221. The Cost Of Raw Food Materials

The proper basis for estimating the relative cost of nutriment in the various raw materials is the amount of energy that may be bought in the edible food solids of different materials for a unit sum of money. Many articles of food as purchased are made up in part of substance that is not edible, as, for instance, the bones and legs of a dressed fowl, the skin and bones of a fish, or the paring and core of an apple. A1l raw food materials, with very few exceptions, contain water varying in proportion from 5 per cent or less to over 90 per cent. Both the refuse and water must be subtracted from the total weight in order to learn the weight of edible solids. The following table shows that a pound of bluefish as purchased was made up of.486 pound of refuse,.403 pound of water in the edible portion, and 111 pound of edible solids, this amount of solids having a food energy equal to 210 calories. At 18 cents a pound for the fish as purchased, one dollar would buy only.61 pound of edible food solids. In comparison with this, wheat flour has no refuse, and in one pound only.128 pound of water, leaving.872 pound of edible solids, containing energy equal to 1640 calories. At 3.4 cents per pound for the flour, one dollar would purchase 25.6 pounds of edible solids as against.61 pound in the bluefish. This means that at the prices given one dollar will purchase about fortv-two times as much edible food solids in wheat flour as in bluefish. But a comparison on the basis of the weights of edible solids purchased for a unit sum of money is inaccurate and misleading, because the energy value of the edible solids in different foods is greatly unlike. The water-free edible nutrients of bacon, for instance, would furnish over 90 per cent more energy from a unit weight than would the nutrients of wheat flour. For this reason our comparison must be made on the basis of the energy purchased in the edible food for one dollar. For blue-fish this would be 1166 calories and for wheat flour 48,230 calories.

The table which follows has been made up from the analyses and energy values given in the revised edition of Bulletin 28, O.E.S., U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the prices are those at which foodstuffs were sold in the city of Geneva, N. Y., during July, 1910. Food prices vary from year to year and in different localities, but the figures given indicate in a general way the cost of nutriment from the several classes of foods.

Table XXXVI. Cost Of Nutrients In Various Human Foodstuffs

TABLE XXXVI Cost of Nutrients in Various Human FoodstuFFs

Name

Pound Price

Refuse in One Pound

Water in One

Pound of Edible

Portion

Edible Solids in One Pound

Edible

Solids for $1.00

Food

Energy for $I.00

Cents

Pounds

Pounds

Pounds

Pounds

Calories

Corn meal . . .

3.0

0.125

0.875

29.17

55,166

Wheat flour . .

3.4

0.128

0.872

25.65

48,230

Rolled oat3(in bulk)

5.0

0.077

0.923

18.46

37,000

Hominy....

5.0

-

0.118

0.882

17.64

33,000

Sugar ....

6.0

1.00

16.66

31,000

Molasses (can)

5.0

0.251

0.749

14.96

25,800

Lard

18.0

1.00

5.55

23,444

White bread . .

5.33

0.353

0.647

12.13

22,790

Cookies ....

10.0

0.081

0.919

9.19

19,100

Crackers . . .

11.0

0.068

0.932

8.48

17,320

Pork (fat) . . .

18.0

0.081

0.150

0.760

4.25

16,390

Corning beef (cheap) . . .

8.0

0.055

0.561

0.384

4.80

14,815

Coffee cake. . .

14.0

0.213

0.787

5.62

11,609

Butter ....

32.0

0.110

0.890

2.78

11,265

Mutton chops. .

14.0

0.148

0.404

0.448

3.20

11,250

Cheese, full cream

18.0

0.342

0.658

3.65

10,833

Bacon ....

25.0

0.087

0.184

0.729

2.54

10,732

Milk.....

3.67

0.870

0.130

3.54

8,855

Ham, fresh. . .

18.0

0.103

0.451

0.446

2.48

8,444

Grapes ....

4.0

0.250

0.58

0.170

4.25

8,375

Cost of Nutrients in Various Human Foodstuffs Continued

Name

Pound Price

Refuse in One Pound

Water in One

Pound op

Edible

Portion

Edible Solids in One Pound

Edible

Solids for $1.00

Food

Energy fob $1.00

Cents

Pounds

Pounds

Pounds

Pounds

Calories

Ham, smoked . .

22.0

0.122

0.358

0.520

2.36

7,600

Pork, roast. . .

18.0

0.193

0.408

0.399

2.22

7,444

Plums ....

5.0

0.05

0.745

0.205

4.10

7,400

Corning beef, good

18.0

0.055

0.561

0.384

2.13

6,583

Rib roast, beef

20.0

0.201

0.453,

0.346

1.73

5,550

Apples ....

4.0

0.250

0.633

0.117

2.92

5,500

Lamb chops . .

25.0

0.148

0.453

0.399

1.60

5,260

Steak, round . .

20.0

0.072

0.607

0.321

1.60

4,475

Steak, porterhouse

25.0

0.127

0.524

0.349

1.40

4,440

Eggs . .

17.0

0.112

0.655

0.233

1.37

3,735

Corn, green, canned

12.5

0.761

0.239

1.91

3,640

Fish, salt . . .

15.0

0.016

0.548

0.436

2.90

3,635

Turkey ....

30.0

0.227

0.424

0.349

1.16

3,585

Tongue, beef . .

16.0

0.265

0.518

0.217

1.36

3,406

Chicken, canned .

50.0

0.469

0.531

1.06

3,310

Ham, deviled . .

60.0

0.441

0.559

0.93

2,983

Tomatoes, canned

4.0

0.940

0.060

1.50

2,625

Halibut ....

18.0

0.177

0.619

0.204

1.13

2,611

Fowls ....

30.0

0.259

0.471

0.270

0.90

2,583

Liver ....

25.0

0.714

0.286

1.14

2,460

Trout (lake) . .

18.0

0.485

0.366

0.149

0.83

2,139

Raspberries . .

15.0

0.840

0.160

1.07

2,066

Oranges....

8.33

0.270

0.634

0.096

1.15

2,041

Mackerel . . .

18.0

0.447

0.404

0.149

0.83

2,027

White fish . . .

18.0

0.535

0.325

0.140

0.78

1,805

Peas, green, canned

15.0

0.853

0.147

0.98

1,700

Oysters ....

15.0

0.883

0.117

.580

1,533

Strawberries . .

12.5

0.05

0.859

0.091

0.73

1,400

Bluefish ....

18.0

0.486

0.403

0.111

0.61

1,166

Chicken, broilers.

50.0

0.446

0.437

0.147

0.29

590

Beans, string, canned . . .

16.5

0.937

0.063

0.38

575

Lobster, whole

35.0

0.617

0.307

0.076

0.22

400