Food Values

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In the narrower sense of the term food value refers to heat - or energy-equivalent of proteins, carbohydrates or fats or mixtures of these in food materials. In the following pages a much broader meaning is given to this term. The amount of heat, measured in calories, that may be obtained by burning a food is only a part of the story of foods. It is an erroneous but still quite prevalent practice to discuss and com pare foods on a basis of chemical composition from which calories are calculated. While the composition of a food is perhaps its most im portant feature, there are many other properties that must be carefully considered before we can estimate the true and complete value of a food. To some people the value of a food is closely related to its flavor only; food is good and valuable if it tastes good. Others judge food on a dollar and cents basis; to them expensive food is synonymous with good food. Still others do not connect value in any sense of the word with foods; sometimes they eat and think, but most of the time they simply eat.

In the narrower sense of the term food value refers to heat — or energy-equivalent of proteins, carbohydrates or fats or mixtures of these in food materials. In the following pages a much broader meaning is given to this term. The amount of heat, measured in calories, that may be obtained by burning a food is only a part of the story of foods. It is an erroneous but still quite prevalent practice to discuss and com pare foods on a basis of chemical composition from which calories are calculated. While the composition of a food is perhaps its most im portant feature, there are many other properties that must be carefully considered before we can estimate the true and complete value of a food. To some people the value of a food is closely related to its flavor only; food is good and valuable if it tastes good. Others judge food on a dollar and cents basis; to them expensive food is synonymous with good food. Still others do not connect value in any sense of the word with foods; sometimes they eat and think, but most of the time they simply eat.