Cooking is an art that must be learned according to correct principles. People who are well versed in food preparation should not need medication. Animal meat is made up of fibers. These fibers are surrounded by connective tissue that is strong. Cooking softens and breaks down these tissues, making it easier for digestive juices to penetrate and dissolve them. That’s what proper cooking does. Poor cooking usually makes the meat undigestible.

The simpler the cooking, the more digestible the food will be. Flavors develop in the process, but these are hidden if the meats are heavily seasoned.

The various ways of cooking meat include the following:

Boiled: When boiling meats lose muscle sugar, flavoring extracts, organic acids, gelatin, mineral matter and soluble albumin. That is, they lose flavor and nutrition. Therefore, the liquid in which they are cooked should be used. The correct way to boil meat is to submerge it in boiling water. Let the water boil vigorously for ten to fifteen minutes. This will roll up the outside of the piece of meat. Then lower the water temperature to about 180 degrees F. and cook until it suits your taste. If it is boiled at a high temperature for a long time, it hardens, because the albumin curdles completely.

The salts draw the water out of the meat. Therefore, none of it should be used in boiling. The meat must be cooked in running water without adding anything. Vegetables and cereals should not be added. All meats contain some fat, and this enters the water and acts on vegetables and starches, making them indigestible. Season the meat after it is cooked or, better yet, have everyone season it to their liking after serving it.

Meats to be boiled should never be soaked, because cold water dissolves some of the salts and some of the nutritive substances. It’s better to just wash the meat if it doesn’t look fresh and clean enough to attract the eye, which it always should.

· Stew: If the meat is to be stewed, cut it into small pieces and stew or simmer at a temperature of about 180 degrees F. until tender. Must be steward in running water. If you want a meat and vegetable stew, stew the vegetables on one plate and the meat on another. When both are ready, mix both together. Cooking it like this makes a stew that will not “repeat” if it is eaten well. Food should taste while it is eaten, not after.

Broths: If a broth is desired, select lean meat. Either you grind it or you chop it well. There is no harm in soaking meat in cold water, as long as the water is used to make the stock. Don’t use seasonings. Let it stew or simmer at about 180 degrees F. until the meat strength is largely in the water. When the broth is ready, set it aside to cool. Then trim all fat and heat and use. A pound of lean meat will make a quart of fairly strong broth.

Grilled: Cut meat to desired thickness. It is then placed near a high heat, turning it from time to time, until it is done. But be careful not to burn the meat. An ordinary steak should be grilled for about 10 minutes. The time may depend on the thickness of the slice and whether you want it rare, medium, or well done.

Steak topped with onion is a favorite dish, but it is not a good way to prepare either onions or steak. A better way is to grill both the steak and the onions, or to grill the steak, slice the onions about one-half to three-quarters of an inch thick, add a little water, and bake. Steak and onions prepared in this way are tasty and easy to digest.

· Roasting: Roasting is similar to grilling, that is, cooking a piece of meat in front of an open fire. But in roasting a large part of the meat is used and, therefore, it takes more time to do it.

Baking: When baking, place meat in a closed oven. Most of the so-called roast meats are baked. The oven should be very hot for the first 10 to 15 minutes, around 400 degrees F. This heat will sear the outside of the meat quite well. Then reduce the heat to 260 degrees F. If held at a high temperature, it will produce a tough piece of meat. The length of time the meat should be in the oven depends on the size of the piece of meat and how well done it is desired. While part of the juices are baking and part of the fat is escaping. About every fifteen minutes, beat the meat with its own juice. And a few minutes before taking the meat out of the oven, it can be sprinkled with a small amount of salt, and the same can be done with roasted and roasted meats before they are cooked.

Steaming: Steaming is an excellent way of cooking, in the sense that none of its nutritional value will be lost. Put the meat in the steamer and let it rest until done. Cheaper, tougher cuts of meat, which are just as good as more expensive ones and often taste better, can become very tender when steamed. Resistant birds can be treated in the same way. A great way to cook an old hen or old turkey is to steam them until tender, then put them in a hot oven for a few minutes to brown. Some birds are so tough that they cannot be made edible by boiling or baking, but they do not become tough when steamed.

Choking: This is a modification of cooking. Any kind of meat can be smothered, but it’s especially fine for chickens. Take a young bird, separate it at the joints, place it in a pan, and add a pint of boiling water. And if a chicken is lean, put it in a little butter, but if it’s fat, use no butter. Then cover the pan tightly and place it in the oven and let it bake. A chicken weighing two and a half pounds dressed will require one hour and fifteen minutes to bake. You must keep the lid on the baking sheet until the chicken is done, you must not lift it even once. The sauce (basically the juices that drip from cooking the meats) will be found in the pan.

· Frying is an objectionable method of cooking. It is generally held that when high-temperature fat is introduced into meat, it becomes highly indigestible. And in fact, the crust that forms on the outside of the meat cannot be digested. It is folly to prepare food in such a way that it is harmful to the body. However, there is a way to use a frying pan so that there is practically no damage to yourself. Grease the pan very lightly, just enough to prevent the meat from sticking. Put the pan very hot and place the meat in it. Turn meat frequently. French fries can be cooked this way with good results. The same goes for steaks and chops.

Finally, you should strive to avoid greasy cooking. It is an abomination that kills thousands of people annually.