By Winifred Moses

In planning a well-balanced meal the dessert must be considered, because if it is used at all it plays a part in the nutritive scheme of the meal. It may be as simple as fresh fruit or as complex as plum pudding, and the correct choice determines the success of the meal both in nutritive value and in palatability. If the main part of the meal is made up of less hearty foods, the dessert may well be a heavy one, such as steamed pudding with hard sauce, or pie. If the other courses are heavy, however, a light dessert such as fruit or fruit sherbet may be the best choice.

Batters and doughs and eggs mixtures are discussed elsewhere. Other desserts will be briefly considered in this chapter.