Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-08-09
DOMESTIC SCIENCE
AND HOME HINTS RELATING TO
USE OF VEGETABLES.

ANU TUNE t1INt = nGIAttNS ~
USE OF VEGETABLES.
By Emma {. Sickles. Secretary Of the National
Domestic Science Association, in the "Puri.
tan" for July.
Examine carefully to remove all in
sects and foreign matter from all vege.
tables. Wash thoroughly with an
abundance of water in a colander, and
put into a small quantity Of boiling
salted water. Leaves have SO large a
proportion of water that they require
the addition OF but little water. Cover
tightly and cook in their own steam
for one or two hours, according to size
OF leaf. If too much water is added,
the mineral salts are lost.
In some plants the stalks are eaten,
as the pieplant, or rhubarb, celery,
and asparagus. The asparagus should
be young and tender, before the woody
fiber has developed. Our kitchen la
boratories are not yet furnished with
the utensils and simplifed means of
making these fibers edible.
Vegetables whose stalks are eaten
should be cut into inch pieces and
boiled rapidly, putting on in boiling
salted water. Cook for half or three
quarters Of an hour.
Every part Of the celery should he
used for the table. The green leaves
and the hard end at bottom of stalk
should be thoroughly washed and
dried on an earthen dish in the warm
ing oven or in the sun. When dry,
tie them tightly in a paper Dag and
hang them away for use in seasoning
soups, gravies, and meats. The dried
leaves will crumble to fine powder
between the hands. The dried celery
root will also give fine flavor by be-
ing boiled in the soup before the soup
is strained. The inside tender stalk
Of celery after being thoroughly
washed and picked over can be used in
many ways as relish or in salad.
Vegetables and fruits contain the
mineral salts which regulate the action
Of the starch or heat foods, and of the
albuminous or structure foods. These
mineral salts also give firmness and
durability to the structure, and aid in
the solution blending (or digestion) OF
the other foods.
It is therefore necessary to eat
fruits and vegetables, especially in hot
weather and in climates where vigo-
rous exercise is difficult. We find
that nature has provided the most
plentiful supply Of vegetables and
fruits in the hot climates.
In cooking vegetables a knowledge
of their composetion furnishes guide.
The majority of them are composed Of
from forty TO eighty per cent Of water.
The remainder consists of . varying
amount Of woody fiber, starch, . small
quantity OF albumen or protein, . lit
tie oil or fat. and mineral salts. The
woody fiber is changed into starch or
sugar. in the ripened fruit or vegets-
BILE, in natures laboratory, by the &C.
ton Of weak acids.
In the glucose manufacture starch
is changed into sugar by the same
means, and the kitchen can be made .
laboratory where many foods which
are naturally indigestible (or are indi-
gestible ii improperly cooked or COM
bined with other materially may be
made wholesome food, capable OF be-
ing changed into good blood.
In some vegetable, the leaves are
the edible portions; dandelions,
spinach, water cress, cabbage. and let
tuce. In the use Of the leaves especial
care is needed in removing insects and
the finely pulverized dust Of the air
which penetrates every fold. l am
sorry to say that the general negli-
gence in this respect has caused objec-
ton to be made by some of our lead
ing food specialists, to tbe>uss of
salads and greens. The fault does not
lie in the plants themselves but in the
manner of their use, and shows the
necessity for the more thorough edu-
cation of cooks and housskeepers.
Corn is good as food in all its stages
of ripening. Sweet.corn on the cob is
especially wholesome. The milk con-
tains much nourishment. Carefully
remove the husk and silk; rub off the
silk with damp cloth; put the ears
into boiling salted water. and cook for
fifteen or twenty minutes, according
to the size OF the kennels.
To bake corn. take off the husks,
tearing as little as possible. Remove
the silks from the husks and from the
ears OF corn. Place the ears again in
the husks. Tie together at the top
and bake in hot ashes or in the oven.
Largest Vessel in the World.
The new White Star steamer Celtic
last week started upon her first trip