves, that their flesh and products have become dangerous and questionable as articles of food for the human family. This latter reason should be sufficient to induce any thoughtful person to abstain from flesh and seek for other and more desirable food with which the bounteous earth overflows. Thoughtful women in public and private life have been, and are searching for something less elaborate than the conventional cook book, supplemented by the modern cooking school. These latter, under skillful and conscien- tious teachers, are accomplishing much good in some di- rections, but the constant developments in cooking, often seem like an endless maze of culinary wonders, that con- lO THE FAT OF THE LAND. sume much .valuable time and cannot in any way con- tribute to the health of the consumer. Cook books are " legion," and there can be no excuse for increasing the Hst of those tending toward a true hygiene, as many able pens already occupy that special field. None however have taken up the broader work that is the basis of this book, which has occupied the spare moments of two years of an extremely active life in other directions. Pencil and paper have been within reach at any moment for a stray thought or idea that might serve a helpful purpose. An extensive correspon- dence consuming much time and labor has brought to its aid the world's best thought and kept it in touch with the van of progress and to this is due much of the best the book contains. I have personally tested, and experimented in new directions until it seems a very simple thing to exercise one's ingenuity and create new and artistic dishes, both appetizing and healthful, from the simplest materials. If the product of this labor seems disjointed and some- what irregular in arrangement do not attribute it to dis- orderly habits, and class me with the ancient and much abused "blue stocking," but rather to a lack of time for continuous work upon any one subject. Not to increase the list of cook books, chapters on various subjects all bearing upon the food question form the bulk of this work, and will be of far more value to the reader than elaborate cookery. To be a health and dietetic reformer in the early days of this movement meant much sacrifice and often personal abuse. We were all pioneers then, mostly enrolled on the chronic invalid list, many of us with one foot in the grave. — PREFACE. Correct living lengthened out the days to years. A few of the early laborers still survive, and rejoice that the better way is no longer a hard circumscribed path hardly respectable—but a broad, beautiful avenue, pro- lific to overflowing with every desirable, delicious and healthful edible, readily obtainable and easily prepared to properly nourish the entire body ; thus rendering it a perfect home for the manifestation of the possibilities of the real individual. From the other side comes a voice. " The Scientists are now investigating the food question, and accomplish- ing much by way of more healthful living. Is a more radical change in dietetic habits really necessary or " desirable .' With no desire to set aside the work of the scientists, we accord "honor to whom honor is due," and may suc- cess attend their gigantic efforts, that seem to be hero- ically directed toward heaUng, protecting and preparing the animal world and their products for human consumption. Facts are stubborn things and at the risk of a lengthy preface—do not pass it by— I will call attention to some of them that you may deduce your own conclusions. As a race, we have " been weighed in the balance and found wanting"—deficient in health, morals and lon- gevity. Monuments of granite and marble rise unnum- bered above the ashes of immatured and unripened humanity that has been hastened into another world by the errors of this, far in advance of nature's harvest time. Over against these are arrayed the victims of vice, crime, war, disease and intemperance which constitute the larger proportion of the human race. For the protection and 12 THE FAT OF THE LAND. conservation of these unfortunates, the humane portion of the world have erected and supported monuments all over the land, and are still constructing them on a broader and more magnificent scale than ever before. These monuments are known as Hospitals, Homes, Jails, Asylums, Reformatories, and Prisons. To build and sustain these monuments filled with living victims, requires not only millions of dollars and heavy taxation, but the still costlier sacrifice of talented men and women, to officer them. In addition there are thousands of other true and useful men and women immured within those walls, who earn a competency by administering to the daily necessities of these unfortunates. Whence comes this vast army to be fed, clothed and cared for like so many infants ? What is to be the final result to the world of peopling it with abnormally suffering humanity ? If we examine the question from its mental, financial and political aspect, we find that mentally we constantly expect these unfortunate guests, that finan- cially we are making constant preparations to care for them, while these two being satisfactorily adjusted the political significance of the whole would adjust itself. Time indeed it is to pause, consider, and turn the balance the other way. Time indeed to seek for the causes that produce such fruit, and turn our practical talents toward their removal. We shall not find these unfortunates in the ranks of dietetic and health reformers. Neither from vegetarian homes are they launched into the world of helplessness that taxes our energies to the utmost. Vice begins in half-starved bodies.