Preservation of Fruit and Other Foods
The preservation of fruit and other foods has been a household industry for generations, and it is now an important commercial industry. The old-time farm had its smokehouse where hams and beef were “cured,” the barrel of brine stood in the cellar for pork and corned beef, apples and corn were dried for winter use, and rows of preserve jars stood upon the shelves. Food was preserved by simple processes long before the reason for the decay and spoiling of food was fully understood, but with larger knowledge and better appliances, we now preserve food more effectively and in quantities larger than were possible in former days.
Fruit is the food material now most commonly preserved in the home kitchen. Vegetables need to be subjected to heat for a much longer time than fruit, and many people prefer to buy canned vegetables rather than to go to the trouble and expense of canning them at home. Where there is an oversupply of vegetables in the home garden, it is sometimes economy to can them, and this may be done if care is exercised. The cost of fuel and labor must be counted in, when studying the question of home preserving versus buying the canned product.
Whatever the food material, and the process, the principles of preservation are the same for all.
Why does food spoil?—The decay and moldiness of fresh fruit are matters of common observation; and the housekeeper knows that mold is liable to cover the top of a jelly glass, and that a can of fruit will ferment at times, even to the point of bursting the can.
We recognize another kind of deterioration in meat and fish that have become tainted, even when no mold is visible, and there is no opportunity for ordinary fermentation. The microscope has given us eyes to see, and as a result of the patient work of the scientist with this instrument we now know that the difficulties in keeping food are caused by the presence of minute vegetable organisms known as molds, yeasts, and bacteria. It is impossible in some cases to draw a sharp line between these different forms of lower life, yet we are able to distinguish them sufficiently for practical purposes.
Fig. 28.—Three species of mold.Buchanan’s Household Bacteriology.
Masses ofmoldthat can be seen with the naked eye are distinguished by a feathery appearance and bright color. Figure 28 shows three species of the green mold that affects jam and jellies. Other species are found in Roquefort and Camembert cheese, and give the flavors characteristic in these cheeses.
The presence ofyeastcan be detected by its action, but it cannot itself be seen without the microscope. When canned fruit or homemade fruit juice “works,” yeasts cells arepresent in great number. Figure 29 shows one form of yeast, highly magnified, and Fig. 30 shows a single yeast cell. The yeast cake is a mixture of thousands of such cells with some flour or flour and meal, and the cells lie dormant in the cake, until we are ready to use them in bread. (See Chapter XII.) The actual yeast, however, is what Fig. 30 shows it to be, a tiny, one-celled plant, increasing in number by the division of the single cell, or by the budding out of one cell from another. When conditions are favorable the yeast cells increase in number with great rapidity, and some of the sugar that is present is broken down into carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. It is this gas that causes the familiar bubbling when fermentation is taking place. We put yeast cells into bread and cultivate it for this gas. But how does it occur in canned fruits, when its presence is not desired?Wild yeastfloats in the air, and lies upon the surface of fruit. All cultivated yeast has been derived from wild yeast. In old-fashioned ways of bread-making no yeast was introduced,a soft dough being left in a warm place to ferment naturally, the yeast cells probably being present in the flour. The yeast that spoils the canned fruit is present in the fruit, in the utensils, or can, and has not been killed as it should be in the canning process.
Fig. 29.—One form of yeast.Buchanan’s Household Bacteriology
Fig. 30.—A yeast cell.a, cell wall.b, vacuole.c, granules.d, nucleus.eande, buds.Buchanan’s Household Bacteriology.
Fig. 31.—The four types of bacterial cells.A, cocci.B, bacilli.C, spirilía.D, branched filamentous organism.Buchanan’s Household Bacteriology.
Thebacteriaare also one-celled microörganisms, smaller than the yeast. Figure 31 shows the four types of bacterial cells. Their size is measured by the unit used in the microscope, called the micron, which is about1⁄25000of one inch. Bacteria may measure from one to three or four of these microns in length. Some bacteria are reproduced by means of spores which form within the cell. Bacteria, as they develop in some material, produce substances from the material that may or may not be injurious to us. One important truth about the bacteria is this: that many of them are harmless, and may even be made useful, as in the manufacture of fruit vinegar. The pleasant acid of buttermilk and of sour milk is due also to bacteria which are not harmful to us. However, there may be disease producing bacteria present in milk that is not clean, and their presence must not be tolerated. Other bacteria, developingin meat and fish, produce substances known asptomaines, which are dangerous poisons; or, more often, the kinds of bacteria which thrive in meats and fish may themselves be directly injurious to man.
It is evident, therefore, that the problem before us is the control of these lower organisms, that we may increase or destroy them as we will.
The control of microörganisms.—With warmth, water, and food all living things flourish and grow; most organisms require air, but some of the microörganisms do not. Where these conditions are best met, the organism is most active and multiplies most rapidly. To retard growth or to destroy life, the conditions must be the reverse of favorable. While warmth, say a temperature from 70° to 90° F., promotes the life of most microörganisms, intense heat destroys it. The boiling temperature, 212° F., will kill these lower organisms, although this heat has to be continued for some length of time, particularly in the case of spores. The spores of certain bacteria are quite resistant. A temperature of 32° F. and lower retards growth, but it requires extreme cold to destroy bacteria. Since moisture is necessary to all the lower organisms, they do not develop in a dry material or dry place.
We cannot destroy these lower forms of life by removing food from them, since they are ever present, but we can make the food unavailable to them through the introduction in the material of certain substances called preservatives which prevent their growth. The preservatives long familiar are salt, sugar, wood-smoke, spices, vinegar, and alcohol. While a small amount of sugar is necessary in the fermentation process, a large amount acts as a preservative, as in candied fruit. It is an interesting fact that alcohol and vinegar, products of fermentation processes, tend (whensufficiently concentrated) to stop the growth of the fermentation organisms.
To the reader who desires a fuller account of the bacteria, yeast, and molds, especially as related to household affairs, Buchanan’s “Household Bacteriology” is recommended as the most recent and satisfactory book in this field.
A word about buying canned goods.—When canned goods are put up in large quantities at the factory, abuses are likely to exist. Poor, even decayed, fruit may be used, the whole process may be unclean from beginning to end, and undesirable preservatives or an excess of sugar or spice may be introduced to cover the use of poor materials or methods. The condition of the worker in the cannery is one of the important industrial problems at the present time. Unhappily, poor conditions do often exist in canneries that turn out a cheap product. On the other hand, there are firms that may well take pride in their system from beginning to end.
Serving canned food.—All canned food should be exposed to the air for a short time before serving, and stirred that the material may be aerated. This partially removes a certain flatness of taste. Canned fruit is improved by reheating, even.
When possible, vegetables bought in a tin can should be washed in the colander before they are heated. This greatly improves the flavor.
Principles of preservation.Sterilization of food and all apparatus by the boiling temperature, 212° F.The removal of moisture by some drying process.The addition of a preservative.Sealing, to prevent the entrance of air.Practical methods.Canning.—Fruit or vegetables sterilized at 212° F. and tightly sealed in jars or cans.Preserving.—Whole fruit, sterilized, large amount of sugar added, and sealed or covered in jars.Jam making.—Fruit broken up, sterilized, sugar added, and covered.Jelly making.—Fruit juices, sterilized, sugar added, covered.Pickling.—Fruit and vegetables sterilized, vinegar, spices, and sugar the preservatives used.Drying.—Fruits and vegetables protected from dust and insects, and slowly dried by the sun’s heat or artificial heat.Fig. 32.—Preserving kettles in a large factory.Courtesy of H. J. Heinz Co.Apparatus.—Scales. Quart measure. A preserving kettle of good enamel ware. Plated knives. Large spoon of enamel or wood. Tablespoon and table fork. Pint and quart cans with glass tops fastened by springs. New rubber rings. Jelly glasses withcovers. Cloth jelly bag. Stick on which to hang the bag. Large bowl. Boiler, in which to stand the cans. A funnel. A dipper. Old towels, or cheap cloths. Saucer and spoon for testing.
Principles of preservation.
Sterilization of food and all apparatus by the boiling temperature, 212° F.
The removal of moisture by some drying process.
The addition of a preservative.
Sealing, to prevent the entrance of air.
Practical methods.
Canning.—Fruit or vegetables sterilized at 212° F. and tightly sealed in jars or cans.
Preserving.—Whole fruit, sterilized, large amount of sugar added, and sealed or covered in jars.
