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Classic
Cook Books
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page 421
FOR THE SICK.
Dishes for invalids should be served in the daintiest and most attractive way;
never send more than a supply for one meal; the same dish too frequently set
before an invalid often causes a distaste, when perhaps a change would tempt the
appetite.
When preparing dishes where milk is used, the condition of the patient should be
considered. Long cooking hardens the albumen and makes the milk very
constipating; then, if the patient should be already constipated, care should be
taken not to heat the milk above the boiling point.
The seasoning of food for the sick should be varied according to the condition
of the patient; one recovering from illness can partake of a little piece of
roast mutton, chicken, rabbit, game, fish, simply dressed, and simple puddings
are all light food and easily digested. A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed and
broiled, is a dish that is often inviting to an invalid. As a rule, an invalid
will be more likely to enjoy any preparation sent to him if it is served in
small, delicate pieces. As there are so many small, dainty dishes that can be
made for this purpose, it seems useless to try to more than give a small variety
of them. Pudding can be made of prepared barley, or tapioca, well-soaked before
boiling, with an egg added, and a change can be made of light puddings by mixing
up some stewed fruit with the puddings before baking; a bread pudding from stale
bread-crumbs, and a tiny cup-custard, boiled in a small basin or cup; also
various drinks, such as milk punch, wine, whey, apple-toddy, and various other
nourishing drinks.
BEEFSTEAK AND MUTTON CHOPS.
Select the tenderest cuts, and broil over a clear, hot fire. Let the steak be
rare, the chops well done. Salt and pepper; lay between two hot plates three
minutes, and serve to your patient. If he is very weak, do not let him swallow
anything except the juice, when he has chewed the meat well. The essence of rare
beef, roasted or broiled, thus expressed, is considered by some physicians to be
more strengthening than beef tea prepared in the usual manner.
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