What to drink

I shall try to give a few helpful suggestions in this chapter for the making of drinks which are both appetizing and nutritious. Some are offered because of their nutritive value and some, like treacle, posset and Iceland moss, because they are a real aid in helping to ward off colds and some because they please the palate of the invalid or the child whose appetite must be catered to.

APPLE WATER

Peel, core and slice the apples; place them in a deep bowl with the lemon juice, one strip of rind and as much sugar as the nurse or mother thinks wise, and cover with the boiling water, allowing this to stand covered tightly until cold. Strain, chill and serve in small glasses. Be sure to serve on a plate on which a fresh doylie is placed.

APPLE TEA (FROM ROAST APPLES)
(Very old recipe)

Roast sour apples until tender, pour boiling water over them and let them stand until cold. Sweeten a little if the patient so desires.

APPLE TEA (UP-STATE RECIPE)

Peel and slice the apples very thin, pour a pint of boiling water over them and boil for five minutes. Allow them to stand until cold, then strain off the water. Sweeten it slightly, unless the patient prefers the water very tart.

ARROWROOT WITH MILK

Mix the arrowroot with a little cold milk until a smooth paste. Pour a half pint of boiled milk over it, pouring slowly and stirring constantly. Bring to the boiling point and boil for six minutes. (Arrowroot must be well boiled). Strain, add the sugar and serve.

I want to impress upon my readers the necessity of serving any drink intended for an invalid in the most attractive manner possible.

ARROWROOT WITH WATER

Mix the arrowroot with a little cold water, making it perfectly smooth. Pour the boiling water over this slowly, stirring well; cook until boiling, and continue for six minutes. Strain, add sugar and lemon juice. Serve in an attractive glass on a pretty plate on which a spotless doylie is laid.

BARLEY WATER

Many cannot take milk plain, but the addition of barley water adds to its digestibility.

Pour the water over the barley and boil slowly until there is a third less liquid. Strain and add sugar and serve. Barley water may be served alone or with milk. It is more palatable with milk.

BARLEY WATER MADE FROM BARLEY FLOUR

Mix the barley flour with a little cold water, making a smooth paste; pour the rest of the water on slowly, mixing and stirring constantly. Boil for a half hour, boiling fast all the time. Strain and add to milk, or add a little sugar, or if it is for an infant, it may be given from a nursing bottle without the sugar, between feedings, especially if the child is not getting sufficient nourishment from its own food.

BLACK CURRANT TEA

It is said that this tea is excellent to alleviate hoarseness, and is a most appetizing beverage.

Put jam, sugar and water in an enamel dish and bring to the boiling point; simmer for five or six minutes. Strain and add lemon juice and serve hot; or chill and add a little cracked ice and serve very cold.

BRAN TEA

Mix water and bran and boil for fifteen minutes. Add gum arabic and honey, stir until dissolved. Strain through a cloth and serve. This, too, may be served hot or cold.

EGG WHITE AND MILK (ENGLISH RECIPE)

Boil the milk and let it cool. Whip the egg white until dry and put it in a tall glass with the milk, flavor with vanilla and serve.

OLD FASHIONED CAUDLE (ENGLISH)

Boil oatmeal, water, milk and lemon rind together for ten minutes; remove the rind, add the lemon juice, sugar and a sprinkling of grated nutmeg. Serve hot. The beaten yolk of an egg may be stirred in if extra nourishment is needed.

CAUDLE (OLD NEW ENGLAND RECIPE)

When the gruel is boiling, add the following mixture; beat the yolk of the egg with the sugar and stir in the water, fruit juices and a sprinkling of grated nutmeg. Strain and serve very hot.

CREAM AND CARBONATED WATER

There are times when a patient is not allowed milk, but cream is permissible; under those conditions, this will be found useful as well as nutritious.

Pour the cream in a tumbler or straight-sided, tall glass; fill the glass with carbonated water, using a syphon.