Jam making.—Fruit broken up, sterilized, sugar added, and covered.
Jelly making.—Fruit juices, sterilized, sugar added, covered.
Pickling.—Fruit and vegetables sterilized, vinegar, spices, and sugar the preservatives used.
Drying.—Fruits and vegetables protected from dust and insects, and slowly dried by the sun’s heat or artificial heat.
Fig. 32.—Preserving kettles in a large factory.Courtesy of H. J. Heinz Co.
Apparatus.—Scales. Quart measure. A preserving kettle of good enamel ware. Plated knives. Large spoon of enamel or wood. Tablespoon and table fork. Pint and quart cans with glass tops fastened by springs. New rubber rings. Jelly glasses withcovers. Cloth jelly bag. Stick on which to hang the bag. Large bowl. Boiler, in which to stand the cans. A funnel. A dipper. Old towels, or cheap cloths. Saucer and spoon for testing.
GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES
General directions.—Thoroughly wash all the utensils, just before using. Sterilize the cans and glasses by placing them in a large kettle or boiler on the stove, covering them with cold water, and allowing the water to reach the boiling point and to boil for half an hour. Covers and rubber rings should be treated in the same way.Fig. 33.—Picking over strawberries.Courtesy of H. J. Heinz Co.Prepare the fruit by careful washing, picking over, paring and cutting.The skins may be loosened on peaches and tomatoes by pouring hot water over them.Weigh both fruit and sugar, or measure if no scales are available.See that the cooking apparatus is in good order, that the proper heat may be continued.Avoid rapid boiling of the fruit.Place the cans when they are to be filled with hot fruit upon a towel wet in very hot water, or in a pan holding an inch or so of hot water. Never hold the can or glass in the hand.Use a dipper for putting cooked fruit into the can. A funnel is useful placed in the mouth of the jar.Put whole fruit and halves compactly in the jar, using tablespoon and fork, or two tablespoons. It requires practice to do this well.See that all air bubbles are removed, and fill the cans to overflowing, before putting on the glass tops and fastening on the spring. Wipe off the jars, carefully, and stand them on their tops for a day in order to test the tightness of the rubbers and the fastening.After filling jelly glasses, set them at one side, and cover them all with a piece of cheesecloth, until the jelly becomes firm. Then pour melted paraffin upon the jelly in each glass, and when the paraffin is cooled, put the covers on firmly.Label the jars with the name of the fruit and the date of the preserving before putting them away.Canning.Method 1.—Material cooked before it is put into the can. This is a good method for berries, and for fruit that will be served as a sauce. Proceed in the preparation and finishing according to the general directions. Cook the fruit gently for half an hour. Use as little water as possible. No sugar isrequiredin the canning process, but the flavor is better if a small amount is used in the beginning, a half cup of sugar to a pound of fruit.Method 2.—Material cooked in the can. This is the better method for whole fruit and halves. Select firm, well-shaped fruit for this method, rejecting the mellow and soft fruit. Pack the cans tightly with the fruit, and pour in hot water with sugar dissolved in it, a half cup to the quart can. More sugar can be used, if so desired. Set the jars in a boiler on a rack, and surround them with warm water, to a height that will not allow the water to boil into the cans.Set the cover on each jar, but do not fasten them. Cover the boiler closely, bring the water to a boil, and allow it to boil for an hour. At the end of this time, test the fruit for tenderness with a fork, pour in more sirup if it is necessary. Remove the jars when the water has cooled sufficiently, and adjust the covers. Coldwater is sometimes used at the beginning, but this makes the process longer.This is a good method also for the canning of whole vegetables like peas and asparagus. The cooking of vegetables should continue for at least two hours, and three hours are better for peas and string beans.Apparatus is constructed for this method of canning, but the ordinary boiler answers the purpose.Preserving.A good method for peaches, apricots, and quinces. Select firm and handsome fruit and prepare it carefully. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. (What is the measure of a pound of sugar?) Place enough water in the kettle to cover the fruit, dissolve the sugar in the water, put the fruit into the kettle, and cook very gently until the fruit becomes a clear color. Rapid boiling spoils the shape of the fruit. Do not stir at all, but skim off any scum that rises to the top. When the fruit is done, put it with great care into the jars. If the sirup is thin, boil it down for a short time, and then fill the jar. Close the jar as in canning.This is a difficult process for beginners.Jam making, and fruit butter.This is the most economical of the preserving processes and the easiest for the novice. It is nothing more than a fruit sauce, with a larger amount of sugar than usual to assist in its preservation.Soft and somewhat imperfect fruit may be used. If in the basket of fruit bought for canning or preserving there are some fully ripe or poorly shaped specimens, these may be used for jam. For jam proper allow a pint of sugar to a pound of fruit. Cook the fruit with enough water to prevent its sticking to the kettle, using as little as possible.Mash the fruit by stirring it occasionally as it cooks. When the fruit is soft, add the sugar, stir thoroughly, and cook gently for about five minutes. Test by cooling a spoonful on a saucer. The jam should thicken slightly. When ready, pour it into jelly glasses, or somewhat larger earthen jars—“jam pots.” Seal, as directed for jelly.Thefruit butteris even more like fruit sauce than is the jam, for it is softer than jam, and contains less sugar. A cup or only a halfcup of sugar to the pound of fruit is enough. Proceed exactly as in jam-making.Apple buttermay be flavored with spices, with ginger root and lemon juice, and with other fruits. One or two quinces or a slice of pineapple cooked with the apples gives a pleasing variety. Exercise the inventive faculty here.Jelly making.There is another principle involved in jelly making in addition to the principle of preservation. Fruit contains a substance known as pectose, one of the carbohydrates, that partially solidifies the fruit juice when the water in the juice is partially evaporated. The addition of sugar helps in this process, but no amount of sugar will set the jelly if the pectose is not present. Some fruits have more than others, and also more when not over-ripe. Currants and firm apples are good jelly makers, and serve as a basis for other fruits that do not jelly well. Mellow summer apples do not set well. Crab apples are excellent for this purpose.There is another step in this process, the straining out of the juice from the pulp. For this, prepare a jelly bag from firm cotton cloth which has been boiled and washed. This bag must be hung in such a way that the juice drops from the point of the bag into a bowl below. It may be hung upon a stick between two chairs, or upon the rod of a strong towel rack over a table.1.Apple jelly.Select tart, red-skinned apples, cut them in small pieces with the skins on, retain the cores, and put them in a kettle with cold water to barely cover. When thoroughly cooked and mashed, put this pulp into the jelly bag, and allow the juice to drip as long as it will. Do not squeeze the bag, nor stir the pulp if you wish clear jelly. This dripping process is a matter of hours, and in the home kitchen may continue all night. Allow a pint of sugar to a pint of juice. Return the juice to the kettle, and allow it to simmer for twenty-five minutes or half an hour, skimming when necessary. In the meantime, heat the sugar, being careful not to melt or burn it. Stir the sugar gently into the juice, and boil five minutes. Test a little upon a saucer. It should show signs of jellying as it cools. Boil longer, if necessary. Finish as directed. Jelly often does not set until twenty-four hours have elapsed.2. Currant jelly.The method is the same as with apple jelly. It is not necessary to remove the currants from the stem. Heat just long enough before the straining to make the juices flow well.Very agreeable flavors are secured by the combining of two or more fruits in a jelly; quince and pineapple with apple;—a leaf of rose geranium or lemon verbena in a glass of apple jelly; raspberry with currant. White apple jelly may be flavored with mint leaves, and used in place of mint sauce with meat.Pickling.Pickles are not desirable in the diet. If acid is craved, it is much wiser to secure it by fresh fruits, and by the use of lemon juice.Drying.This process should not be discarded if there is a supply of fruit in the orchard or garden. Place thinly sliced apples and peaches upon plates or trays, protect by clean cheesecloth, and dry in the sun. The color may be dark, but the flavor is excellent.Laboratory management.—The fruit selected for use in the school kitchen depends upon the time of year. The autumn is the season for preserving, but some fruit is available at any time of year: in the winter, apple and peach butter from the dried fruit; in the spring rhubarb jam or jelly; in the late spring or early summer, strawberry jam. If the school program and the equipment permit the serving of meals by the class, fruit may be preserved in the fall for these occasions.
