Gelatine is a valuable food for the sick. The nutritive value of gelatine is under-estimated. While it alone cannot sustain life, it is superior to beef tea, and if eaten with other articles which supply the elements which it lacks, it can partially take the place of meat and other nitrogenous foods for sick people and for people of sedentary habits. For people who do hard labor gelatine is of little value.
To prepare fruit gelatine the acid and super-acid fruits are best, and no more sugar should be used than is necessary. Gelatine preparations must be kept on ice, or in a very cold place, and not be prepared in large quantities, as they easily putrefy. For the sick and for children, it should not stand longer than twenty-four hours, and it should not be kept in metallic dishes. The best time to serve gelatine is for the evening meal. It may be served with sterilized cream, and zwieback or wafers.
Prepare some gelatine according to directions on package. Add to it juice from preserved apples, cherries, raspberries, strawberries or currants.
Prepare some white gelatine with two cups of water. Take twice the amount of gelatine directed and add one-half cup of sugar. Remove from the fire, cool slightly, then add two cups of sour milk which has been beaten, and mix all well. Flavor and set in a cool place. Serve with sweet cream and zwieback.
Beat one quart of thick, sour milk with an egg beater for 10 minutes. Serve with zwieback in soup plates. Three-fifths tablespoonful of powdered sugar and a little cinnamon may be added, if it is agreeable.
Whipped sour cream may be prepared the same as sour milk.
Whip one quart of sweet, thick cream with two-fifths of a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, add a little vanilla, if desired. Serve with fruit gelatines or ground white figs, stewed prunes, baked apples or raw fruits, such as peaches, strawberries, raspberries or bananas.
Prepare some gelatine with orange, cranberry or lemon juice. When nearly cold, cut up some bananas and mix with the gelatine. Flavor and set on ice, serve with whipped or sterilized cream.
Prepare some gelatine with lemon or orange juice. When nearly cold, add some fresh or canned pineapple. Serve with whipped or sterilized cream, and zwieback.
Prepare with rye beer in the same way as the fruit juice. Take one pint of beer to one pint of water. Use the imported root beer.
Prepare some gelatine with milk, sugar and a little salt. Remove from the fire, set on ice, and mix with boiled custard when cool. Flavor with vanilla or bitter almond.
Wash a calf’s foot several times in hot and cold water. Bring to a boil and pour off the first water. Bring to a boil again, add some salt, and cook from two to three hours. Strain through a cheese-cloth. The next day remove the fat, bring to a boil again, add one to two cups of wine, the juice and rind of several lemons or oranges, and sufficient sugar to counteract the sour taste. Pour into a dish which has been oiled, and set on ice. It may be served with whipped cream or the beaten whites of eggs, and shredded wheat or zwieback.
Soak some gelatine according to directions. Add a pint of boiling water, some tart fruit juice and the necessary amount of sugar. Let it come to a boil, stir and strain, and let stand in a cold place for several hours. When it begins to set, beat up the whites of two eggs with a little salt or lemon juice, and sugar, and mix with the gelatine. Pour into molds and set on ice. Serve with whipped cream or custard sauce.
Boil one cup of rice in about three pints of water with a little salt, for 40 minutes. Soak gelatine, half the amount directed on the package, and when soft, add the strained rice water to it, bring to a boil, sweeten to taste, and put into molds or cups. Serve with whipped or sterilized cream and zwieback. Merk’s sugar of milk should be used if prepared for the sick.
Strain a can of tomatoes, mix with soaked gelatine and bring to the boiling point, adding lemon or salt, if desired. Put into molds and set in a cool place. Serve with cold meat or fish, olives and greens.
Prepare like rice gelatine. Half rice and half barley may be used. Dried raisins or currants may be added, if desired.
Cook three tablespoonsful of Cream of Wheat with two or three pints of water and some salt. Boil 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and prepare like rice gelatine. Flavor according to desire. If the rind of a lemon is used, boil with the gelatine. This gives it an excellent flavor.
Wash the buckwheat groats several times with cold water, then soak or put into boiling water at once. Boil from 30 to 40 minutes. Flavor to taste. Finish like the foregoing. It is very good during the winter.
Wash and soak one cupful of steel cut oats in two quarts of water. Add some bran, if desired. Boil 30 to 40 minutes with a little salt, and drain and strain. Do not press the starch through. Prepare like rice gelatine.
Soak one cupful of bran in three pints of soft water for several hours, or over night; one-half cupful of rylax or black crusts may be added. Bring to a boil slowly and let simmer for 15 or 20 minutes. Soak some gelatine, a little less than the directions call for. Add the strained bran juice and a few dried currants which have been soaked in boiling water. If sugar is desired, add a small tablespoonful. Let it come almost to the boiling point, add salt, and put into molds. Serve plain or with sterilized cold cream.
Prepare like bran gelatine, using less bran. Toast thoroughly brown three or four slices of stale pompernickel and soak with the bran. If boiling water is used for soaking, less time will be required for it. A stick of cinnamon gives the rye a good flavor. Rylax may be used in place of pompernickel.
