Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-28
CHINESE VEGETABLES
APPEAR To BE VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THOSE WE EAT.
some of Them Would Form an Agree
able Addition to Our own
Food supply.

From the San Francisco Chronicle.
| A thorough investigation of the food
| and vegetables offered for sale in China
| town. San Francisco. is being made by Prof
| waiter Blasdale of the chemistry depart-
! nent of the University of California, and
| Undoubtedly many of the vegetables can
| also be obtained in the Chinese ouar,ers
| at New York. They form a remarkable
collection, entirely different from that OF
Caucasians. 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 Ia
oies' as they possess qualities of flavor and
nutrition which. in many cases are eouaI
| TO any OF the vegetables SO common with
| us Po kua-" which is used for cooking,
IS grown both for its fibrous pulp and as a
| LOU. IL Is a long, gourd-lke vegetable,
| siedSurlns when mature about twsutv-
| TOUR inches, and is yellowish green in color
| at9 contains quantities of sugar and starch
d di,u Is nghly nutritious. but is inferior in
| mayor to the delicate qualities which make
| me squash desirable vegetable
| me me young green and hairy fruit Of the
Fl, III kwa is kind of melon growing on a
vine and is boiled and seasoned like n
| squash The interior is mad, up of a white
| solid flesh, set with rows of white. seeds
| w men mature these vegetables weigh thirty
| pounds. and are covered with an exudats
| winch hardens to white wax The hairs
| disappear and the surface is perfectly
| smooth This product is used by the Chi
49, f,eSe tor making confection. and in this
| FORM mas taste and flavor as agreeable as
| many of the glazed fruits The .chu ko'' 10
/ something like an ordinary potato In
starchy content and nutritive value but In
| appearance resembles the beet. It is the
| most common and valuable of cultivated
| root crops among the Chinese as ii holds
| among them about the same place as does
| the potato with us. Analysis shows IL to b.,
| a dietary article far superior to the potato
! 1t has flavor Enthusiastically Chinese
ana would probably not be esteemed by u.s.
| The root Yields excellent starch and ia
| largely employed by the Chinese In making
| land.
The "taro" somewhat resembles the last
| named vegetable. 1t is also grown in the
| hawaiian Islands. 1t resembles an ordi-
| nary red beet whose consistency is that of
a sweet potato. 1t has found favor with
| many American families. and their pur-
| chase Of the bulb comprises no inconsider-
| able part of its sale. 1t can also be used
as an ornamental aquatic plant, the roots
| Delng easily started.
! An extraordinary thing which has been
noticed is that nearly all of the vegetables
| OF Chinese origin have a considerable. r,ro-
portion of manganese. Prof Blasdale has
| round that the green color charact eristi,,
| OF manganese was always present in A
greater or less degree upon ignitfng the ash
OF the Chinese vegetables. The water
chestnut, ma hal shows the Ia rpasr
| quantity. This is a well-known food I'm
Chinese quarters. 1t has a sweet chestnut
| iaNor and is juicy and watery in consis-
tency. II has thick tough. brown outer
| SKIN. Within it is white and when grated
| EleIds quantities of starch. 1t is eaten
either raw or boiled. II does not resemb1a
the chestnut in any sense, being a little
pn1b and growing at the bottom of a COL
lection of long marsh grass stems A con-
| siderable proportion Of Chinese vegetables
| are produced from swamps
| ne my bulb called by the Chinese ''pak
q "a sol. H.,
| from 10 to 20 cents. They are sold green
ana dry. and are regarded as a delicacv.
ne seeds of the lotus which grow largely
| IN China, are roasted and ground Tn,
| are then made into bread and are nsaI
| largely in soup. They are eaten raw, boiled
| or roasted, and are sold in great Quantities
| obtainable '4hS
The Chinese also eat varieties of sweat
| potatoes which are almost like those grown
IN this country. The ''fan ko." or YAM
oeah. grows upon fibrous vine which runs
along beneath the surface of the ground
! Ihey are covered with thick yelIow
| stringy bark which peels off and leaves a
| Whlte heshy Interior, firm and sweet to tha
| taste ABOVE the ground the vine hears
| rounded leaves and white flowers h,,ihs -.
beans containing large quantities of starch
| ana cane sugar, and have a sweet insinid
| flavor, but are nutritious P'u
| The most poisonous vegetable which +bo
| Chtnese eat Is ''ginseng" which contains
hydrocyanic acid. 1t is rich in starch and
nearly all the protefrs, is true aIbuminoid,
| ana II contains large quantities of hotb ca-1
| and reducing sugar The roots are .ba,e
| twenty inches long, four inches thick and
| weigh about one and a half pounds tn,
tapEr az po1n ENDS and are curved with gray
| Dark Inc flesh is white and sweet and ia
| uraNersed by bundles. 1t is very starcbI,
and Is used largely by the Chinese as y
source OF starch, which they make into a
| Kind of tapioca.
Beans are the great standby of the Chi
| hese, and the SOY beam is the most IN,
| portdhl- Inere are vast variety of other
Deans and they are boiled. baked. made into
| soup ana are even made into a bean
| cheese. In preparing this cheese the hea,,s
| are soaked in water for thfrty-six ho,Irs
Ihey are then reduced to a paste and Tho
mss cooked This is strained through a
| oodiSe cloth, thereby making a white fluid
much resembling milk and having some of
| us CHARACTERISTICS. A crude salt is added
~hlch coagulates and precipitates the nro,
| TEN material in this fluid and Tho ,1as-
| resulting is kneaded into small souara
cakes SO common in the Chinese gro-
| ceres sauce is also made of the heapa
f H. kiiia OF maearoni. looking very much
IKE old-time yellow taffy. Most of The
| Deans are sprouted or terminated and are
| eateH as green vegetables. and in nearly all
oninese groceries may be seen bucketfuIs
Vi sprouted beans, the young plants curling
| around the kernel. They have been sooLaS
| IN water until the huls were softcned and
| the growth started. '-1
| Watermelon seeds are aIso oo,,,
| eaten. and for the variety chiefly usa9 tta1,
are boiled for thirty-six hours before tbsy
| are mt to eat Purslane is extensively, rsa1
as pot herb. and ginger, both the roots
ana stalks, are eaten in great quantities. az
| are aiso several varieties of bamboo shoots-
Many of the products are imported from,
| emma, but most of them are now grown
along the banks of the Sacramento and
| are brought every morning 10 the grocer-
les in the Chinese quarters of San Fran.
| cisco. "ii-
|
Engiand's Great Black Army.
/ From Iondon