The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-07-16
Honlernakers' Column
Edited by Miss Mildred Barton, Home
Demonstration Agent, Oakland
Cooking Summer Vegetables

SOOhAIiR OuItlAuCH NCBCtoOiCO
At this time of year there is every
reason for doing as little cooking as
possible. Not only to keep cool and
save fuel does the houskeeper avoid
the stove as much as she can, but the
summer fruits and many of the veg
etables encourage her to do so. The
seasons crop of berries, peaches, mel
ons and pears are an invitation to use
these luscious fresh fruits for des-
serts, while the radishes, lettuce, on
ions celery, cucumbers, tomatoes and
many other of the gardens choice pro-
ducts speak up, as it were, for a
place on the salad plate.
But there are always some vegeta-
bles to cook, of course-asparagus,
beets, beans, peas, chard, cauliflower,
kohlrabi, okra, eggplant, kale, beet
tops and mustard are some we do not
use uncooked, while cabbage, carrots,
celery and some of the greens are
used both raw and cooked. A good
summertime dinner will offer as a
rule two or three cooked vegetables.
And vegetables can be cooked in such
a way as to retain their characteristic
flavor, attractiveness and food value,
or they can be cooked to common
level of tastelessnesss. with much of
their food value gone. The cook must
know how to do it right.
Boiling is the most common as we'll
as, for many vegetables, the favorite
method of cooking them. Taken off
the stove just when tender and served
hot with melted butter or other fat,
salt and pepper, such vegetables as
asparagus, new potatoes, beans, peas,
cabbage greens, carrots, okra and pars-
nips are at their best this way. But
Dreaming" is another favorite way to
serve almost any vegetable.
The most important factors are
cooking time and the quantity of water
contained in or added to the veget-
able. With tender cabbage and the
greens, no water except what clings
to the leaves after washing, plus the
water in the leaves themselves, is
necessary or desirable, because the
object is to have no more liquid after
cooking than will be served as juice
in the dish with the vegetables. This
juice should be served because in it are
dissolved important feed values which
should not be lost. And the cooking
time should be too short to permit
much cooking down." Root vegeta-
bles need a longer cooking time than
cabbage and green's. They are cooked
in more water-though not too much.
Most of them contain a good deal of
starch. Onions, with little starch, have
a tough skin on each layer or ring.
Beets are fibrous and solid and need
more cooking time than the green
vegetables. Potatoes need more time
partly because of their size, partly be-
cause there is so much starch to cook.
When it comes to peas and lima
beans, which are shelled for cooking,
again more time is needed because the
outer coat of the seed needs soften
ing, and most people do not like raw
taste in the starch of the kernel. This
is true also of corn, whether cooked on
the cob or cut off. Water is added in
cooking these vegetables, of course, but
again, not too much, though cooking
corn on the cob is an exception to this
rule because it's juice does not escape
and plenty of water is needed to heat
the corn thoroughly.
Baking retains more of the food
value and flavor than other methods of
cooking and is used especially for po-
tatoes, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes
and onions. These vegetables contain
enough water to form steam and keep
the vegetables moist. and the skin
holds in the steam. For these and other
vegetables, however, a baking dish
with close-ftting lid serves much the
same purpose as the skin. In this
case the cover should he removed at
the end of the cooking period to let the
last of the steam evaporate and allow
the vegetable to brown little. A
moderate oven is best for baking
most potatoes, either in the skin or a
baking dish.
So far as retaining food value is
concerned, steaming is next best to
baking, and is good way to cook car
rots, squash, beets. parsnips, wax
beans and many others-but not green
leafy vegetables. Nor should any fresh
vegetables be cooked jim a pressure
. cooker, because this method destroys
vitamin values and causes undesirable
changes in color, flavor and texture.
Planning is one Of the best ways to
cook cabbage, kale and various other
greens. The vegetable is cut in small
pieces and cooked in a fiat, covered pan
on top of the stove, with little fat
in the pan to prevent sticking. The