Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-27
Table and Kitchen.
Without the Incompatible Onion There
Would Be No Gastronomic Art.

Would Be No Gastronomic Art.
In 1.-The Feasts of Autolycus' we have
this in praise of the onion: 1.-The secret of
good cookery lies in the discreet and SYM
pathetic treatment Of the onion. For what
culinary masterpiece is there that may not
be improved by it? 1t gives vivacity to
soup life to sauce; it is the poetic soul
of the salad bowl; the touch of romance in
the well-cooked vegetable. To it, sturdiest
joint and lightest stew, crisp rissole and
stimulating stuffing look for inspiration and
charm-and never are they disappointed.
But woe betide the unwary woman who
would approach it for sacrilegious ends.
If life holds nothing better than the onion
in the right hand, it offers nothing sadder
and more degrading than the onion brutal
lied. Wide is the gulf fixed between the
delicate sauce of a Prince de Soubise, and
the coarse unsavory sausage and onion
mess of the strand.
In all the vegetable world there are per-
haps none so unjustly maligned, so unfairly
treated, or one that possesses so many
medicinal qualities as this embodiment of
gaStronomic virtues. True the unadulterat-
ed odor is strong, penetrating, and as in
the case of our common onion, scents the
atmosphere even to rankness; especially
when used with unframed lavishness, which
eXaggerateS it's virtues until they become
its gravest faults.
Do not attempt to cultivate a 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 brillancy in COL
orlng, and lead up from the milder species
such as the Spanish onion, which may be
likened to soft-toned gray, to the wildly
favored favorite of Provence The spirit of
the onion, which pervades the atmosphere
so pronouncedly, is due to the volatile oil
the suiphide of allyl. In cooking, the great
er part OF this is driven off; but there are
other compounds containing sulphur which
remain, so that the quality, which is
strong medicinal agent, is not lost
The value of all foods is very greatly de-
termlfed by their flavor. The food may
contain sufficient amount of nutrients but
if it possesses little or no flavor its value as
a common article of food is lost. Organs of
taste, when quite normal, are able to dis
tlngulsn a great number of different fla
VorS. So sensitive are these organs that
they almost invariably become vtiated
through constant indulgence in highly sea-
soned cookery and injudicious uses of con-
dlments and piquant accessories. 1t is just
as possible to cultivate to a very fine de-
gree these SensibilitieS as it is to deaden
them, and many fiavors exceedingly dis
tasteful to an individual at first become
very pleasant after time. When the food
containing these f1avorS possesses dietetic
value or the compound which contains the
flavor is known to be medicinal, the cult
walton of the sensory organs concerned in
In cultivating the sense of taste one must
not overlook the fact that the sense of
smell is almost inseparable from that of
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
others 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 it's f1avoring proper
ties and it will soon become so distasteful
that it will produce nausea. The natural
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 favoring sauces
and salads is favored more by those of very
refined tastes, as it gives more subtle and
suggestive flavor and is much less assertive
| than either the onion or garlic. But the
onion served as vegetable dish is most ex-
cellent, and no one need be the wiser If you
eat boiled onions, providing in the cooking
you keep them just below the boiling point.
In the use of onions in cooking there
seem to be two designs-to use them chiefly
as a seasoning, and to discover, by the
combination of aromatic ingredients and
other concomitants, ways and means to
serve them up as a substantial savory dish
| The cooked onion takes a much higher
place as vegetable than the raw.
The Onion as Medicinal Agent.
While it is generally known that a
! it may not be so well known that it is
| valuable in chronic bronchitis, it acts as
| an expectorant relieving the tubes, when
eaten quite freely, as much as would any
official preparation The uncooked onion.
| cut fine and eaten Immediately, is still
! more powerful, but is apt to irritate a deli
cate stomach The raw onion is rather diff
| fcult to dissolve and the oil acts as an irri-
| tant The following remedy has been tried
with success in grave cases Of capillary
| bronchitis affecting children: Cut up two
| or three large onions as fine as possible in
| order to do the work rapidly; place in a
| thin, soft muslin bag and lay on the chest
cover with folded towel and bandage in
position. 1t may be allowed to remain for
several hours. The patient inhales great
part of the sulphide of allyl and the skin
absorbs a certain amount, and under the
| influence Of this powerful drug the patient
will fall asleep the expectorations become
| freer, the breathing easier, the skin moist
/ with perspiration, the temperature falls
! and the danger is overcome. In preparing
raw onions for use dietetically they must
, not be allowed to stand after they are cut
| as they are great absorbentS and also
/ quickly yield their peculiar oils, thus
! losing strength and also furnishing posi-
BILE agents for transferring disease germs
| An old-fashioned remedy for earache is
| well worth remembering when one has the
| care of little children, as few drops OF
| the juice of roasted onion will instantly
| relieve the pain, according to good author
| ity, as the sufferer invariably falls into a