Several
months ago I wrote a post on ‘Recipes using Rice Polish (1930)’ inspired by the
contents of a publication by a 1930 publication of the United States’ Department of Agriculture’s
Bureau of Home Economics which was entitled Rice
Polish Makes a Valuable Addition to the Diet (1930.)
I
recently came across another source of information on the broad topic of rice
products. I thought it provided an
interesting historical perspective on the apparent modern pre-occupation with
whole foods, so I wanted to share it with you.
The
source is Unpolished rice, the staplefood of the Orient, which was published in Philadelphia in 1905 under the
auspices of The Vegetarian society of America. The book begins with the text of
a lecture given by Rev. Henry S. Clubb to the society, and includes ‘one
hundred receipts for cooking unpolished rice, rice flour, rice polish’ as well
as the ‘Testimonials of Eminent Food Reformers.’
Here is
an edited version of Rev. Clubb’s lecture:
THE
STAPLE FOOD OF THE ORIENT
By Rev.
Henry S. Clubb.
The endurance on long- marches;
the wonderful activity, bravery and success of the soldiers of Japan, and their
comparative freedom from camp diseases* and rapid recovery from wounds resulting
in so many victories over their flesh-fed enemies who have been defeated and
routed in every important engagement, fully confirm the views advanced in the
following address delivered two years ago before the Vegetarian Society of
Philadelphia. The address was published in the Rice Journal at the time, and
extracts have appeared in many periodicals. It is now presented in full, as the
events of the war and the growing interest in the subject of health foods seem
to call for a more extensive diffusion of the information contained therein:
My friends and members of the
Vegetarian Society:
My attention was called to the
subject of rice, by observing the great muscular development and strength of
the athletes of Japan, who are said to train chiefly, if not entirely, on a diet
of rice. A correspondent in Connecticut inquired if I could procure him a
sample of Japanese rice, as he had understood it was richer in protein or
flesh-forming element than the South Carolina rice commonly grown in this
country.
Wheat here is considered so much
richer in flesh-forming elements that rice in the Middle, Western and Northern
States is used only as a dessert, in the form of puddings, or blanc mange,
whereas in the Southern, or rice-producing, states, it is served daily as a vegetable,
largely taking the place of white potatoes in the daily meals.
Our investigations have led us to
believe that the more general use of rice as an article of daily food, not
merely as an occasional dessert, would result in a diminution of dyspepsia and
an increase of health, vigor, and vivacity throughout the continent of America.
The fact that the Japanese are
the most artistic, humane, vivacious, and happy people on the face of the earth;
and that their chief food is rice, is, on its face, a strong argument in favor of
the more extensive use' of that cereal.
Finding a good sample of Japanese
rice in Philadelphia, I sent it to the Agricultural Department in Washington,
inquiring if it had been analyzed and received a very courteous reply from Mr. Ernst
A. Bessey, Assistant in Charge of the Bureau of Plant Industry, United States
Department of Agriculture, who wrote from Washington, April 19, 1902, that:
''So far as I know, no comparative analysis has been made to determine whether
Japanese ricecontains more nitrogen than South Carolina rice. The fact is that the
American method of milling rice so as to give it a high polish, as shown by the
sample you enclose, loses about 90 per cent, of the nitrogenous matter in the
grain, as this is contained in the fine polish which is taken off. In Asia,
however, rice is not polished, so that the nitrogenous matter remains on the
grain, and, as a result, the grain is much more nutritious."
The United States Agricultural
Department kindly referred my letter to Prof. Knapp, of Lake Charles, La., who
in due time sent the following valuable and interesting reply:
Lake Charles, La., April 22,
1902.
Rev. Henry S. Clubb,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Dear Sir :— At the request of the
Department of Agriculture, I will undertake to answer your letter of April 7,
1902. I have not the analysis of the Japan rice before me, but my recollection
is that it is richer in fats than other rices, but not in rotein compounds, or
flesh-formers.
Being richer in fats, it has more
flavor than other rices. The reason the Japanese are so muscular is that they
do not polish their rice. In American mills the outside coating of the rice
kernel is rubbed off. The process is as follows: 1st. The outer husk is removed.
2nd. The bran, just within the husk, is removed. 3rd. The solid kernel is then
rubbed, to remove the rough protein surface and to give the kernel a gloss.
