The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1914-05-21

eah srr.Hg far ~ least SIS years snd
nfahahly macb Eengef. THE hnWfrf
atsrart hsck and fires IA N,ch raniawrs
tAst a Gsld n j; j. asually hBmuinR
ssh insecia ~ . honey plant, there
fw. the pde onaerres thc attention
4 tsffrfpcrt-
Tso.grgving IL bot yet sufficiently
etrrrai lu thiE country for the most
s.fs peaa.fe mesho8s "a cultlyhilmg -
haes been worked 0ui. and conA tiuns
= Amfrca are 10 different from il.ese
s. Ianaa that little benefit can b. IL
fgfd from the experience 81 Oriental
groacrs II ia. houevcr. reasonable
s. assume that ths cultivation n tie
asa pressntg few difficulties II Is
sdsptea 20 o wide range u climate. ~
r shown b. the faet that a grows OFF
over Japan, hut 10 part u Japan sui
fegg from drought In this country
~ go has done best in moist re-
gions n particular IN New England,
10 Atlantic States as far south as
fbs Carulinas, IL The rainy region q
p,tgft Sound. and in the trucking sec.
,ions o. California.
Where greenhouses or cold frames
are available. the seed should De
PLANTED IL March or April. one-fourth
"a an inch deep IN soii that consists
n equal parts 81 loan, mold and sand,
A. soon as the plants are or I IN
ehes high, they can BE- planted out in
~ ground or ported and SET out later
rboyeaf,er the udo needs little atten-
tian ia roots spread with exraordin-
AIRY rapidly through loose rieh SOIL
40 Is not recommended for poor, dry
and and the crowns soon become at
Ieas, ! foot across Three and half
az -FOUR feet Is therefore not too great
= distance 10 allow between plants.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty con
nested with the cultivation Of the udo
\ he blanching Of the shoots. II Is
these that are regarded as the real
delieacy, for the flavor Of the stems
when green has q certain rankness
which Is unpleasant TO most palates.
Various methods of blanching the
early shoots have therefore been ex-
nerimented with. In California ex-
cellent results have been obtained by
mounding up the earth in the early
spring over each plant much as is
done with asparagus. Elsewhere,
however, the late frosts make the soil
too cold and the shoots are slow in
coming through.
Another method Is to put large
drain tile, with one end closed, over
each Hill before the spring growth
starts. The shoots which come up in
side the tile are well blanched but
they show a tendency to produce a
number Of unopened leafstalks which
take away from the robust growth of
the shoots. TO obviate this, casks or
boxes filed with light material such
is sand or sifted coal ashes have been
tried with considerable success. In
any case great care must be taken not
to permit the shoots to break through
into the sunlight. If they succeed in
this, they at once become green and
their flavor rank Shoots can be cut
when only six inches long, but is bet
ter 70 let them grow TO ~ or 10
inches.
In the cooking of udo there is still
abundant room for innovators. In
al experiments, however, one thing
must be remembered. When raw, the
stems contain a resinOus substance
which gives them a decided, and to
many persons unpleasant, taste OF
pine. It is, however, easy to elimln-
ate this by soaking thin slices of the
stems in ice-cold water for an hour or
two, or by boiling them in two or three
waters. as is often done with strong
favored vegetables. The author of the
/ Bulletin, who has been experimenting
/ for eight years with udo on his Mary
| land farm, suggests the three follow
T ing recipes as samples Of what can be
done with the vegetable.
lido on Toast
Peal the shoots and drop them into
cold water. Cut them into 4-ineh
lengths Boil them in salt water for
Ito minutes, then change, the water
adding fresh quantity of salted wat
I err and boiling until quite soft. Pre-
pare white sauce, such as is used for
lcaulihower or asparagus, put the udo
/ in il, and allow it to simmer until
thoroughly soft. Serve on toast in the
usual way. If there is too much OF
/ the pine flavor, as there may be if the
shoots are not thoroughly blanched,
second change of water will remedy
/ this
lido Salad
Peel the shoots, cut them into 3
/ inch lengths, and then split them into
thin shavings, letting these fall into
ice water as they are made. Allow
them to soak in the water for a half
hour or an hour, so as TO remove the
resinous material in them. Serve with
French dressing of pepper, salt, oil,
and vinegar. DO not dress the shaw
/ ings until just before serving, as they
become stringy on standing in oil.
lido Soup
Remove the skin from the shoots,
Cut in pieces one-half inch long and
wash thoroughly in cold water. Cook
until tender and mash thorough Q
eolander. Add a pint and a half OF
milk, one-half pint Of cream, two
t tablespoonfuls of butter, and one
tablespoonful of -four, mixing the flour
and butter until smooth. Season with
pepper and salt, (Recipe for one
bunch Of udo; enough for iiye per
/ sons.)
Just how popular the udo will be
come, is not predicted. II is desirable
however, that amateurs experiment
with it for it is not at all impossible
that udo prove valuable addition tC
our table vegetables.