MILK AND CARBONATED WATER

It is a matter of taste just what carbonated water one uses: whether seltzer, vichy or club soda; whether poured from a bottle or a syphon. Put the milk in a tall glass and fill with the carbonated water.

EGG WHITE, LEMON AND CARBONATED WATER

Beat the white of the egg until stiff, put it in a tall glass and add the lemon juice; fill the glass with the carbonated water.

EGG YOLK, LEMON JUICE AND CARBONATED WATER

Beat the yolk until lemon colored, pour into a tumbler and stir in the lemon juice. Fill the glass with the carbonated water.

EGG WHITE AND ORANGE JUICE

Extract the juice from enough oranges (two Florida oranges will usually prove sufficient); strain into a tall glass; whip the egg white until stiff, and stir it into the orange juice.

If the patient does not like the taste of the egg white, it were well to beat the white until stiff, put it in a cocktail shaker with the orange juice, shake well for a minute or two and strain into a glass. It will be so blended that it will be very difficult to taste anything excepting the orange juice.

EGG WHITE, ORANGE JUICE AND CARBONATED WATER

Beat the white until stiff; extract the juice from the orange, stir the egg in carefully and pour into a tall glass. Fill the glass with carbonated water.

EGG WHITE, ORANGE JUICE AND DISTILLED WATER

If a baby is very ill and cannot retain food, this will tide it over until a physician can be called and prescribe.

Beat the egg white until stiff, stir in the orange juice and then the water. Feed with a spoon.

FLAXSEED TEA

Mix the flaxseed with a little water, adding the remainder of the pint and boil for fifteen minutes. Slice a lemon in a deep bowl and add two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar. Strain the flaxseed tea boiling hot, over this, stir and allow to stand until cold. Strain again and use in tablespoonful doses. This is used for cold or to relieve an irritated throat.

GRUEL (ENGLISH RECIPE)

Mix the oatmeal with a little cold water in an enameled saucepan; add the milk or water boiling hot, and boil for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Strain, pressing as much of the oatmeal through the sieve as possible. Add either salt or sugar as the patient desires. As gruel induces perspiration it is best to take it after one is in bed. This is most satisfactory as an aid in breaking up a cold.

INDIAN MEAL GRUEL (YELLOW CORN MEAL)

Mix the corn meal with enough cold water to make a smooth paste; add a pint of water, bring to the boiling point and boil slowly for one half hour,—never less; strain, add a little salt, or a little sugar if the patient does not like the salt. If sugar is used add a sprinkling of grated nutmeg, if salt is preferred, add two tablespoonfuls of cream; stir and serve at once.

OATMEAL GRUEL

Wet the oatmeal with a little cold water, pour over it three pints of boiling water, and boil gently for two hours. Strain, add a sprinkle of salt and enough sugar to satisfy the patient. A very little mace or nutmeg may be added, and, if one wishes, a half cupful of raisins may be put in as soon as the boiling point is reached. If raisins are used it is not at all necessary to use sugar, for there is plenty of sugar in them to make the gruel most palatable.

RICE GRUEL

Blend the rice with a little cold water, add the half pint of boiling water and boil for five minutes. Season with a little salt, and if allowed add three tablespoonfuls of thick cream, or if milk is preferred use that.

POTATO GRUEL (ENGLISH RECIPE)

Steam two large mealy or floury potatoes, press through a fine sieve, and add hot milk slowly, stirring and blending until the consistency of thin cream. Salt to taste and serve.

CARROT GRUEL

Boil the carrots until very tender, press through a fine sieve and add hot milk slowly, being sure to mix well and smoothly. When the consistency of cream is reached, add a little salt and serve.

An English physician recommends this as an aid in treating scurvy in children.

IRISH OR ICELAND MOSS

Wash the moss, put it in a covered dish and allow it to stand in enough water to cover over night. Throw off this water and cover with a pint of fresh water; simmer for one hour, strain, add a tablespoonful of lemon juice and a little sugar, being sure that it is not too sweet.