General directions.—Thoroughly wash all the utensils, just before using. Sterilize the cans and glasses by placing them in a large kettle or boiler on the stove, covering them with cold water, and allowing the water to reach the boiling point and to boil for half an hour. Covers and rubber rings should be treated in the same way.
Fig. 33.—Picking over strawberries.Courtesy of H. J. Heinz Co.
Prepare the fruit by careful washing, picking over, paring and cutting.
The skins may be loosened on peaches and tomatoes by pouring hot water over them.
Weigh both fruit and sugar, or measure if no scales are available.
See that the cooking apparatus is in good order, that the proper heat may be continued.
Avoid rapid boiling of the fruit.
Place the cans when they are to be filled with hot fruit upon a towel wet in very hot water, or in a pan holding an inch or so of hot water. Never hold the can or glass in the hand.
Use a dipper for putting cooked fruit into the can. A funnel is useful placed in the mouth of the jar.
Put whole fruit and halves compactly in the jar, using tablespoon and fork, or two tablespoons. It requires practice to do this well.
See that all air bubbles are removed, and fill the cans to overflowing, before putting on the glass tops and fastening on the spring. Wipe off the jars, carefully, and stand them on their tops for a day in order to test the tightness of the rubbers and the fastening.
After filling jelly glasses, set them at one side, and cover them all with a piece of cheesecloth, until the jelly becomes firm. Then pour melted paraffin upon the jelly in each glass, and when the paraffin is cooled, put the covers on firmly.
Label the jars with the name of the fruit and the date of the preserving before putting them away.
Canning.
Method 1.—Material cooked before it is put into the can. This is a good method for berries, and for fruit that will be served as a sauce. Proceed in the preparation and finishing according to the general directions. Cook the fruit gently for half an hour. Use as little water as possible. No sugar isrequiredin the canning process, but the flavor is better if a small amount is used in the beginning, a half cup of sugar to a pound of fruit.
Method 2.—Material cooked in the can. This is the better method for whole fruit and halves. Select firm, well-shaped fruit for this method, rejecting the mellow and soft fruit. Pack the cans tightly with the fruit, and pour in hot water with sugar dissolved in it, a half cup to the quart can. More sugar can be used, if so desired. Set the jars in a boiler on a rack, and surround them with warm water, to a height that will not allow the water to boil into the cans.
Set the cover on each jar, but do not fasten them. Cover the boiler closely, bring the water to a boil, and allow it to boil for an hour. At the end of this time, test the fruit for tenderness with a fork, pour in more sirup if it is necessary. Remove the jars when the water has cooled sufficiently, and adjust the covers. Coldwater is sometimes used at the beginning, but this makes the process longer.
This is a good method also for the canning of whole vegetables like peas and asparagus. The cooking of vegetables should continue for at least two hours, and three hours are better for peas and string beans.
Apparatus is constructed for this method of canning, but the ordinary boiler answers the purpose.
Preserving.
A good method for peaches, apricots, and quinces. Select firm and handsome fruit and prepare it carefully. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. (What is the measure of a pound of sugar?) Place enough water in the kettle to cover the fruit, dissolve the sugar in the water, put the fruit into the kettle, and cook very gently until the fruit becomes a clear color. Rapid boiling spoils the shape of the fruit. Do not stir at all, but skim off any scum that rises to the top. When the fruit is done, put it with great care into the jars. If the sirup is thin, boil it down for a short time, and then fill the jar. Close the jar as in canning.
This is a difficult process for beginners.
Jam making, and fruit butter.
This is the most economical of the preserving processes and the easiest for the novice. It is nothing more than a fruit sauce, with a larger amount of sugar than usual to assist in its preservation.
Soft and somewhat imperfect fruit may be used. If in the basket of fruit bought for canning or preserving there are some fully ripe or poorly shaped specimens, these may be used for jam. For jam proper allow a pint of sugar to a pound of fruit. Cook the fruit with enough water to prevent its sticking to the kettle, using as little as possible.
Mash the fruit by stirring it occasionally as it cooks. When the fruit is soft, add the sugar, stir thoroughly, and cook gently for about five minutes. Test by cooling a spoonful on a saucer. The jam should thicken slightly. When ready, pour it into jelly glasses, or somewhat larger earthen jars—“jam pots.” Seal, as directed for jelly.
Thefruit butteris even more like fruit sauce than is the jam, for it is softer than jam, and contains less sugar. A cup or only a halfcup of sugar to the pound of fruit is enough. Proceed exactly as in jam-making.
Apple buttermay be flavored with spices, with ginger root and lemon juice, and with other fruits. One or two quinces or a slice of pineapple cooked with the apples gives a pleasing variety. Exercise the inventive faculty here.
Jelly making.
There is another principle involved in jelly making in addition to the principle of preservation. Fruit contains a substance known as pectose, one of the carbohydrates, that partially solidifies the fruit juice when the water in the juice is partially evaporated. The addition of sugar helps in this process, but no amount of sugar will set the jelly if the pectose is not present. Some fruits have more than others, and also more when not over-ripe. Currants and firm apples are good jelly makers, and serve as a basis for other fruits that do not jelly well. Mellow summer apples do not set well. Crab apples are excellent for this purpose.
There is another step in this process, the straining out of the juice from the pulp. For this, prepare a jelly bag from firm cotton cloth which has been boiled and washed. This bag must be hung in such a way that the juice drops from the point of the bag into a bowl below. It may be hung upon a stick between two chairs, or upon the rod of a strong towel rack over a table.
1.Apple jelly.
Select tart, red-skinned apples, cut them in small pieces with the skins on, retain the cores, and put them in a kettle with cold water to barely cover. When thoroughly cooked and mashed, put this pulp into the jelly bag, and allow the juice to drip as long as it will. Do not squeeze the bag, nor stir the pulp if you wish clear jelly. This dripping process is a matter of hours, and in the home kitchen may continue all night. Allow a pint of sugar to a pint of juice. Return the juice to the kettle, and allow it to simmer for twenty-five minutes or half an hour, skimming when necessary. In the meantime, heat the sugar, being careful not to melt or burn it. Stir the sugar gently into the juice, and boil five minutes. Test a little upon a saucer. It should show signs of jellying as it cools. Boil longer, if necessary. Finish as directed. Jelly often does not set until twenty-four hours have elapsed.
2. Currant jelly.
The method is the same as with apple jelly. It is not necessary to remove the currants from the stem. Heat just long enough before the straining to make the juices flow well.
Very agreeable flavors are secured by the combining of two or more fruits in a jelly; quince and pineapple with apple;—a leaf of rose geranium or lemon verbena in a glass of apple jelly; raspberry with currant. White apple jelly may be flavored with mint leaves, and used in place of mint sauce with meat.
Pickling.
Pickles are not desirable in the diet. If acid is craved, it is much wiser to secure it by fresh fruits, and by the use of lemon juice.
Drying.
This process should not be discarded if there is a supply of fruit in the orchard or garden. Place thinly sliced apples and peaches upon plates or trays, protect by clean cheesecloth, and dry in the sun. The color may be dark, but the flavor is excellent.
Laboratory management.—The fruit selected for use in the school kitchen depends upon the time of year. The autumn is the season for preserving, but some fruit is available at any time of year: in the winter, apple and peach butter from the dried fruit; in the spring rhubarb jam or jelly; in the late spring or early summer, strawberry jam. If the school program and the equipment permit the serving of meals by the class, fruit may be preserved in the fall for these occasions.
1. Explain the value of fruit in the diet.
2. Why is cooked fruit sometimes better than raw?
3. Inquire the price of fresh fruit in the market, and compute the cost of a 100-Calorie portion of two of the most common and cheapest.
4. The same with one or two of the dried fruits.
5. What are the important points in the preparation of fresh fruit for the table?
6. What changes are effected in baking an apple?
7. What are the principles of the preservation of food?
8. What is meant by a preservative?
9. What is meant by sterilization?
10. What is mold? Decay? Fermentation?
11. What are the important points in canning?
12. What is the difference between canned fruit and “preserves”?
13. How does jelly making differ from the other processes?
14. What is one of the most important points in cooking dried fruits?
15. Find the cost of a can of peaches at the grocery. Weigh the contents and count the peaches. Compare with the cost of an equal amount of home-canned peaches. What points in the problem must be taken into account?
16. The same problem with jelly bought at the grocery and made at home.
17. Work out the problem of estimating the comparative cost of canned peaches and dried peaches, when calculated to the same food value.
