OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3112, 16 June 1917, Page 3

OUR BABIES

IBr higeia.l Fuhli6hrti. under tho anspicep pf the flooiety for the Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to put. tip a fence at thn top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at tho bottom." OATCAKE, HOLLED OAT 6, ETC). Tho following Idler whs received a short. Umo ago:— Kindly answer in your correspondence column unn\er "Our Babies" the correct way to mako thn Scotch oatcake and other preparations aB recommended by your society towards the end of last. year, and oblige. Tho subject under comment was Children's Teeth," an<l the relation of hard chewing which was recommended, and tho eating of soft foods, such as porridtrc, which whb condemned. Tho way most people make oatcako with fat and oatmeal ivae also condemned. Any good recipo for the. preparation of oatmeal and ryemeal, barley, and wheatmeal will be gladly accepted. How in rjobread or biscnitn made? Does rolled oatfl contain the. pamo amount of nutriment as oatmeal? 31 is of a whiter colour when cooked, ' showing that tho bran is probably taken out of it. So far as nutriment is concerned, thcro is not much, to choose between porridge and oatcake, or between porridge made with oatmeal on the one hand or with rolled oats on tho other. The main olalm for rolled oats is that in the process of rolling nnder very high pressure tho staroh grains are crashed in a way that causes tho meal when boiled to hecome eoft and palatable more readily than Is the case with ordinary oatmeal. Howover, many peqnlo still prefer oatmeal, and I do not think there ia anything to show that porridge mado in the old-fashioned way by prolonged boiling or ordinary oatmeal is excelled by any of the innovations of the last 20 yeara. '■ Tho question ia mainly one of taste. Somo of the more refined and costly preparations are decidedly less complete foods than oatme.al, owing to the removal of a good deal of the outer fatty and albuminons portions of the grain. Further, tho more refined products tend to be less satisfactory as laxatives than common oatmeal. The 'following reoipo for rye bread is given in "How to Cook for tho Bick and Convalescent," by Helena V. Bochte, of Philadelphia. I have not tried the recipe, but think it may be relied on:— EYE BEEAD. One full cup Chalf-plnt) milk. Ono full cup (half-pint) boiled water. Half-ounce compressed yeast-cake. One level teaapoonful salt. Three pints eifted .rye flour. Mould into the shape desired, and place in two greased bread-pans. Cover, and stand again in a warm place until it doubles its bulk. This will take about an hour. Then brush the top with cold water, prick in several places with a fork, and bake in a slow ovon about an hour. Turn from the pane and cool. Whole wheat bread may bo made in the same way by merely substituting whole wheat flour for rye flour. Noto in Making Breads of all Kinds.. Usually each pint of liquid will require three pints of sifted flour. Flours vary slightly, but this will form a good v guide. There are now a largo number of kneading-machines, or , bread-mixers, on the market at a moderate cost. They are a great convenience, especially for anyone not accustomed to kneading bread. Put the milk in a bowl and pour in the boiling wator. When lukewarm add the salt and the.yeast, which has been dissolved in ono tablespoonfnl of cool water. Add one cup of rye flour and beat thoroughly about five minutes. Cover and let stand in a warm place. (75deg. F.) about two and a half hours. Then continue adding rye flour until thick enough to turn from tho bowl and knead on a board. Knead until soft and elastio. It must not be Buppoacd tha't rye is as nutritious a grain as wheat or oute; but, on the other hand, tho quantity of nutritive material in a pound of food is not by any means the only standard by which to jndgo of its suitability in the rearing of children. Bread, along with oatcake and porridge, is rightly regarded as the staff of life for our race; but rye bread forms a valuablo. change for occasional use, and it has; been noted that people living habitually on hard, coarse rye bread tend to have exceptionally good teeth. Children, if not (Spoiled by being pampered with Bwcct cakes, sweet biscuits, etc tend to enjoy a chango to rye bread, and it is a great Dity that much more whole meal bread is not used. White bread ia tasteless stufl alongside theso moro simple foods, whioh have, tho further advantage of giving more k O!;orcieo in maatioation. It is easier to train a child to chow plain rye bread or plain whole meal bread than it is to eneuro tho chewing of whito bread, for the simple reason that one can get tho full flavour of the coarser breads only by thorough chewing and mastication; whereas in tho case.of highly-re-fined bread, there is almost no flavour to extract, and the child is habituated to have a flavouring matter spread on the surface, which will come off when merely sucked. "

BATV APPLES FOR EXEKOISB. Tried by tho test of direct nutritive value, apples are almost valueless—at least, they are a most costly form , of food at ordinary prices. A pound of flour op oatmeal contains about 10 times as much food as a pound of apples, yet when apples are cheapest they sell at about the price of flour, and when dear they cost three or four times as much. Yet raw apples are invaluable, especially for children, and should form part of the daily food, being given at the close of at least one meal a day. Used in this way, and eaten without peeling, they not only give good exercise for jaws and teeth, but they lalso cleanse the mouth and teeth by causing a free flow of saliva. Every family shonld have a few good apple trees wherever possible, and whero people cannot grow their own apples they can usually lay" in . a supply in the country, if they will only bo thrifty enough to secure them at the proper season by tho oase. Stored in boxes in a cool, damp place under the house, any enitable-keeping apple will remain sound and good for nix months or more, otherwise they may bo BCRrcely fit to cat in a month.