The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-12-24
THE ROSE AMONG ROOTS.
Without the Incompatible Onion
There Would BE No Castro
nomic Art

In The Feasts OF Autolycus' we have
this in praise Of the onion. THE secret
OF good cookery lies in the discreet and
sympathetic treatment of the onion For
what culinary masterpiece is there that
may not be improved by it? II gives Vi
vacity to soup, life to sauce; IL is the
poetic SOUL of the salad bowl; the touch
of romance in the weIl-cooked vegetable.
To it. sturdiest joint and i;ghtest stew.
crisp rissole and stimulating stuf.ing look
for inspiration and charm-aiti never are
they disappointed. But woes betide the
unwary woman who would approach 1t
for sacrilegious ends. II life holds moth
ing better than the oaion in the right
hand. it offers nothing sadder and more
degrading than the onion bruialixed-
Vide is the gulf fixed between the deli
cate sauce of Prince DE Soubise and the
coarse. unsavory sausage and onion mess
OF the strand"
In all the vegetable world there are per-
maps none SO unjustly maligned. so IN
fairly treated. or one that possesses so
many medicinal qualities as this embodi-
ment of gactronomic virtues. True the
unauthorized odor Is strong, penetrating,
and as in the case of our common onion.
scents the atmosphere even to rankness;
especially when used with unframed law
ishness. which exaggerates it's virtues
until they become - gravest IA
Do not attempt TO cultivate q liking for
the onion by beginning with the flavor
of garlic, the strongest OF the numerous
onion family. But train the taste as you
would the eye unaccustomed to briiliancy
in coloring. and lead up from the milder
species-such as the Spanish onion. which
may be likened to soft-toned gray. to the
wildly favored fovarite of Provence. The
spirit of the onion, which pervades the
atmosphere so pronouncedly. Is due to the
volatile oil. the sulphide OF aIiyi In
cooking the greater part Of this is driven
off; but there are other compounds. con-
tanning sulphur, which remain. so that
the quality, which is strong mediciu-
al agent, is not lost
The value OF all foods are very greatly
determined by their favor. The food may
contain sufficient amount of nutrients.
but if it possesses little or no flavor. it's
value as a common article OF food Is lost
organs of taste, when quite normal are
able to distinguish a great number of dif-
ferent fiavors. So sensitive are these or
gans that they almost invariably become
vitiated through constant Indulgence IN
highly seasoned cookery and injudicious
uses OF condiments and jiquant accessor-
les. 1t is just as possible TO cultivate to
a very fine degree these sensibilities as
it is 10 deaden them. and many favors
exceedingly distasteful TO an individual at
first become very pleasing after time.
When the food containing these favors
possesses dietetic value or the compound
which contains the flavor Is known to be
medicinal, the cultivation of the sensory
organs concerned in their appreciation
should be attended TO. In cultivating the
sense of taste one must not overlook the
fact that the sense of smell is almost in
separable from that CT taste. This is
made very apparent when the functions
Of the nose are suspended for a time.
Many of our so-called tastes are really
the appreciation of odors alone. and 9th
ers are combinations of both taste and
smell The food that is enjoyed with the
keenest relish is that which appeals to
both. Deprive meat OF its favoring prop
critics and It Will soon become so distaste-
IUl Nfldl IL VIII HddSrt Aht
ural flavor produced In yeast bread is
complex and very agreeable and for this
reason does not cause safety from It's
constant use.
The shallot for use In fav0ring sauces
and salads is favored more by those OF
very refined tastes. as IL gives a more
subtle and suggestive flavor and is much
less assertive than either the onion or
garlic But the onion served as a vege-
table dish is most excellent and no one
reed be the wiser IL you eat boiled onions
providing in the cooking you keep them
Just below the boiling point.
IN the use Of onions IN cooking there
seems 10 be two designs-to use II chiefly
as a seasoning; aad TO discover. by the
combination OF sromst tic ingredients and
other concomitants. WAYS and means to
serve II up as substantial savoTy dish
The cooked onion takes much higher
place re a vegetable than the raw.
The Onion as a Medicinal Agent
While IL is generally known that