VEGETABLES AND VEGETABLE COOKERY
The distinction between the fruit and the vegetable is purely arbitrary, since both are parts of plants and have the same general composition. Botanically the tomato is as truly a fruit as the apple; but when it is stewed and served with meat, it is classed as a vegetable. Other parts of plants, however, besides the fruit are used as vegetables.
Composition and nutritive value.—Vegetables are much like fruits in composition, being richest usually in carbohydrates and ash, but sometimes containing a large amount of protein. Some have carbohydrates in the form of starch, as the potato, and others in the form of sugar, as the beet; young corn is rich in sugar, old corn in starch. All have more or less cellulose, that in lettuce being very tender, while that in beets is so firm as to be softened only by long cooking. Study carefully Figs. 34 and 35. Notice how the amount of water compares with the amount in fruits. See, too, that beans, both green and dry, are richer in protein than other vegetables. Celery has the highest percentage of water, and is valuable for its ash and the bulk it gives because of the large amount of cellulose.
Fig. 34.—Composition of vegetables.
Fig. 35.—Composition of vegetables.
To explain these facts we must understand something of the physiology of the plant. The stem is the carrier of water and nutritive material to other parts of the plant. The onion bulb, the parsnip root, and the potato tuber are the winter storehouses of food for the next year’s plant when theleaves first sprout. In the dry bean seed, and also in the pea and lentil, the young plant lies dormant, with a large supply of all the foodstuffs ready for its first growth when warmth and moisture are supplied in the spring. Classified according to their nutritive value, the vegetables rank as follows. Leaves are grouped with stems.
The seedsContain all the foodstuffs. High in protein.Roots and tubers and the bulbContain all the foodstuffs. Low in protein and fat. High in starch or some form of sugar.Rinds (squash and pumpkin)Contain all the foodstuffs in small amounts. Mineral content the chief value.Leaves and stemsMineral content the chief value.
Certain substances in some vegetables are supposed to have a physiological effect, but we should be cautious in accepting statements that have not been scientifically proved; for instance, that celery is “good for the nerves.” It is doubtless true that the oils which give onions and the cabbage their strong flavors do not agree with some people, and these vegetables should be eaten with caution.
How to buy.—Much interest is added to the study of vegetables by the examination of a seed catalogue easily obtainable from a firm selling seeds and plants. In this way, one may increase one’s knowledge of varieties for planting in the home garden, even if they are not common on the market. City markets offer an increasing variety of vegetables, and the purchaser should not hesitate to buy a vegetable because it is new to her. An inexpensive Italian vegetable, fenucchi, is now sometimes found on sale, and its characteristic flavor is very agreeable.
Fig. 36.—100-Calorie portions of vegetables.A. Fowler, Photographer.KINDWEIGHT OF PORTION,OUNCESAsparagus16Beets10Cabbage13Carrots10Corn9Cucumbers20Lettuce22Onions8Potatoes5Spinach15Tomatoes15
Fig. 36.—100-Calorie portions of vegetables.A. Fowler, Photographer.
KINDWEIGHT OF PORTION,OUNCESAsparagus16Beets10Cabbage13Carrots10Corn9Cucumbers20Lettuce22Onions8Potatoes5Spinach15Tomatoes15
The season of vegetables is so extended by canning, by the shipping of vegetables from the South, and by growing under glass that there is always a wide range of choice. There are in winter, however, some tempting delicacies in the way of green vegetables that the buyer with a limited purse should pass by. A cucumber at fifty cents or even at ten cents is not a sensible purchase. Lettuce, grown under glass, at ten cents a head is not an extravagance, if the income allows thirty-five to forty cents per capita per day for food. As a rule, select the less expensive vegetable, provided it is in good condition. The prices are so fluctuating that a definite statement is impossible. (See Chapter XVII.)
Root vegetablesshould be uniform in size, sound, the skins fair.Head vegetablesshould be solid, with but few waste leaves on the outside.Vegetables with hard rindshould be sound and firm.Asparagusshould be even in size, the stalks not bitten by insects.Cauliflowershould be firm and white, not affected by insects or blight.Celeryshould be firm and white, free from blemishes, fine in texture.Peasshould have crisp pods well filled, but not too full.String beansshould be crisp and snap easily.All leaf vegetablesshould be crisp—not wilted.
Root vegetablesshould be uniform in size, sound, the skins fair.
Head vegetablesshould be solid, with but few waste leaves on the outside.
Vegetables with hard rindshould be sound and firm.
Asparagusshould be even in size, the stalks not bitten by insects.
Cauliflowershould be firm and white, not affected by insects or blight.
Celeryshould be firm and white, free from blemishes, fine in texture.
Peasshould have crisp pods well filled, but not too full.
String beansshould be crisp and snap easily.
All leaf vegetablesshould be crisp—not wilted.
Uncooked vegetables.—Crisp vegetables with tender fiber are eaten raw. Their preparation includes freshening in cold water, thorough washing to remove grit and insects, thorough drying by shaking in a soft cloth or wire basket, and cooling on the ice. Lettuce should not be served so wet that the water collects on the plate, making it impossible to dress the salad with oil. See salad making, Chapter XV.Cooked vegetables.—Vegetable cooking is an art much neglected, and in consequence vegetables are sometimes served lacking their proper flavor and their original nutrients. To cook vegetablesin boiling salted water, throwing the water away, is not the correct method, except in a few cases. With this method much of the valuable mineral matter and the flavoring substances are lost in the water. With such strong flavored vegetables as the cabbage, old onions and beets, and old potatoes this method is permissible, but even in these cases the nutritive value is decreased.Principles of cooking.—Softening of the fiber.Opening of the starch granules, when starch is present, at a temperature of 212° F. Retaining mineral and flavoring matters.Cooking processes.—These rank in value as they do or do not retain the mineral and flavoring matters.Baking.—No nutritive material lost. The best method for potatoes and sweet potatoes. Used also for squash, pumpkin, beets, young onions, dried beans, peas, and lentils.Steaming.(Cooking in a steamer.)—No nutritive material lost. A good method for all fresh vegetables. Steamed vegetables have less flavor than baked.Stewing.—Cooking in a stew pan or kettle with so little water that it is almost boiled out at the end of the process, any remaining liquid being served with the vegetable. The best method for spinach, which can be cooked with no additional water, beyond that remaining on the leaves from the washing. The French use this method almost entirely, and with tender peas and carrots they omit water and use butter only. A substitute for this latter is a very small amount of water, with the addition of butterine or some good butter substitute.Boiling.—Cooking in a large amount of boiling, salted water, the water to be drained off and thrown away. May be used with old beets of rank flavor, strong onions, old potatoes, or potatoes boiled with the skins on. A wasteful method.Adjuncts.—Salt, pepper, butter, or some other fat, milk, cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, eggs.Utensils.—A vegetable brush, a sharp knife, a chopper, a potato masher, a strainer, a colander, a stew pan, kettle or steamer, baking pan, baking dish, bean pot, frying pan or kettle.General directions.—Wash the vegetables, scrubbing the skin vegetables with a brush. Washing in several waters is important with spinach to remove all grit. Scrape off thin skins or pare off the thicker. Thick skins such as those of old beets are more easilyremoved after cooking. The outer covering must be removed in the case of peas, shell beans, and sweet corn. Pull or cut strings from string beans with great care. Discard all poor portions. Remove and throw away the inner pulp and seeds of old squashes and pumpkins. The whole of a tender summer squash is eatable.When boiling salted water is used, allow one tablespoonful of salt to four quarts of water. Steamed and stewed vegetables are salted and dressed with butter or butter substitute before serving. Butter is a better dressing for vegetables than white sauce. Where cream is available, nothing is so delicious. Use white sauce very sparingly with some escalloped vegetable for variety. Making a sauce adds to the labor of preparation, and the sauce hides the delicious flavor of a well-cooked vegetable. Some vegetables are mashed before serving; potatoes, turnip, squash, either boiled or baked.Time of cooking.—The following table is a guide, but one must learn from practice, for the time depends upon the quality of the vegetable, whether tender or tough, and upon the size whether large or small. Test by gently inserting a fork.Allow more time for cooking in a steamer, than for stewing or boiling. It requires more time to bake a potato than to boil one of the same size. Why?Time-table(For stewing and boiling unless stated otherwise.)Fifteen minutes.