Evening star., 1923-07-29
New Foods Produced by Worldwide
Search for Fruits and Vegeta les

NCLE SANS agricultural ex-
plorers have for years been
seeking in the farthermost
corners of the earth for novel
and dainty foods. not only to tempt
the palate of those who are weary of
put to use soil heretofore idle and
thereby reduce the cost of living. Sue
cess has crowned their efforts. and
new vegetables and fruits are a real
ity in many places and soon will be-
come as common as the now familiar
ones.
New things to eat at the rate Of a
dozen a day are being entered on the
list of arrivals at the bureau OF plant
industry These new things come
from all parts of the world. by mail,
express and freight-foods which peo-
pie of other countries find good. but of
which we are ignorant.
The men who are travelling afar to
obtain these foods are doing in a sci
entific way what has been done hap
hazard since the first white man land
ed in America. If we depended on
the plants which were originally ma
tive to this country we would prob
ably be living principally on corn,
pumpkins and potatoes. We would be
without most OF our common vege-
tables and almost all our fruits.
1t seems harder to vary the winter
vegetable menu than the summer and
a new vegetable for this season can
not help but become popular. The
chayote, known in New Orleans
among the Creoles as mirliton, has
been brought to US from Mexico and
the West Indies and is already very
familiar to people in the south, and
is finding it's way to northern and
western markets. Though shipped as
early as October, its keeping quail
titles make 1t seasonable as late as
march. This green, pear shaped vege-
table has a texture like squash and
flavor resembling a cucumber and has
many possibilities. 1t may be used
for soup, stuffed, SteWed, fried. made
into fritters. lyonnaised, baked and
makes an excellent salad served with
either French or mayonnaise Dress
ing.
4
ITO the epicure the bur articf ok e. is
i no novelty, for this vegetable
has long been imported from south
ern Europe. but It is now avail
able for those of slender purses, as
1t is grown in quantities in Califor-
mia and the south. The business of
shipping to eastern and northern
markets has grown to such an extent
that they may be bought in all large
cities. This vegetable belongs to the
same big family which includes tine
dandelion. sunf!ower and Scotch this
tie. In fact. when growing it resem-
bles giant thistle.
The body of the artichoke is formed
of fleshy. overlapping leaves cluster
ed closely around a heart that is not
unlike the core of a cabbage in form.
1t has long been a staple in the
French markets of New Orleans and
much sought by the fat. turbaned ne
gro cooks, who are quick to know
good thing connected with food,
and are past mistresses in the art of
using 1t. The possibilities of using
this vegetable are limited only by the
ingenuity of the cook, for they are good
stuffed. creamed, made into soup, salad,
used as an omelet filling or combined
with scrambled eggs
The traveller in Japan is familiar
with an attractive blanched vege-
table called udo, for it is a staple
vegetable in that country. Indeed,
wherever Japanese foods are sold in
this country one may buy 1t canned
for 1t is imported for the thousands
of Japanese who live here. 1t has been
found to grow in a wide area in the
United States. The Japanese cook and
serve 1t as we do asparagus and its
white shoots are edible to the very
bases without the least Objectionable
fber-not like asparagus, with only