The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1938-12-01
Homennakers' Column
Edited by Miss Mildred Barton, Home
Demonstration Agent, Oakland
COUSINS TO THE CABBAGE

Mark Twain's comment about cauli-
fower-"Nothing but cabbage with a
college education also apply to
some of the other cousins of cabbage
Brussels sprouts, bhoccoli, kale,
Chinese cabbage, etc. However, some
of these have more education than
others!
Some forms of the cabbage have
more vitamin c than others, but all
rate as excellent" sources Of that Wit
amin which must be supplied daily be-
cause it cannot be stored in the body.
All the green cabbage cousins are rich
in vitamin A and in calcium and iron.
The greener the leafy vegetables the
more vitamin A, calcium and iron it
is likely to contain. The leaves of broc-
coli are one of the very richest veget-
able sources of vitamin A, the flowers
are excellent and even the steams Of
broccoli have more of this vitamin
than most vegetables. Kale and the
greener forms of Chinese cabbage also
| furnish much A, vitamin which is
often low in the families that find it
necessary to economic on food. When
buying caulifower on the market, Sc
! lect heads that are clean and white,
firm and compact, and heavy for their
size. Heads should be smooth, rather
than ragged or "ricy" in appearance,
and should show no brown color or
traces of decay. Outside leaves should
be fresh, green and firm. The best
broccoli heads are of good size, 8
inches or more in diameter, compact
and not overmature. The length of
stalk and head should be at least five
| inches.
Brussels sprouts are best if their
outer leaves are fresh and firm and Of
delicate green color. They should not
show traces of worms or plant lice.
The outer leaves of the Chinese cab
bage should be fresh and crisp. Kale
should be picked while it is still very
young and tender.
1t is especially important to avoid
overlooking any member of the cab
bage family, for they develop a strong
taste, disagreeable odor, and an unat-
tractive color if you do. Any of these
greens will keep their color better if
you cover them with rapidly boiling
sailed water, leave the cover off, and
cook for the shortest time possible.
Avoid adding soda; it might improve
the color, but it is sure to destroy
some of the vitamin c, and give the
vegetables an unattractive Shiny sur
face.
Caulifower can be kept whittier if
you add pinch of cream of tartar to
the cooking water, but who objects to
caulifower with a creamy yellow
tinge? Red cabbage will turn blue
purple, which is most unappetizing,
unless you cook it with very tart APP
pies. Or generous rash Of vinegar OF
lemon juice at serving time will bring
back the original "red." Strange as it
may seem, there will be less odor if
the cover is left off when cabbage, eau
lifower or kale are cooking.
Cooking broccoli presents the prob
lem of getting the thick stems to the
tender point without overlooking the
fragile flower tops. Pare off the tough
outer clark" of the very large stems,
for even thick broccoli stems give real
food value which is too likely to
be wasted if the outside is stringy and
hard. Probably the neatest way to get
all parts of the broccoli stalk "done"
at the same time is to slice the stems
lengthwis,e leaving lacy frings of
green flowers at the top of each slice.
Or the stems may be cut in pieces in
some other fashion.
Kale is best if the midrib and the
stringy portions are discarded and the
leaves chopped into small pieces be-
fore cooking. Kale, like green cabbage,
is delicious "panned" or cooked in a
skillet with hot fat, but no water.
After browning, cover the skillet
and let the kale steam slowly Is to
20 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and
add little cream or milk before serv-
ing If you use this method, no part of
the food value is discarded in cooking
water.
There are dozens of delightful ways
of serving caulifower, and one of the
best is to use it raw in fresh vegetable
salad. Not bit of the vitamin G
goes to waste. Salad fanciers break
cauliflower into very small fowerets
and let them stand in a cold place to
crisp. They are particularly attractive
served on a relish tray with raw car
rot sticks and green and ripe olives.
Too many green Brussels sprouts
are ruined by overlooking. If over
cooked, they become watery and very