The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-06-29
ARE DAYS
FOR BY
VEGETABLES

IT all the housewives Of the country
north, south. east and west-could
get together and exchange secrets Of
domestic economics and %fruealitjes
the high cost Of living would cease TO
be a bugaboo. especially so far as food
is concerned, says the Kansas CITY
Star. Each section of the country, and
particularly New England and the
south. has familiar working knowl-
edge OF certain recipes and formulate
OF the kitchen, the cellar and the pam
try that end not only to circumvent
the trusts; but add variety and quality
to the dishes served at table. Virginia
Is famous for it's hams. California for
its dried fruits. Louisville for it's sauc-
es n condiments. Vermont for its
maple e n the North Atlantic
states for their salt and smoked Ash
all because of the thrift of past gen
%crations of housekeepers.
Ii trouble is, the domestic arts Of
earh section are handed down as all
kncWledge was in the times before the
making Of books. by word Of mouth
from mother to daughter. from gen
Grafton to generation. and remain al
mo entirely local. 1t seems absurd
that New England should have no
knowledge Of good cornbred. but 1t is
a fact. If the south and west knew
half as much as New England does
about preserving and cooking fish.
there q he ten times as much of
mat cheap and nourshing food eaten.
And as Tor hot biscuit--not to mention
the leaten variety-New York never
saw a real. eatable hot biscuit except
WIN some transplanted ]southerner or
Westerner, like Martha McCullocn
w jIIl2 ms Cl I've a a~;xo& l--,--4..
ton of culinary delights for the sdi-
fcation of a few friends.
Canning Green Vegetables.
New E%ngland's horror of e~xtrava-
sance and waste finds its best express
sicA in the Ingenuity Of New EEe-
lano housewives in putting to some
use all fo"dstuffs that come their way.
And right o is the season wnen
they ar" proving their skill in laying
y a store of green vegetables for a
rainy. or chilly. day. The work of can
nirg n preserving in western and
southern kitchens usually is limited
to putting up fruits, chow-chow. pfc
calfly and occasionally a few Jars Of
watermelon sweet. pickles. The New
England woman cans. dries or salts
down all of the surplus products of
the vegetable garden, thereby avoid
ing big bills for high priced factory
PiDhuSlS Wien fresh vegetables are
out of season and providing for home
use in winter foods of a much sumo
rior quality.
How Greens Are "Put Up"
The preserving activities up north
begin. early in spring. and the first
vegetable put up is common dandelion
and mustard greens. The children of
every rural community. absorbing the
doctrine OF thrift early. devote them
selves to gathering greens n ped
ding them to their mothers and aunts
and neighhors. In preserving the
Greens for winter use. the method is
precisely n same as hat for max
ing that grand old German dish, sau-
erkraut. The green's are washed and
packed in crockery jars or wooden
kegs. a layer of green covered with a
layer OF salt, and the process repeated
until the receptacle Is filled. A cover
small enough to fit inside the jar or
key is placed On the tightly packed
greens and a heavy stone or other
weight laid on that. It's a very simple
task. quickly disposed Of, but 1t is
amazing how good a mess of those
greens, soaked thoroughly in water
and boiled with a ham hook or bacon.
taste about February l..
Green beans and green corn. shaved
from the cob. are packed in the same
way. ana nave a naVOr and q fresh
ness in midwinter that no canned stuff
ever approached. Kraut. too, is not to
be despised. and the cabbage used for
packing in layers with salt needs no
preparation other than to be shaved
from the head. Every New England
housewife sets out" to use all of the
surplus cucumbers raised in the gar
den, by making pickles sweet, sour
and dill-at about the time she is
chopping up green tomatoes and pep
pers for the choW-chow.
Okra is a southern vegetable, but it's
value is appreciated in the north,
principally for use in soups. For that
purpose the pods are tut into thin
slices. dried thoroughly and packed
away for use as required in the
months or years to come. And that
same simple method Of preserving is
used for mushrooms in rural COM
munities where they are found in
quantities In their brief season Of pro-
duction. Mushrooms. sliced and
dried. will almost their orig
inal freshness and brittleness after be-
ing soaked in water a few hours. Tons
Of delicate morelle go to waste every
spring in country districts Of the mid
die west. when they might be preserv-
ed and give welcome variety to many
n menu where pork chops and pota-
toes have palled.