—Tender cabbage and sweet corn. These are usually cooked too long.Thirty minutes.—Asparagus; peas; potatoes of medium size; summer squash; tomatoes.Forty-five minutes.—Young beets and carrots; onions; young parsnips; medium potatoes baked, sweet potatoes boiled.One hour.—String and shelled beans; cauliflower; oyster plant; winter squash, steamed or baked; young turnips.Two hours.—Old carrots, beets, and turnips.Six to eight hours (or more).—Dried beans, lentils, and peas, baked in the oven, with water added.The potato, a starchy vegetable.—Make it your pride to serve a plain potato, mealy and inviting. Potatoes are “new,” fully ripe, and old. The new potato is in market in July and August, and may be recognized by its very thin skin. The later potatoes have a thicker skin, the color still being fresh. In the spring afterits winter storage, the potato is “old.” It seems a little less firm, the color of the exterior is somewhat changed; perhaps the buds in the eyes of the potato are beginning to grow. When cooked it has a stronger flavor, and rather darker color. If the potato has been frozen, a sweet flavor is developed, and the quality is waxy. Potatoes are sometimes inferior in quality when the season is a poor one, or when some potato disease is prevalent. The following classification shows you in how many ways potatoes may be cooked, and also shows you how easy it is to classify recipes in an orderly way.I. Potatoes cooked whole.1. Steamed.a.With skin.b.Without skin.2. Boiled.a.With skin.b.Without skin.3. Baked.a.With skin.b.Without skin.II. Potatoes, not whole.1. From raw potatoes.a.Sliced and escalloped.b.Cut in cubes and stewed.c.Cut in slices or fancy shapes and fried.2. From cooked potatoes.a.Mashed.(a) From boiled potatoes, plain or browned on top.(b) From baked potatoes, seasoned and served in shell.b.Creamed. From either cold-boiled or baked potatoes; the latter are better.c.Sauté.(a) Sliced and browned.(b) Hashed and browned.If you know some other method, see if you can fit it into this grouping.1. Baked potatoes.Method 1.The best method, for new potatoes. Select those of uniform size. When scrubbed, place them in a shallowpan, or upon the rack of the oven. The oven should be hot, about 450° F. or even a higher temperature. (See oven tests, Chapter IX.) The length of time required depends upon the size of the potato, forty-five minutes being the average time.A potato is largely water. What is the temperature of the interior of the potato during the baking process?Test by pressing firmly, protecting the fingers by a soft cloth; or insert a fork. When the potato is done, it yields to the pressure of the fingers. If the potatoes cannot be served at once, break the skin that the steam may escape, cover with a cloth, and keep them hot.For convenience at the table, cut the potatoes in two lengthwise, loosen the content of each half with a fork, sprinkle with salt, and add a bit of butter, as much as one would add at the table.Potato on the half shellcarries serving one step farther. Cut the baked potatoes in two lengthwise, remove the contents, mash lightly, add butter or butterine, milk, and salt, allowing a teaspoonful of butter, a tablespoonful of milk and a shake or two of salt to each potato. These measurements cannot be given with exactness, because potatoes vary in size. Beat this mixture well, replace lightly in each half shell, and brown the tops slightly. This is nothing more than mashed baked potato, prettily served.Invent other variations of this dish, adding ingredients that are agreeable when mixed with the potato. The beaten white of an egg added, gives greater lightness to the mixture in the potato shell.Method 2.The same as Method 1, except that the potatoes are pared before baking. A good method when the skins are not fair. A brown crust is formed on the potato, which is crisp and pleasant to eat. Large potatoes may be cut in two before baking, or even sliced.What difference in length of baking will there be between Methods 1 and 2?2. Boiled potatoes.The only way to prevent the loss of nutrients in using this process is to boil the potatoes with the “jackets” on. This is the best way with new potatoes. This method with ripe and old potatoes gives a yellowish color to the surface andindeed throughout. It is a labor-saving method for the busy housewife, as the skin cracks and loosens at the end of the boiling process, and is easily removed.If you choose to have a snow-white potato, it must be pared before boiling, and thus you deliberately waste the valuable mineral matter provided by nature. If your income permits this æsthetic pleasure, the mineral matter can of course be supplied in other vegetables. The woman who can spend but twenty to thirty cents per capita for food per day should boil the potatoes with the skins on and gratify her artistic sense in some other way.The method of boiling is the same in either case, whether the potato is pared or not.Have enough boiling water to cover the potatoes. Put the potatoes of uniform size one at a time into the kettle that the boiling may not stop. Allow a gentle boiling to continue until the potatoes are done. Why avoid rapid boiling? Test with a fork at the end of half an hour. When the potatoes are mellow, drain off the water, and set the kettle where the remaining moisture will steam off. Shake gently to hasten this process, and sprinkle the potatoes with salt. If they must stand before serving will you place a tin cover or a cloth over the kettle? Old potatoes, with a strong flavor, should be pared before boiling, or even soaked in cold water.3. Mashed potatoes.—Some one devised this convenient method of serving, to save trouble at the table. Mashed potato can be very poor and unappetizing when wet and lumpy. Do not attempt it with new, poor, or old potatoes. See that the boiled potatoes are as dry as can be—every particle of water steamed away. Mash thoroughly with the wire masher, add butter or butterine, salt and milk in about the proportions given for potato in the half shell. Use a tablespoonful or so of cream if it is available.Beat vigorously.The mealiness of the potato and the vigorous beating are the secrets of success. The finished product should be light and somewhat moist,—not wet. Reheat in the kettle. Pile lightly in a hot dish and serve; or brown the top before serving.Potato puff.(Soufflé.)—With your knowledge of mashed potato, can you not invent a potato puff?4. Escalloped potato.—The nameescallopedis applied to any baked dish that is arranged in layers. Escalloped potato is a palatable dish and this is one of the most economical of methods.Wash, pare, and slice the potatoes in1⁄4-inch pieces. Slightly grease an earthen or enameled baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of the slices, sprinkle the slices lightly with flour, and put on two teaspoonfuls of butter, or butterine, in small bits. Continue until the dish is nearly full. Pour in milk to barely cover the potatoes, put a cover on the dish and set the dish in an oven of 380° F. Remove the cover in time to allow the top to brown. Allow rather more than half an hour for the baking.5. Creamed potatoes.—Method 1, aneasy way. Chop coldbakedpotatoes with the chopper. Allow one tablespoonful of butter to 1 pint of chopped potato. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the potatoes. Shake from the dredger the equivalent of a tablespoonful of flour, stirring the potato with one hand as you shake with the other. Pour in enough milk to barely cover the chopped potato. Set the saucepan in the coolest spot on the range;oron the simmering burner of a gas range, upon an asbestos mat;orturn all into an earthenware jar, or baking dish, and proceed as with escalloped potato. Allow the mixture to cook until it becomes creamy.Method 2. Cut the cold potatoes in cubes, and heat in a thin white sauce. See Chapter X.Boiled potatoes may be used, but baked are better in texture and flavor for creaming.6. French fried potatoes.—Wash and pare small potatoes, cut in eighths lengthwise, and soak a few minutes in cold water. Take from water, dry between towels, and fry in deep fat. Drain on brown paper and sprinkle with salt.(1)Deep fat frying.—An iron kettle is the best for deep fat, 3 quarts a convenient size. A wire basket is almost necessary for frying soft material.Fill the kettle1⁄2full of fat and place over fire. When a slight blue smoke or vapor rises from it, it is ready to test. Test with small cubes of bread. If bread browns in 1 minute, the temperature is right for uncooked mixtures. If it brownsin 10 seconds, it is right for cooked materials. Care must be taken to keep the temperatures at the right point, for if too cool, the material will soak fat; if too hot, both fat and material to be cooked will burn.(2)To clarify fat.—Drop several slices raw, pared potato into the fat and let bubble up. Strain all through cheesecloth back into pail from which fat was taken. The potatoes seem to absorb food odors and collect crumbs and leave the fat clear.7. Stewed celery.—A green vegetable. Stalks of celery, too tough or coarse for serving uncooked, are delicious when stewed. The process is simple. Wash, scrape, and cut the stalks crosswise. Place them in a stewpan, barely cover with hot water, adding a teaspoonful of salt to a pint of celery. Cook gently for half an hour or until the celery is tender. Use the liquid remaining in making a sauce, adding some milk to make the necessary amount of liquid. Three fourths of a cup of sauce is enough for a pint of celery. See Chapter X.8. Cabbage.