Evening star., 1926-03-05
Vegetables and Greens
When Cooked at Their Best, They Are Given
Greater Importance on the Menu-Methods
Used to Obtain the Finest Results.

All vegetables should be thoroughly
cleaned just before being put on to
cook. Vegetables that form in heads,
such as cabbage. caulitiower and Brus-
sells sprouts, should he soaked, heads
turned down, in salted cold water, to
which a few spoonfuls of vinegar may
he added. Then, If there are any
worms or other forms of animal life
in the vegetables, these will crawl out.
When preparing vegetables for the
table there ia almost always q waste
OF good material caused by careless
pairing Thin pairing of potatoes and
other vegetables is an economy which
il Is worth while TO practice and is
an easy way of decreasing useless loss.
All green vegetables. roots ana
tuberS should be crisp and firm when
put on to cook. If for any reason a
vegetable has lost its tirmness ana
crispneSS 1t should be soaked in very
cold water until II becomes plump
and crisp again. With new vegetables
this will take only very few minutes,
hut old roots and tubers often require
several hours. White potatoes and
Jerusalem artichoke are classified as
tuhers. BeetS. carrots, parSnips. rad
iSheS, sweet potatoes, satisfy or oyster
plant and turnips belong TO the roots.
Garlic onions and ShallotS are bulbs.
Asparagus, celery and chives are
called stems. Under the name OF
leaves come Brussels sprouts. beet
greens. cabbageS, dandelions. lettuce,
sorrel. spinach and watercreSs.
To secure the best results all herba-
ceouS vegetables should boil rapidly
all the time They must be put in
boiling water, and the water must be
made to boil again as soon as possible
after the vegetables have been added
and must be kept boiling until the
cooking is finished. With tubers.
roots and caulitiower the boiling
should not be so violent as to break
the vegetables. All vegetables should
be thoroughly cooked. but the COOK
ing should stop while the vegetable
is still firm. This, of course, does not
apply to vegetables that are cooked In
soups, such as purees or thick strained
soups.
The best seasoning for most vege-
tables is salt and good butter. Vege-
tables that are blanched and then
cooked with butter and other season
ings and very little moisture are more
6aVory and nutritious than when all
the cooking is done in good deal OF
clear water. Blanching, which In
cookery is entirely different from the
bleaching or blanching OF green vege-
process often used with vegetables,
since it removes the strong or acrid
taste and improves the quality. 1t Is
also convenient, since blanching may
be done at any time, and the COOKING
completed in very short time, when
the dish is to be served
Have a large stewpan half full of
rapidly boiling water. Add table
spoonful of salt. for every two quarts
of water. Have the vegetables clean
ed and well drained. Drop them into
The boiling water and bring the wa
ter back to the boiling point as quick
" as possible. Boil rapidly, with the
cover partially or wholly OF the stew
pan, ) to 20 minutes, depending upon
the vegetable, then drain off the wa
ter. If the cooking of the vegeta-
hle Is not to be finished at once,
pour cold water over the vegeta-
hle to cool it quickly, then drain
and set aside until needed. If the
cooking is to be continued at once,
it will not be necessary to rinse the
vegetable with cold water. To COM
plete the cooking, the vegetable should
be put in a small stewpan with but
ter or drippings and the other sea-
soningS and cooked gently until done
A few spoonfuls of liquid will be
required for every quart of very
juicy vegetables, and half pint OF
LIQUID for vegetables more dry. The
stewpan must be covered. only
slight opening being left for ventila-
ton. All vegetables cooked in this
manner should be cut up rather small
either before or after the blanching.
Hale, Spinach, Beet Greens.
There are several varieties of kale.
The dwarf, green-curled kale is the
best for the table and is a FAN and
Spring vegetable. To serve minced
kale. removed all the old or tough
leaves Wash the kale thoroughly
and drain. then put on to cook in a
Kettle of boiling water to which
has been added salt in the pro-
NORTON of one tablespoon to four