Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-05-03
CHINESE VEGETABLES.
ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE
or THE cAUcASIANS.
In Fact the celestiaIs Do Not Care for Any
OF Our Vegetables With the Exception
OF ceIery...Amercans Should Adopt
Some OF Theirs

Some OF Theirs.
A thorough investigation Of the food
| and vegetables offered for sale in Chi
natown. San Francisco, Is being made
by Prof. Walter Blasdale of the chem
istry department of the University of
California, and undoubtedly many Of
the vegetables can also he obtained i'm
the Chinese quarters at New York.
They form "a remarkable collection, en-
tirely different from that of Caucas-
ians. In fact, the Chinese do not care
at all for our vegetables with the ex-
ception, perhaps, of celery. Many of
their common vegetables would form
an agreeable addition TO our own tables
as they possess qualities of flavor and
nutrition which, in many cases. are
equal to any of the vegetables so COM
mon with us. ''Po kua" which is used
Gus pulp and as a food. 1t is Il long
gOurd-like vegetable measuring when
mature about "A inches and is yellow
ish green in color and contains guam
titles OF sugar and starch and is high
ly nutritious. but Is inferior in flavor
to the delicate qualities which make
the squash desirable vegetable. The
young green and hairy fruit Of the
''zit kwa" is kind of melon growing
on vine and is boiled and seasoned
like squash The interior is made up
Of white, solid flesh, set with rows of
white seeds. When mature. says the
San Francisco Chronicle from which
we derive our information, these vege-
tables weigh thirty pounds, and are
covered with an exudate which hard
ems to white wax. The hairs disap-
pear, and the surface Is perfectly
smooth. This product Is used by the
Chinese for making CONNECTION, and
in this form has taste and favor as
agreeable as many of the glazed fruits.
The ''chu ko'' is something like an or
binary potato in starchy content and
nutritive value, but in appearance re-
sembles the beet. 1t is the most COM
mon and valuable of cultivated root
crops among the Chinese, as it holds
among them about the same place as
does the potato with us. Analysis
shows it to be dietary article far SUI
perior to the potato. 1t has flavor
Enthusiastically Chinese and would
probably not be esteemed by us. The
root yields excellent starch, and is
largely employed by the Chinese in
making that commodity. 1t Is grown
on swampy land. The "taro" some
IL ~ ns,t nfa
BILE. 1t is also grown i'm the Hawaiian
Islands. 1t resembles an ordinary red
beet whose consistency is that Of
sweet potato. 1t has found favor with
many American families and their
purchase of the bulb comprises no in
considerable part of its sale. 1t can
also be used as an ornamental aquatic
plant the roots being easily started. An
extraordinary thing, which has been
noticed, is that nearly all of the vege-
tables OF Chinese origin have n consid-
cradle proportion Of manganese. Prof.
BIasdaie has found that the green col
or characteristic of manganese was al
ways present in greater or less de-
gree upon igniting the ash of the Chin
csc vegetables. The water chestnut or
ma hal" shows the largest quantity.
This Is well known food in Chinese
quarters. 1t has a sweet chestnut flaw
or and is juicy and watery in consist
ency. 1t has thick tough brown out
err skin. Within it is white, and when
grated yields quantities of starch. 1t
is eaten either raw or boiled. 1t does
not resemble the chestnut in any sense,
oeing a little bulb, and growing at the
bottom of n collection of long, marsh
grass stems. A considerable proper
ton of Chinese vegetables are pro-
luced from swamps.
The lily bulb called by the Chinese
"pak hop finds large sale, the price
ranging from 10 to 20 cents. They, are
sold green and dry and are regarded as
delicacy. The seeds of the lotus
which grow largely in china are roast
ed and ground. They are then made
into bread and are used largely in soup.
They are eaten raw, boiled or roasted
and are sold in great quantities in
Chinatown, two varieties of them be-
ing obtainable The Chinese also eat
varieties Of sweet potatoes which are
almost like those grown in this coun-
try. The fan ko" or yam bean grow
upon a fibrous vine which runs along
beneath the surface of the ground.
They are covered with a thick yellow
stringy bark which peels off and leaves
a white fleshy interior, firm and sweet
to the taste. Above the ground the
vine bears rounded leaves and white
flowers, bulbs or beans containing
large quantities of starch and cane
sugar, and have sweet insipid flavor,
but are nutritious. The most poison
Gus vegetable which the Chinese eat Is
'ginseng" which contains hydrocyanic
acid. 1t is rich in starch and nearly
all the proteins Is true albuminoid, and
1t contains large quantities Of both
cane and sugar. The roots are about
20 inches long, inches thick, and
weigh about / II pounds. They taper
at both ends and are curved with gray
bark. The flesh is white and sweet
and Is traversed by bundles. 1t is
very starchy and is used largely by
the Chinese as source OF starch
which they make into n kind of tapi-
oca.
Beans are the great standby Of the
Chinese and the "soy bean" is the
most important. There are a vast
variety of other beans and they are
boiled baked, made into soup, and are
even made into n bear cheese. In