—The method given makes cabbage a delicious and attractive vegetable, as delicate as cauliflower, and the odor in the kitchen is not noticeable.Select a small cabbage, with the ribs in the leaves not too thick. Prepare the cabbage before washing it by cutting out the stalks from below with a sharp knife. Separate the leaves. Have ready the largest kettle available, nearly full of rapidly boiling water. Drop in one cabbage leaf at a time, pressing each one down with a long-handled spoon or skimmer. Do this so slowly that the water does not stop boiling. Leave the kettle uncovered, and allow the cabbage to cook from 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the leaf stalks. Remove the leaves with a long-handled skimmer, putting them into a colander standing on a plate.Immediatelypour the hot water down the sink drain, turn on the cold water to flush away the odor, and fill the kettle with cold water. While the cabbage is cooking, you have made a pint of white sauce, No. 2 (Ch. X), adding a teaspoonful of salt, and have prepared1⁄2cup of buttered crumbs. Cut the cabbage leaves slightly, place them in a baking dish, pour the white sauce over them, sprinkle the crumbs on the top, and brown the crumbs in theoven or under the gas. If you can, prepare this as a surprise at home, and ask the family to “guess” what it is. If the cabbage is a good one, some of the leaves turn a very pretty green with this method of boiling.9. Baked beans.—A nitrogenous vegetable and a meat substitute. A dish known in old days in New England, baked to perfection in the old brick oven. Baked beans seem difficult of digestion for some people. The mustard is supposed to be helpful, and adds something to the flavor. If the molasses is omitted, or but a small amount used, and if butter takes the place of pork or suet, the beans seem more digestible. In different parts of New England the dish is varied. Some people prefer rather dry baked beans, others wish them moist and very sweet.Utensils.—A kettle. A covered bean pot.Ingredients.—1 quart of white beans.1 teaspoonful of soda.1⁄4lb. salt pork or more,or4 tablespoonfuls of beef fat or butter substitute.Molasses, from two tablespoonfuls to1⁄2cup,or none.1 teaspoonful of mustard.Method.—Wash, and soak the beans in cold water over night. Pour off any water that remains. Put the beans into the kettle, cover with cold water, add the soda, and cook gently until the beans are slightly softened. The soda aids the softening. Pour off the water again, and put the beans into the pot. Mix the molasses and mustard with a pint of water, and pour this over the beans, adding more water if the beans are not covered. Place the pork or other fat upon the beans, and cover the pot. If fat other than pork is used, salt must be added to the beans. The beans should bake slowly, for from 6 to 8 hours, and even longer in a very slow oven. A stove of the type shown in Fig. 17 is good for this purpose. Theycan be baked in the ordinary gas oven, if only one burner is used, and that is turned very low.Laboratory management.—The last experiment is the only one not easily performed in the school kitchen. The process, can begin perhaps on one day, and be finished the next. If there is some apparatus that cooks at a low temperature, the practical difficulties may be overcome.Vegetable, or “cream” soups.These are of two classes: the purées (porridge), or thick soups, with vegetable pulp as the thickening material, and the cream soups, which are somewhat thinner, the juices of some vegetable giving the flavor.Potato purée, or soup, is an example of the first; cream of tomato of the second. The line is not sharply drawn between the two in many cook books. Milk is an important ingredient in these soups, so that they are sometimes known as milk soups. Butter and flour are used in both,—the flour in the purée “binds” the mixture and makes it smoother; in the cream soup the flour is used for thickening as well.Dried beans, peas, or lentils make a delicious purée, the secret of success being long slow cooking in some low temperature apparatus. They are brought to perfection in the Atkinson Cooker.10. Potato Pureé.Ingredients.Potato 1 cupMilk 1 quartFlour 1 tablespoonfulButter 1 tablespoonfulSalt 2 teaspoonfulsCelery stalks, cut small 1 teaspoonfulOnion, chopped 1 tablespoonfulPepper, Cayenne To taste.Remarks.—If a thicker purée is desired, use more of the mashed potato. If celery salt is used, omit one teaspoonful of the salt. Less onion may be used, and the pepper omitted.Utensils.—Make the list yourself, after reading the directions for mixing.Method of mixing.—Boil and mash the potato, or use cold mashed potato. Heat the milk in the double boiler with the celery and onion. Add the milk gradually to the mashed potato, beating vigorously.Put this mixture through a strainer into the double boiler,and reheat it. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, or stir in the flour, addslowlyhalf a cup of the soup to the butter and flour paste, and then pour this slowly into the mixture in the double boiler, stirring all the time. The soup will be ready to serve in about ten minutes.Theimportant pointin this recipe is the quality of the mashed potato. It should be dry and light. It may be made from hot, mealy baked potatoes. If cold mashed potato is used, this should be made light again with a fork. An excellent luncheon dish. Will serve four to six people.11. Cream of tomato soup.Ingredients.Tomato juice1⁄2cupMilk 1 quartFlour 2 tablespoonfulsButter 2 tablespoonfulsSalt 2 teaspoonfulsBicarbonate of soda1⁄2teaspoonfulPepper, Cayenne To taste.Remarks.—Celery and onion may be added, but are not necessary. When you become expert, you will be able to use a larger amount of tomato juice, and even omit the soda.Method of mixing.—This you will be able to work out for yourself. First perform this simple experiment. Stir together a tablespoonful of stewed tomato and a tablespoonful of milk. What happens? Heat this mixture. What further do you notice? How may you best extract the juice from the tomato? You have noticed the effect of the acid tomato upon the milk. The soda is added to partly counteract this effect. Will you stir the soda into the tomato juice or into the milk? Will you stir the tomato juice into the milk, or the milk into the tomato juice? Will you cook the mixture at all? How long before serving will you mix the two? When will you add the butter and flour?Laboratory management.—An individual portion of soup may be made with1⁄2cup of liquid, but it is better to allow 1 cup when possible to each pupil, or two pupils may work together.The important point in this soup is to prevent the curdling, so you safeguard the milk at each step.Croutons may be served with any of these soups.12. Chili sauce.Ingredients.Tomatoes 12, medium sized and ripeGreen pepper 1, finely choppedVinegar 2 cupsSugar 3 tablespoonfulsSalt 1 tablespoonfulClove 2 teaspoonfulsCinnamon 2 teaspoonfulsAllspice 2 teaspoonfulsNutmeg 2 teaspoonfuls gratedMethod.—Peel tomatoes and slice into a preserving kettle. Add other ingredients and heat to the boiling point. Cook slowly two and one half hours. Pour into preserve jars and seal.
Uncooked vegetables.—Crisp vegetables with tender fiber are eaten raw. Their preparation includes freshening in cold water, thorough washing to remove grit and insects, thorough drying by shaking in a soft cloth or wire basket, and cooling on the ice. Lettuce should not be served so wet that the water collects on the plate, making it impossible to dress the salad with oil. See salad making, Chapter XV.
Cooked vegetables.—Vegetable cooking is an art much neglected, and in consequence vegetables are sometimes served lacking their proper flavor and their original nutrients. To cook vegetablesin boiling salted water, throwing the water away, is not the correct method, except in a few cases. With this method much of the valuable mineral matter and the flavoring substances are lost in the water. With such strong flavored vegetables as the cabbage, old onions and beets, and old potatoes this method is permissible, but even in these cases the nutritive value is decreased.
Principles of cooking.—Softening of the fiber.
Opening of the starch granules, when starch is present, at a temperature of 212° F. Retaining mineral and flavoring matters.
Cooking processes.—These rank in value as they do or do not retain the mineral and flavoring matters.
Baking.—No nutritive material lost. The best method for potatoes and sweet potatoes. Used also for squash, pumpkin, beets, young onions, dried beans, peas, and lentils.
Steaming.(Cooking in a steamer.)—No nutritive material lost. A good method for all fresh vegetables. Steamed vegetables have less flavor than baked.
Stewing.—Cooking in a stew pan or kettle with so little water that it is almost boiled out at the end of the process, any remaining liquid being served with the vegetable. The best method for spinach, which can be cooked with no additional water, beyond that remaining on the leaves from the washing. The French use this method almost entirely, and with tender peas and carrots they omit water and use butter only. A substitute for this latter is a very small amount of water, with the addition of butterine or some good butter substitute.
Boiling.—Cooking in a large amount of boiling, salted water, the water to be drained off and thrown away. May be used with old beets of rank flavor, strong onions, old potatoes, or potatoes boiled with the skins on. A wasteful method.