Irish moss is a sea weed and is rather rich in mucilage, iodine and sulphur, and is given as an aid in treatment for colds, especially when there is a cough.

HOME MADE KOUMISS
(Recipe from an English Physician)

Boil fresh milk, and when nearly cold put into quart bottles, leaving room to shake. Add ½ ounce of crushed lump sugar, a very small piece of compressed yeast—about one twenty-fourth of the ordinary yeast cake—cork, tie down the cork unless a patent stopper is used; lay the bottles on the side, and shake twice daily. If the weather is hot this may be used on the fifth day, if cool, on the sixth, if very cold, on the seventh.

LINSEED TEA

Wash, the linseed and simmer with the lemon rind and water for, a half hour. Take from the fire, add liquorice and rock candy and stir until dissolved. Strain and add the lemon juice. Useful in treatment of colds.

PRUNE TEA

Be sure to select California prunes, for then no sugar will be needed.

Wash the prunes and put in a saucepan with the water; simmer for an hour, cut the prunes while in the water, then strain through a fine sieve, pressing some of the pulp through. Add the lemon juice and serve to the patient in a wine glass. This is excellent in cases of constipation.

RICE WATER

There is no better rice grown than that which we get from the islands which lie in the Atlantic off the state of South Carolina. This is large full rice and is by far the most desirable for use for invalids and children.

Wash the rice in cold water, rubbing it well between the hands. Allow water to run over it until the water runs clear. Throw the washed rice in a quart of cold water, and cook rapidly until it boils hard. Then cook slower over a lower fire until rather mushy. Two hours is not too long for the boiling. Strain through a fine sieve. Add a little salt, or if the patient greatly prefers, and sugar will not harm, sweeten slightly.

This is used in cases of dysentery with salt only, as a drink.

RICE MILK

Wash the rice as directed in the foregoing recipe, and put into a saucepan with the milk. Boil for one hour. Add salt to taste or a very little sugar. The salt is preferable. Do not strain this.

TOAST WATER

Select the crust of the bread, cut at least an inch thick; toast or dry it until brown in the oven, being sure that it does not burn or scorch, but is thoroughly brown. Put this in a deep bowl and pour one pint of cold water over it, allowing it to stand for one hour. Strain and use. One may season with a little salt or a sprinkling of celery salt. It may be served either hot or cold.

TREACLE (MOLASSES) POSSET
(English recipe)

Put the milk into a saucepan, and bring to the boiling point; add the molasses and lemon juice. This will curdle. Strain through a fine cloth. Use hot or cold.

THICK MILK

Put a half ounce of flour in a dish and put into the oven, allowing it to brown slightly. Blend it with the milk, stirring a few drops of milk into the flour at a time, until all the milk is used. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Sweeten a trifle and use.

This is given to patients at times when they are on a liquid diet and a change is needed. A little nutmeg will again change the taste.

LEMON WHEY

Boil the milk and add the juice from a half lemon. It will, of course, curdle. Strain through a fine cloth; sweeten slightly and use.

MILK WHEY
(English recipe)

Bring the milk to the boiling point, add the buttermilk and boil for a minute. Strain and use.

MEAT BROTHS AND TEAS

BEEF TEA OR BROTH

Select a piece of beef which has little or no fat, preferably from the top round; remove any fats, and cut into strips, then cut across, shredding the meat. Put the shredded meat, salt and cold water in an enamel saucepan and allow it to soak for fifteen minutes, then place over a slow fire. Cook until the meat is white and the juice or broth a deep red-brown. Strain through a fine strainer, pressing the beef hard. Remove any particles of grease by drawing a piece of brown paper over the top. Serve hot. Be sure to serve in an attractive cup on a doylie. Please the eye and the appetite is more likely to be tempted.

