Author. | Protein. | Fats. |---------------+------------
| | | Carbohydrates.| Fuel Value.
------------------------+----------+-------+---------------+------------
| lb. | lb. | lb. | Calories.
Playfair, England | .26 | .11 | 1.17 | 3.140
Moleschotte, Italy | .29 | .09 | 1.21 | 3.160
Wolff, Germany | .28 | .08 | 1.19 | 3.030
Voit, Germany | .26 | .12 | 1.10 | 3.055
Atwater, United States | .28 | 17.33 | 88.1.21 | 3.500
------------------------+----------+-------+---------------+------------

Quality of Food.

It is a great mistake to think that the best is the cheapest in regard
to the food question, that the higher priced meats, fish, butter,
etc., contain special virtues lacking in the cheaper articles. _Poor
cooking is the chief cause of this error in judgment._ No doubt a well
broiled steak is more appetizing and delicate in flavor than some of
the cheaper cuts, but in proportion to the cost is not equal in
nutritive value; careful cooking and judicious flavoring render the
cheaper pieces of beef equally palatable. That expensive food is not
necessary to maintain life has been clearly demonstrated by the
traditional diet of the Scotch people with their oatmeal and herring;
the Irish, potatoes and buttermilk; New England, codfish and potatoes,
and pork and beans; the Chinese, rice, etc. Monotony of diet, however,
is not recommended, for reasons given in a previous chapter, and in
the countries where a special diet prevails owing to the climate,
nature of soil and markets, the results have not warranted us in
believing that it is as good as a mixed diet. From this necessarily
brief outline of the food question we have learned (1) that a
knowledge of the requirements of the body are absolutely necessary in
regulating a proper diet; (2) to furnish the food principles in a
cheap rather than a dear form; (3) to understand the art of cookery so
as to secure the full nutritive value and at the same time stimulate
the appetite; (4) the value of economy in regard to food principles.
When the housekeeper has acquired this knowledge she will have covered
the field of food economy. Prof. Atwater says: "When we know what are
the kinds and amount of nutritive substances our bodies need and our
food m