Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 2 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pea | 1/2 cup (72g) | 62 |
| Cucumber | 1/2 cup sliced (52g) | 16 |
| Savory | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 5 per cent
- 97 contained tin
- 2 lead
- 8 green cucumbers 2·5 „ peas 3·1 „ pea pods 1·0 the following proportions were
- 17 savory
- five cents a pound
Directions
_Mace._--True mace is frequently mixed with the false spice, the presence of which is indicated by its dark-red colour. The other foreign substances most commonly used are turmeric, wheaten flour, rice, corn meal, and roasted beans.
_Cinnamon._--The chief admixtures to be sought for are cassia, ground shells, crackers, etc.
_Allspice._--Owing to its cheapness, allspice is probably less adulterated than the preceding spices. The addition of mustard-husks, ground shells, and clove stems, and the removal of the volatile oil, are, however, sometimes practised. The oil in genuine allspice should amount to about 5 per cent.
_Ginger._--Ginger is likewise comparatively little exposed to sophistication, although it has occasionally been found coloured with turmeric, and admixed with corn meal, mustard-husks, cayenne, and clove stems. It is stated that the manufacturers of ginger extract dispose of the exhausted article to spice dealers who utilise the impoverished product for the adulteration of other spices.
_Mixed Spices._--These consist of mixtures of the foregoing, and are liable to the sophistications practised upon their ingredients, the addition of the cheaper flours and starches being especially prevalent.
The following table shows the results of the examination of various spices, lately officially made in the States of New York and Massachusetts, and by the National Board of Health in Washington:--
---------+-----------+--------------+-------------- | Number | Number | Percentage | Examined. | Adulterated. | Adulterated. ---------+-----------+--------------+-------------- Cloves | 132 | 60 | 45·5 Mace | 79 | 50 | 66·3 Cinnamon | 149 | 78 | 52·4 Allspice | 90 | 39 | 43·3 Ginger | 157 | 40 | 25·4 ---------+-----------+--------------+--------------
[147] Bulletin No. 13, Part 2, Chemical Division; United States Department of Agriculture.
MISCELLANEOUS.
A variety of articles of food, which do not properly come under any of the heads previously treated, have, during the past few years, been found on our markets in an adulterated state. Prominent among these, are the various kinds of canned meats, fruits, and vegetables, which have not unfrequently been the cause of serious cases of illness. This result may be owing to the original bad condition of the goods, or to fermentation having taken place; but, in many instances, the trouble has been traced to the improper methods of canning used, resulting in the contamination of the preserved articles with metallic poisons. The fact that fermentation has occurred is frequently indicated by the external appearance of the head of the can, which, in this case, will be slightly convex, instead of being, as it should be, concave. The metals most often detected in canned goods are lead, tin, and copper. The presence of lead is usually due to the use of an impure grade of tin, known as “terne-plate,” in the manufacture of the cans, or to carelessness in the soldering process. The origin of copper is probably to be found in the methods sometimes practised of heating the goods in vessels made of this metal previous to canning them. The presence of tin results from the action of partially decomposed fruits and vegetables upon the can. Preserved fruits and jellies are sometimes put up in unsealed tin pails or cans, when they almost invariably contain notable amounts of this metal.
Asparagus seems to be especially liable to contamination with metals, doubtless owing to the formation of aspartic acid. As much as half a gramme of tin has been found in a quart can of this vegetable. The use of zinc chloride as a flux in soldering, has, to the writer’s knowledge, occasioned the presence of an appreciable proportion of the salt in canned goods.
Of 109 samples of canned food lately examined by our health officials, 97 contained tin; 39, copper; 4, zinc; and 2 lead. In the analysis of food of this description, the organic matters are first destroyed by heating with oxidising agents, such as a mixture of potassium chlorate and hydrochloric acid. The solution is then evaporated to a small volume. It is next diluted with water, and tested with sulphuretted hydrogen, ammonium sulphide, and the usual reagents.