This is called polishing, and the material removed is called polish, one of the
most nutritious substances in all the cereals. Polishing removes more than
three-fourths of the flavor and about one-fourth the fiber material. In Japan,
China, and India polishing- is not done, except for foreign markets.
The Japanese army in the advance
on Peking out-footed the armies of Russia, Germany, England, France and
America. The Japanese soldier is fed on rice, with a ration of beans and fish. He
can double-quick for fourteen hours, and repeat it for days.
The Japanese or Chinese may be
shot through the body, and if no vital part is cut, they scarcely notice the
wound.
If you will send to Dr. W. C.
Stubbs, Audubon, New Orleans, La., I think you will get an analysis of Japan
rice.
Very truly yours,
S.A.Knapp.
Agreeably to Prof. Knapp's
suggestion, I wrote and received from Dr. Stubbs the following
reply, dated "Audubon Park, New
Orleans, La., May I, 1902:
There is no perceptible
difference between analysis of Japanese rice and South Carolina rice. We make
them indiscriminately and have made both quite a number of times ….. [continues with a discussion of the results.]
… [a summary of the use of rice
around the world]
Sir Wm. Bentley, Governor of
Virginia, caused half a bushel of rice (probably brought from England whither
it had been received from India,) to be sown in her colony, and it produced sixteen
bushels of good rice. This was in 1647. Rice was introduced to South Carolina
in 1694. An English or Dutch ship was driven by stress to seek shelter In
Charleston Harbor and the captain visited Governor Smith, whom he had met in
Madagascar. Smith expressed a desire to experiment with the growing of rice
upon a low patch of ground in his garden; whereupon the captain presented him a
small bag of rice seed which happened to be among his stores The seed was
brought from Madagascar, but may not have been grown there. It was planted in
the garden m Longitude Lane, Charleston - the spot is still pointed out - and
thus originated the important industry of rice cultivation, still flourishing
in South Carolina. ,
There is a story that the Earl of
Shaftsbury sent 100 pounds of the rice seed to Charleston about the same time
from the produce of which sixty tons of paddy were shipped to England m 1698.
Lowland rice was introduced to
Louisiana in 1718, and upland rice into South Carolina, in 1772, from Cochin,
China.
In this way the rice plant from
its Asiatic home has made the circuit of the earth, and is now cultivated
throughout the torrid zone and in the warmest parts of both temperate zones
wherever there is abundant water supply.
…. [see the online text for the
rest of the lecture]
*General
Oku's Headquarters, Feb. i, 1905. — In nine months there have been but 40
deaths from disease in the immense army commanded by General Oku, a record that
is believed to be unequaled in the world's warfare. * * * The percentages of
the other Japanese armies are believed to be about the same. — Phila. Record,
Feb. 2, 1905.
Now, for
my choice of recipes from the book, I give you:
Using (presumably)
unpolished rice:
Rice Meringue.
Steam a cupful of rice; first
soak in one and a fourth cups of water for an hour, then add a cup of
milk, turn into an earthen dish suitable for serving it from a table, and
place in a steam-cooker or a covered steamer over a kettle of boiling
water, and steam for an hour. It should be stirred with a fork
occasionally, for the first ten or fifteen minutes. Heap loosely on a
glass dish and dot with squares of cranberry or currant jelly.' Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth with one-third cup of sugar and pile
it roughly over the rice. Serve with cream
Using
rice flour:
Rice Flour Bread.
One pint of fine rice flour in a warm
bowl. Pour on it three pints of boiling water, stirring well. Cover and let it
stand awhile to soften thoroughly. When cool add a little more yeast than for
wheaten bread. Salt and shortening (konut), same as for wheaten bread. Work it
thoroughly and set it to rise. When light, use wheaten flour enough to mould it
into loaves. Put into pans; let rise and bake.
Using
rice polish:
Buttermilk Rice Polish Gems.
Separate an egg and beat the yolk
until light. Then add one cup of buttermilk or one cup of sour milk (if sour
milk is used, add more butter). Stir into the milk a teaspoonful of soda and
half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat and add one cupful of sifted rice polish. Beat
until thoroughly incorporated, then fold in the beaten whites of the eggs. Bake
in heated gem pans fifteen minutes.