BEEF TEA (MADE IN A JAR)

Remove the fat, shred the meat finely and put into a glass jar. A two quart glass can such as is used for preserving is desirable. Fasten the cover, whether a screw-top or patent fastener, and place in a deep pan of boiling water. Keep the water simmering for at least three hours. Stir the beef occasionally. Strain and remove any fat by drawing a paper over the top. Serve.

BEEF TEA (RAW BEEF)

Cut all the fat and skin from the beef, and cut into shreds; place in a glass dish with the water and salt, cover and place in a cold place and allow to stand for two hours. Strain and press out all the juice possible. Serve a teaspoonful or two at a time. This will not keep, so only a very small amount should be made at a time.

BEEF EXTRACT (RAW)

This extract is given when nourishment must be pushed and can only be given in small quantities. It is invaluable in cases of rickets and scurvy in children.

There are small meat presses on the market, which are made for the purpose of extracting the blood and may be purchased at any large department store where there is a housekeeping department.

Put the meat in a pan and sear it quickly; then cut into small pieces and place in the meat press; by turning the screw-top extract the blood or juice, and pour into a glass. After all the blood is extracted, salt slightly and feed with a spoon.

BEEF TEA WITH EGG

Beat the egg yolk until a light yellow and stir into a half cupful of hot beef tea. Add a trifle of salt if necessary.

BEEF TEA FOR CONVALESCENTS

Remove all fat from the meat, cut the vegetables into tiny pieces, shred the meat and put all in a glass jar with the herbs and salt. Fasten the top and place in a deep pan nearly full of hot water and cook slowly for three hours. Strain and remove any fat which may have been left.

MUTTON TEA

Select the juicy part of the neck, remove as much fat as possible, cut into tiny pieces, put into a saucepan with cold water and salt. Simmer gently until the meat turns white and the tea or broth a rich red-brown. Strain, remove all fat by passing a paper over the top. If it is not possible to remove the fat in this way, cool the broth and remove the fat, then reheat. To reheat place the dish holding the broth in a pan of hot water. Do not allow broths or teas to boil.

CHICKEN BROTH

Cut the chicken into small pieces, and break the bones. Put the meat and bones into a saucepan with the cold water, salt and rice. (The rice may be omitted if preferred.) Simmer for three hours, strain, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

This broth may be made leaving the rice out until cooked, then strain, return to the saucepan, reheat to the boiling point, add the rice and cook for twenty-five minutes. It depends entirely on whether the patient may have the rice whole or cooked soft enough to pass through a fine sieve.

MUTTON BROTH (WITH BARLEY)

Remove all fats possible and cut the mutton into small pieces. Put into the saucepan with the cold water and salt, bring to the boiling point, skim, add the barley and simmer for three hours. Strain and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. If this broth is intended for a convalescent, it need not be strained; remove the meat and bones only, leaving the well cooked barley.

OYSTER BROTH

Put the oysters, their liquor, and the milk or broth (preferably the milk) in a saucepan, and bring to the boiling point. Simmer for one minute, and strain. The oysters may be chopped finely and returned to the broth or not, as liked. It would seem wise in most instances to remove the beards and gristle first and chop only the soft parts.

CLAM BROTH

Scrub the clams in cold water and place over a hot fire in a large kettle and heat until the shells open. Place two thicknesses of cheese cloth over a deep dish and strain. Season the broth and serve.

CLAM JUICE (COMMERCIAL)

There is a clam juice on the market,—a “clam concentrate”—which makes a satisfactory broth if it is not possible to obtain fresh clams.

Put the concentrated juice in a cup and pour the boiling water over it, stirring until well mixed. Season to taste.

One may use milk if one wishes instead of water, or may use half water and half milk.

COMMERCIAL BEEF TEA OR BROTH

There are several manufacturers who put out concentrated beef extracts, some in cubes, and some in a sort of paste form. If one uses the cubes, one cube is used to each three-quarters of a cupful of boiling water. Season with salt, or with salt and celery salt.

If one wishes, a drop or two of onion juice may be added to this beef tea, as well as salt and celery salt.