Wash and soak over night one cupful of whole dried green peas in three pints of soft water. The next day let them slowly come to a boil and add cut-up onions, carrots, celery or parsley, and salt if desired. Simmer slowly in earthen ware for one hour at least. Strain and prepare with gelatine as directed in the foregoing. Do not press the peas hard through a strainer; allow only a little pulp in the broth. Serve with zwieback spread with almond butter or with a little finely ground walnut meat.
Pour two pints of boiling water on four or five tablespoonsful of coarsely ground coffee. Steep (not boil) for five minutes, then strain. Soak some gelatine according to directions on package. When soft, mix with the hot coffee, add sugar to suit the taste, and let it come almost to the boiling point. Mix well and pour into molds or cups, which have been rinsed in cold water. Serve with whipped or sterilized cream, and zwieback or Nabisco.
Prepare some strong cereal coffee according to directions on package. Prepare like the above. A small amount of coffee may be mixed with the cereal coffee, just before removing from the fire.
Grate eight tablespoonsful of chocolate, put into a pint of cold sweet milk, bring to a boil, and add a few tablespoonsful of sugar. Soak some gelatine, and when soft, add one pint of hot milk and heat to the boiling point. Then mix with the hot milk containing the chocolate, pour into molds or cups, and set in a cool place. Serve with cream, zwieback or Nabisco.
For invalids, it is better to prepare the gelatine and chocolate in water instead of milk, and serve with whipped or sterilized cream.
Use part wine, sherry or claret. Prepare like fruit gelatine. Serve with cream or custard sauce, and wafers.
Toast two slices of white and two slices of black bread. Pour three pints of boiling water on them. Simmer for half an hour. Soak some gelatine, and when dissolved, strain the bread-water and add to the gelatine. Bring to a boil, add sugar, and flavor with a little wine or lemon juice. Pour it into molds and cool.
Prepare like pea gelatine with or without flavoring. Lima beans or horse beans are best in summer; small white beans in the fall; red, brown, or black beans are best in cold weather, as they are richer in iron and minerals. They can all be served plain with toast or zwieback and butter, cream or nut preparations. Black toast or crusts combine better with lima and white beans than white toast or bread.
Prepare like the foregoing. Flavor richly with onions. Serve with white toast.
Use zwieback, or toast some stale white bread over the open fire. Lay on a plate and pour over it quickly boiling water, slightly salted, and drain off at once. Serve plain, or spread with sweet butter, or the yolk of an egg.
Prepare like the foregoing, spreading with tomato puree in place of butter. Drink with it rich fresh milk. This is excellent for people who have difficulty in digesting milk. Strained hot tomato juice may be used in place of water.
Prepare like tomato toast. Use thick, barley jelly prepared from pearl barley, or soften the toast with barley water.
Use thick rice jelly prepared from Carolina rice. Flavor with cinnamon, if desired.
Make a strong tea from toasted black bread and bran, and prepare like the foregoing.
Soften some black or white toast with boiling water, and add a little salt. Spread with thick prune juice. Sterilized cream may be added.
Prepare the same as prune toast. Add cream or a piece of butter and the yolk of an egg.
Use thick apple sauce. Prepare the same as apricot toast. The four last recipes are excellent for constipation.
Scald some fresh milk. Add a stick of cinnamon, if desired. Pour over white or black toast.
Prepare like water toast. Bring some fresh cream to a boil with a stick of cinnamon. Add when the toast is soft. Use black or white toast.
Prepare a white sauce from butter, salt, flour and hot water, as directed in “Sauces.” Add one-fourth of a cup of hot cream and pour over black toast, which has been softened with one-half cup of hot water.
Use sweet whey in place of hot water, and prepare as No. 2. The cream may be omitted.
Cut some celery and cook until tender. Soften the toast with the celery water. Prepare a plain butter sauce and add cream, if desired. Mix with the celery and pour over the toast.
Soften the toast with hot clam broth and strain, if desired. Mix the remainder with hot cream and pour over the toast.
Soften the toast with clam broth. Prepare a white sauce from the remainder, add hot cream and pour over the toast.
Prepare like the clam toast, with or without cream.
Cut off the stems and select only fresh tender leaves. Cook and chop as fine as possible, flavoring with butter and lemon juice. Soften some black or white toast with broth or spinach water, and add the spinach. Serve with hard boiled eggs for dinner. If it is desired for supper, and if the patient’s stomach is delicate, use only the hard yolks. Fried beachnut bacon may be added. If the flavor of onion is desired, remove the onion before serving. This is good for constipation.
Beat one egg with three tablespoonsful of water or soup stock, and a little salt. Let the toast soften in it and fry to a golden brown in one-half butter and half vegetable fat or oil.
Use cream or unsweetened condensed milk. Beat up with eggs, salt and cinnamon, and prepare like the foregoing. This is good for diabetic patients.