Messrs. Waller and Martin have made an investigation in regard to the proportion of copper which may be present in various natural grains and vegetables. Their results show that these plants frequently take up a minute quantity of this metal from the soil. The amounts of copper found were as follows:--
Parts of copper per million. Raw wheat and other grains, from 4· to 10·8 Green cucumbers 2·5 „ peas 3·1 „ pea pods 1·0
The following proportions were detected in canned vegetables:--
Pickles 29 to 91 Peas 79 „ 190 Beans 87 „ 100
Meat extracts, while not subjected to adulteration, have acquired a popular reputation as articles of food which is not always deserved. As stimulants and useful adjuncts to food proper for invalids, the value of these preparations is undoubted. The chemical composition of several of the best known brands, as determined by American and English health officials, is given below:--
--------------------------+------+------------------------------------ |Water.|Organic Substance. | | +-----+------------------------ | | |Ash. |Soluble Albumin. | | | | +------------------ | | | | |Alcoholic Extract. Brand. | | | | | +----------- | | | | | |Phosphoric | | | | | |Acid. | | | | | | +-------- | | | | | | |Potassa. | | | | | | +--+ | | | | | | | --------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+----- | per | per | per | per | per | per | per |cent. |cent.|cent.|cent.|cent. |cent.|cent. Liebig’s extract |18·27 |58·40|23·25| 0·05|44·11 |7·83 |10·18 Berger’s extract of beef |40·65 |39·85|19·50| 1·11|13·18 | .. | .. Starr’s extract of beef |37·00 |55·65| 7·35| 1·10|10·13 | .. | .. Johnson’s fluid beef |41·20 |50·40| 8·40| 1·17|15·93 |1·91 | 1·72 Gaunt’s beef peptone |37·15 |54·92| 7·43| 0·00|20·14 | .. | .. London Co.’s extract of |81·90 |16·80| 1·30| .. | .. | .. | .. beef | | | | | | | London Co.’s extract of |78·00 |19·50| 2·50| .. | .. | .. | .. mutton | | | | | | | London Co.’s extract of |71·60 |27·10| 1·30| .. | .. | .. | .. chicken | | | | | | | Brand’s essence of beef |89·19 | 9·50| 1·31| .. | .. |0·19 | 0·20 Carnrick’s beef peptonoids| 6·75 |87·75| 5·50| .. | .. |1·27 | 1·33 Kemmerick’s extract of |20·95 |60·81|18·24| .. | .. |6·56 | 8·30 beef | | | | | | | Murdoch’s liquid food |83·61 |15·83| 0·56| .. | .. |0·10 | 4·17 Savory and Moore’s fluid |27·01 |60·89|12·10| .. | .. |1·49 | 4·20 meat | | | | | | | Valentine’s m
The factitious manufacture of jellies has lately excited considerable attention. Many of the more expensive kinds of this article are imitated by mixtures consisting largely of apple jelly.
A brand of spurious currant jelly, which is manufactured in France, and has recently made its appearance on the American market, is prepared from a gelatinous seaweed found in Japan (_Arachnoidiscus Japonicus_), to which glucose, tartaric acid, and an artificial essence of currants are added, the desired colour being obtained by means of cochineal and _Althea roseata_. The product is offered for sale at five cents a pound.
The flour employed in the manufacture of the maccaroni and vermicelli commonly met with in our larger cities, is not always of good quality. A more serious form of adulteration consists in the artificial colouring of these preparations. The substances used for this purpose, which have been detected by the public authorities, are turmeric, saffron, and chrome yellow. Meat has been found tinted with aniline red, and Bologna sausages, coated with iron pigments, have occasionally been encountered.
The flavouring syrups used in connection with the popular American beverage, “soda water,” frequently consist almost wholly of glucose and artificial compound ethers. Dr. Cyrus Edson, of the New York City Board of Health, has lately directed public notice to the fact that many manufacturers of soda water use water obtained from artesian wells, which are driven on their premises, and which, from the nature of the geological formation of Manhattan Island, are very liable to contain sewage contamination.