Adjuncts.—Salt, pepper, butter, or some other fat, milk, cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, eggs.
Utensils.—A vegetable brush, a sharp knife, a chopper, a potato masher, a strainer, a colander, a stew pan, kettle or steamer, baking pan, baking dish, bean pot, frying pan or kettle.
General directions.—Wash the vegetables, scrubbing the skin vegetables with a brush. Washing in several waters is important with spinach to remove all grit. Scrape off thin skins or pare off the thicker. Thick skins such as those of old beets are more easilyremoved after cooking. The outer covering must be removed in the case of peas, shell beans, and sweet corn. Pull or cut strings from string beans with great care. Discard all poor portions. Remove and throw away the inner pulp and seeds of old squashes and pumpkins. The whole of a tender summer squash is eatable.
When boiling salted water is used, allow one tablespoonful of salt to four quarts of water. Steamed and stewed vegetables are salted and dressed with butter or butter substitute before serving. Butter is a better dressing for vegetables than white sauce. Where cream is available, nothing is so delicious. Use white sauce very sparingly with some escalloped vegetable for variety. Making a sauce adds to the labor of preparation, and the sauce hides the delicious flavor of a well-cooked vegetable. Some vegetables are mashed before serving; potatoes, turnip, squash, either boiled or baked.
Time of cooking.—The following table is a guide, but one must learn from practice, for the time depends upon the quality of the vegetable, whether tender or tough, and upon the size whether large or small. Test by gently inserting a fork.
Allow more time for cooking in a steamer, than for stewing or boiling. It requires more time to bake a potato than to boil one of the same size. Why?
Time-table
(For stewing and boiling unless stated otherwise.)
Fifteen minutes.—Tender cabbage and sweet corn. These are usually cooked too long.
Thirty minutes.—Asparagus; peas; potatoes of medium size; summer squash; tomatoes.
Forty-five minutes.—Young beets and carrots; onions; young parsnips; medium potatoes baked, sweet potatoes boiled.
One hour.—String and shelled beans; cauliflower; oyster plant; winter squash, steamed or baked; young turnips.
Two hours.—Old carrots, beets, and turnips.
Six to eight hours (or more).—Dried beans, lentils, and peas, baked in the oven, with water added.
The potato, a starchy vegetable.—Make it your pride to serve a plain potato, mealy and inviting. Potatoes are “new,” fully ripe, and old. The new potato is in market in July and August, and may be recognized by its very thin skin. The later potatoes have a thicker skin, the color still being fresh. In the spring afterits winter storage, the potato is “old.” It seems a little less firm, the color of the exterior is somewhat changed; perhaps the buds in the eyes of the potato are beginning to grow. When cooked it has a stronger flavor, and rather darker color. If the potato has been frozen, a sweet flavor is developed, and the quality is waxy. Potatoes are sometimes inferior in quality when the season is a poor one, or when some potato disease is prevalent. The following classification shows you in how many ways potatoes may be cooked, and also shows you how easy it is to classify recipes in an orderly way.
I. Potatoes cooked whole.
1. Steamed.
a.With skin.
b.Without skin.
2. Boiled.
a.With skin.
b.Without skin.
3. Baked.
a.With skin.
b.Without skin.
II. Potatoes, not whole.
1. From raw potatoes.
a.Sliced and escalloped.
b.Cut in cubes and stewed.
c.Cut in slices or fancy shapes and fried.
2. From cooked potatoes.
a.Mashed.
(a) From boiled potatoes, plain or browned on top.
(b) From baked potatoes, seasoned and served in shell.
b.Creamed. From either cold-boiled or baked potatoes; the latter are better.
c.Sauté.
(a) Sliced and browned.
(b) Hashed and browned.
If you know some other method, see if you can fit it into this grouping.
1. Baked potatoes.
Method 1.The best method, for new potatoes. Select those of uniform size. When scrubbed, place them in a shallowpan, or upon the rack of the oven. The oven should be hot, about 450° F. or even a higher temperature. (See oven tests, Chapter IX.) The length of time required depends upon the size of the potato, forty-five minutes being the average time.
A potato is largely water. What is the temperature of the interior of the potato during the baking process?
Test by pressing firmly, protecting the fingers by a soft cloth; or insert a fork. When the potato is done, it yields to the pressure of the fingers. If the potatoes cannot be served at once, break the skin that the steam may escape, cover with a cloth, and keep them hot.
For convenience at the table, cut the potatoes in two lengthwise, loosen the content of each half with a fork, sprinkle with salt, and add a bit of butter, as much as one would add at the table.
Potato on the half shellcarries serving one step farther. Cut the baked potatoes in two lengthwise, remove the contents, mash lightly, add butter or butterine, milk, and salt, allowing a teaspoonful of butter, a tablespoonful of milk and a shake or two of salt to each potato. These measurements cannot be given with exactness, because potatoes vary in size. Beat this mixture well, replace lightly in each half shell, and brown the tops slightly. This is nothing more than mashed baked potato, prettily served.
Invent other variations of this dish, adding ingredients that are agreeable when mixed with the potato. The beaten white of an egg added, gives greater lightness to the mixture in the potato shell.
Method 2.The same as Method 1, except that the potatoes are pared before baking. A good method when the skins are not fair. A brown crust is formed on the potato, which is crisp and pleasant to eat. Large potatoes may be cut in two before baking, or even sliced.
What difference in length of baking will there be between Methods 1 and 2?
2. Boiled potatoes.
The only way to prevent the loss of nutrients in using this process is to boil the potatoes with the “jackets” on. This is the best way with new potatoes. This method with ripe and old potatoes gives a yellowish color to the surface andindeed throughout. It is a labor-saving method for the busy housewife, as the skin cracks and loosens at the end of the boiling process, and is easily removed.
If you choose to have a snow-white potato, it must be pared before boiling, and thus you deliberately waste the valuable mineral matter provided by nature. If your income permits this æsthetic pleasure, the mineral matter can of course be supplied in other vegetables. The woman who can spend but twenty to thirty cents per capita for food per day should boil the potatoes with the skins on and gratify her artistic sense in some other way.
The method of boiling is the same in either case, whether the potato is pared or not.
Have enough boiling water to cover the potatoes. Put the potatoes of uniform size one at a time into the kettle that the boiling may not stop. Allow a gentle boiling to continue until the potatoes are done. Why avoid rapid boiling? Test with a fork at the end of half an hour. When the potatoes are mellow, drain off the water, and set the kettle where the remaining moisture will steam off. Shake gently to hasten this process, and sprinkle the potatoes with salt. If they must stand before serving will you place a tin cover or a cloth over the kettle? Old potatoes, with a strong flavor, should be pared before boiling, or even soaked in cold water.
3. Mashed potatoes.—Some one devised this convenient method of serving, to save trouble at the table. Mashed potato can be very poor and unappetizing when wet and lumpy. Do not attempt it with new, poor, or old potatoes. See that the boiled potatoes are as dry as can be—every particle of water steamed away. Mash thoroughly with the wire masher, add butter or butterine, salt and milk in about the proportions given for potato in the half shell. Use a tablespoonful or so of cream if it is available.Beat vigorously.The mealiness of the potato and the vigorous beating are the secrets of success. The finished product should be light and somewhat moist,—not wet. Reheat in the kettle. Pile lightly in a hot dish and serve; or brown the top before serving.
Potato puff.(Soufflé.)—With your knowledge of mashed potato, can you not invent a potato puff?
4. Escalloped potato.—The nameescallopedis applied to any baked dish that is arranged in layers. Escalloped potato is a palatable dish and this is one of the most economical of methods.
Wash, pare, and slice the potatoes in1⁄4-inch pieces. Slightly grease an earthen or enameled baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of the slices, sprinkle the slices lightly with flour, and put on two teaspoonfuls of butter, or butterine, in small bits. Continue until the dish is nearly full. Pour in milk to barely cover the potatoes, put a cover on the dish and set the dish in an oven of 380° F. Remove the cover in time to allow the top to brown. Allow rather more than half an hour for the baking.
