Not only do the Edgar Cayce readings offer a wealth of dietary advice and information, they also give suggestions on proper and healthful ways of preparing and cooking one’s food. Such is the case with Patapar® paper, known today as “parchment paper,” recommended in over 160 readings as a preferred way of cooking vegetables and meat. Made from 100 percent vegetable parchment, this product enables one to retain the valuable nutrients and natural juices of the food being prepared. The paper is nontoxic, odorless, tasteless, grease-resistant, and reusable. Simply put, fresh vegetables and meat cooked with Patapar paper taste better, since they are cooked in their own juices.
Directions for Use
After the meat or fresh vegetables have been cleaned and washed – then ground up, cut up, diced, or chopped – the food to be cooked is placed onto a moistened sheet of the paper. Wetting the paper beforehand makes it soft and pliable.
Several readings mention not mixing meat with vegetables; that is, not cooking them together in the same bag. Also, if you are eating a variety of vegetables, some readings state that they ought to be cooked separately, not placed together in one sack, while other readings approve of combining the vegetables, especially for soups. So the decision to separate or combine can be left up to the discrimination of the consumer:
… these may be mixed or taken separately, depending upon the taste of the body. (Cayce)
To continue with the preparation, bring the four corners of the bag together and, using a white string or cord (leaving it long enough to later retrieve it), tie a bowknot at the top of the sack. This prevents water from getting inside the paper. Place the bag in a pot of water, cover it, and bring it to a boil, removing it at the proper time-25-45 minutes, depending upon the usual amount of time to cook whatever is being prepared. Cooking it too long may result in a decrease of nutrients as well as loss of flavor.
Some readings advise, after removing the sack from the boiling water, to add seasonings to suit your taste and “to make it palatable” (Cayce); in other words, the seasonings are not to be put in at the beginning and cooked along with the food during the boiling process. One reading explains: “All seasoning should be done with butter and salt or paprika (or whatever may be used as the seasoning) after the foods have been cooked! The cooking of condiments, even salt, destroys much of the vitamins of foods.” (Cayce)
The juice that results from cooking can either be mixed and stirred in with the pulp of the vegetable, then eaten, or “the pure juice may be extracted” and taken at the noon meal, while the bulky portion is left for the evening meal. (Cayce)
The Patapar paper can then be put aside, washed, and later reused, much like a cloth. One Web site devoted to cooking tips expressed concern about reusing the paper after meat has been prepared in it; in this case, better to use it only once, it suggests. If the paper appears to be starting to rip after repeated uses, discard it.
Benefits of Patapar Paper
Some of the healthful effects of preparing vegetables and meat in Patapar paper include: it makes whatever is being cooked “more digestible” (Cayce) and “more effective in supplying the needed vitamins and the needed salts for the body” (Cayce), “for the vitamins and the necessary salts that will create the fluids in the system are found in these.” (Cayce) One reading adds that cooking these foods “in their own juices … will make a vast difference in the building of resistance.” (Cayce)
A 54-year-old woman asked if “certain vegetables [should] always be cooked in Patapar paper?” and the answer came: “There are certain vegetables that, with the processes in Patapar Paper, the mineral salts which are most active with the human body are preserved.” (Cayce) Although the particular vegetables are not enumerated, other readings mention specific foods as proper candidates for cooking in Patapar paper, “especially all foods that are yellow in color.” (Cayce)
Preserving the vitamins, minerals, and natural juices of the foods is the principal reason for cooking with Patapar paper. In this way “none of the properties are lost that are effective in their activity through the system itself.” (Cayce) One reading remarks: “This is an excellent way; then you would have the juice only.” (Cayce) Another reading states conclusively: “All cooked vegetables should be cooked in their own juices (as in Patapar Paper), rather than with meats or fats.” (Cayce) Some readings simply advise cooking this way often or “whenever possible” (Cayce), “so that all the salts of same are preserved in same” (Cayce) “and not left in the water in which they would ordinarily be cooked.” (Cayce) A number of readings note the importance of preserving the vegetable salts as part of one’s diet.
One 52-year-old woman, requesting dietary advice, asked if raw vegetables, bread, and canned milk would be suitable for her. Cayce answered: “[All right] in their place, but not as a regular diet in the order named. For, the vegetables are better cooked. If there is the desire to preserve all the vitamins and salts of the vegetables, cook them in Patapar Paper.” (Cayce) Cooking meat and vegetables in their own juices results not only in better flavoring for our taste buds, but also makes for an easily assimilated and more nutritious serving at mealtime. The loss of nutrients in the food is minimized, producing for our bodies a pure juice and effecting a better balance upon our system.
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Elaine Hruska is a therapist at the A.R.E. Houston Spa and former teacher at the Cayce/Reilly* School of Massotherapy. This article is reprinted with permission by Venture Inward Newsletter, Virginia Beach, VA.
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Good stuff! Has held up well to many uses, and food tastes great. Steaming times are a bit longer than you might expect so check the chart that comes with.