5. Creamed potatoes.—Method 1, aneasy way. Chop coldbakedpotatoes with the chopper. Allow one tablespoonful of butter to 1 pint of chopped potato. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the potatoes. Shake from the dredger the equivalent of a tablespoonful of flour, stirring the potato with one hand as you shake with the other. Pour in enough milk to barely cover the chopped potato. Set the saucepan in the coolest spot on the range;oron the simmering burner of a gas range, upon an asbestos mat;orturn all into an earthenware jar, or baking dish, and proceed as with escalloped potato. Allow the mixture to cook until it becomes creamy.
Method 2. Cut the cold potatoes in cubes, and heat in a thin white sauce. See Chapter X.
Boiled potatoes may be used, but baked are better in texture and flavor for creaming.
6. French fried potatoes.—Wash and pare small potatoes, cut in eighths lengthwise, and soak a few minutes in cold water. Take from water, dry between towels, and fry in deep fat. Drain on brown paper and sprinkle with salt.
(1)Deep fat frying.—An iron kettle is the best for deep fat, 3 quarts a convenient size. A wire basket is almost necessary for frying soft material.
Fill the kettle1⁄2full of fat and place over fire. When a slight blue smoke or vapor rises from it, it is ready to test. Test with small cubes of bread. If bread browns in 1 minute, the temperature is right for uncooked mixtures. If it brownsin 10 seconds, it is right for cooked materials. Care must be taken to keep the temperatures at the right point, for if too cool, the material will soak fat; if too hot, both fat and material to be cooked will burn.
(2)To clarify fat.—Drop several slices raw, pared potato into the fat and let bubble up. Strain all through cheesecloth back into pail from which fat was taken. The potatoes seem to absorb food odors and collect crumbs and leave the fat clear.
7. Stewed celery.—A green vegetable. Stalks of celery, too tough or coarse for serving uncooked, are delicious when stewed. The process is simple. Wash, scrape, and cut the stalks crosswise. Place them in a stewpan, barely cover with hot water, adding a teaspoonful of salt to a pint of celery. Cook gently for half an hour or until the celery is tender. Use the liquid remaining in making a sauce, adding some milk to make the necessary amount of liquid. Three fourths of a cup of sauce is enough for a pint of celery. See Chapter X.
8. Cabbage.—The method given makes cabbage a delicious and attractive vegetable, as delicate as cauliflower, and the odor in the kitchen is not noticeable.
Select a small cabbage, with the ribs in the leaves not too thick. Prepare the cabbage before washing it by cutting out the stalks from below with a sharp knife. Separate the leaves. Have ready the largest kettle available, nearly full of rapidly boiling water. Drop in one cabbage leaf at a time, pressing each one down with a long-handled spoon or skimmer. Do this so slowly that the water does not stop boiling. Leave the kettle uncovered, and allow the cabbage to cook from 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the leaf stalks. Remove the leaves with a long-handled skimmer, putting them into a colander standing on a plate.Immediatelypour the hot water down the sink drain, turn on the cold water to flush away the odor, and fill the kettle with cold water. While the cabbage is cooking, you have made a pint of white sauce, No. 2 (Ch. X), adding a teaspoonful of salt, and have prepared1⁄2cup of buttered crumbs. Cut the cabbage leaves slightly, place them in a baking dish, pour the white sauce over them, sprinkle the crumbs on the top, and brown the crumbs in theoven or under the gas. If you can, prepare this as a surprise at home, and ask the family to “guess” what it is. If the cabbage is a good one, some of the leaves turn a very pretty green with this method of boiling.
9. Baked beans.—A nitrogenous vegetable and a meat substitute. A dish known in old days in New England, baked to perfection in the old brick oven. Baked beans seem difficult of digestion for some people. The mustard is supposed to be helpful, and adds something to the flavor. If the molasses is omitted, or but a small amount used, and if butter takes the place of pork or suet, the beans seem more digestible. In different parts of New England the dish is varied. Some people prefer rather dry baked beans, others wish them moist and very sweet.
Utensils.—A kettle. A covered bean pot.
Ingredients.—
1 quart of white beans.
1 teaspoonful of soda.
1⁄4lb. salt pork or more,or
4 tablespoonfuls of beef fat or butter substitute.
Molasses, from two tablespoonfuls to1⁄2cup,or none.
1 teaspoonful of mustard.
Method.—Wash, and soak the beans in cold water over night. Pour off any water that remains. Put the beans into the kettle, cover with cold water, add the soda, and cook gently until the beans are slightly softened. The soda aids the softening. Pour off the water again, and put the beans into the pot. Mix the molasses and mustard with a pint of water, and pour this over the beans, adding more water if the beans are not covered. Place the pork or other fat upon the beans, and cover the pot. If fat other than pork is used, salt must be added to the beans. The beans should bake slowly, for from 6 to 8 hours, and even longer in a very slow oven. A stove of the type shown in Fig. 17 is good for this purpose. Theycan be baked in the ordinary gas oven, if only one burner is used, and that is turned very low.
Laboratory management.—The last experiment is the only one not easily performed in the school kitchen. The process, can begin perhaps on one day, and be finished the next. If there is some apparatus that cooks at a low temperature, the practical difficulties may be overcome.
Vegetable, or “cream” soups.
These are of two classes: the purées (porridge), or thick soups, with vegetable pulp as the thickening material, and the cream soups, which are somewhat thinner, the juices of some vegetable giving the flavor.
Potato purée, or soup, is an example of the first; cream of tomato of the second. The line is not sharply drawn between the two in many cook books. Milk is an important ingredient in these soups, so that they are sometimes known as milk soups. Butter and flour are used in both,—the flour in the purée “binds” the mixture and makes it smoother; in the cream soup the flour is used for thickening as well.
Dried beans, peas, or lentils make a delicious purée, the secret of success being long slow cooking in some low temperature apparatus. They are brought to perfection in the Atkinson Cooker.
10. Potato Pureé.
Ingredients.
Remarks.—If a thicker purée is desired, use more of the mashed potato. If celery salt is used, omit one teaspoonful of the salt. Less onion may be used, and the pepper omitted.
Utensils.—Make the list yourself, after reading the directions for mixing.
Method of mixing.—Boil and mash the potato, or use cold mashed potato. Heat the milk in the double boiler with the celery and onion. Add the milk gradually to the mashed potato, beating vigorously.
Put this mixture through a strainer into the double boiler,and reheat it. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, or stir in the flour, addslowlyhalf a cup of the soup to the butter and flour paste, and then pour this slowly into the mixture in the double boiler, stirring all the time. The soup will be ready to serve in about ten minutes.
Theimportant pointin this recipe is the quality of the mashed potato. It should be dry and light. It may be made from hot, mealy baked potatoes. If cold mashed potato is used, this should be made light again with a fork. An excellent luncheon dish. Will serve four to six people.
11. Cream of tomato soup.
Ingredients.
Remarks.—Celery and onion may be added, but are not necessary. When you become expert, you will be able to use a larger amount of tomato juice, and even omit the soda.
Method of mixing.—This you will be able to work out for yourself. First perform this simple experiment. Stir together a tablespoonful of stewed tomato and a tablespoonful of milk. What happens? Heat this mixture. What further do you notice? How may you best extract the juice from the tomato? You have noticed the effect of the acid tomato upon the milk. The soda is added to partly counteract this effect. Will you stir the soda into the tomato juice or into the milk? Will you stir the tomato juice into the milk, or the milk into the tomato juice? Will you cook the mixture at all? How long before serving will you mix the two? When will you add the butter and flour?
Laboratory management.—An individual portion of soup may be made with1⁄2cup of liquid, but it is better to allow 1 cup when possible to each pupil, or two pupils may work together.
The important point in this soup is to prevent the curdling, so you safeguard the milk at each step.
Croutons may be served with any of these soups.
12. Chili sauce.
Ingredients.
Method.—Peel tomatoes and slice into a preserving kettle. Add other ingredients and heat to the boiling point. Cook slowly two and one half hours. Pour into preserve jars and seal.
1. What is the distinction between fruits and vegetables?
2. How does the composition of apples compare with that of carrots?
3. Contrast the nutritive values of celery, potatoes, and old beans.
4. What other foods must be served with potato to make a meal complete?
5. How may we best retain the mineral matter of vegetables in cooking?
6. Is it allowable to cook a vegetable in boiling water and throw away the water?
7. Why must more time be allowed for baking a potato than for boiling?
8. Why more time for an old beet than for a young?
9. Find the cost of potatoes in your locality. Estimate the cost of a dish of mashed potato for five people.
10. Estimate the cost of 100-Calorie portions of several vegetables. See Fig. 36.