LVIII.MISTAKES IN COOKING VEGETABLES.
FRESH vegetables, properly prepared, are among the most important articles of food. They mostly abound in saline substances that are indispensable to the maintenance of a healthy condition of the whole system; but to secure the blessings they were designed to yield, everything depends on their being freshly gathered and carefully cooked.
It is very difficult to obtain freshly gathered vegetables when one is obliged to depend on the city markets for them. In this, as in many other things, our farmers, and those who can afford even a small vegetable garden, have far more to be thankful for than those whose home is in the city, and whose tastes and desires extend no farther; for although to those who heartily relish the summer productions, stale vegetables may be better than none, yet the use of them is always an unsafe experiment, making easy victims for the many diseases incident to the summer; whereas we imagine a reasonable prodigality in eating most of the summer vegetables and fruits, when they can be had every day fresh from the garden, is peculiarly conducive to the enjoyment of sound health.
Then, as regards the cooking of the many kinds of vegetables that are desirable only when fresh, it must be remembered that many sorts have a large proportion of woody tissues, which require a suitable degree of heat by which they can be softened or decomposed before they may be eaten with impunity. That done, and the acid which is found in almost all esculent vegetables becomes an essentialassistance to sound digestion, as it tends to strengthen and give tone to the stomach.
Hard wateris often recommended for cooking many kinds of vegetables, but we know of none that are improved, and many that are injured by it. Beans and peas, for instance, are injured by boiling in hard water, whereas if soft water is used the skin softens, loses its huskiness, and these delicate vegetables become highly nutritious.
A little soda is used by many cooks in preparing vegetables; but it is only when one is so unfortunate as to be unable to procure soft water to cook with that we think it can be tolerated. To be sure, it secures a fine green with some articles, such as peas and beans, and makes them very tender, but this is gained at the expense of all sweetness and natural flavor.
A few rules for gathering and preparing vegetables in the country may be given, which, if carefully observed, will secure their being brought to the table in an excellent condition, and eaten without one murmur of dissatisfaction.
First, be sure that they were raised from the best of seed. It is useless to expect good vegetables unless they spring from the most perfect and best variety of seed. “Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?” Those who cultivate but a few acres simply for family use, having learned the importance of choosing their seed with care, are every year becoming more and more particular in their search for the finest varieties. More depends on this than farmers have been accustomed to think; but seeing what can be done by amateur gardeners through care, and reading the success of other experiments, they are giving much more attention to this than was customary in former years. The result is, that there is no longer any excuse for having a poor article brought either from your own garden or the market. It is the length of time it has been gathered, andthe manner in which it has been prepared, that determines its excellence.
All vegetables are injured by lying exposed to sun and rain; but corn, peas, fresh beans, asparagus, and lettuce become perfectly worthless. They should be gathered while the dew is yet on them, brought to the house, and placed at once in a cool place where the sun will not strike upon them. It is better to leave corn in the husk, peas and beans in the pods, until it is time to prepare them for cooking. Then watch that they are not left long in water, if, indeed, you cannot avoid washing them entirely. Corn when taken from the husk needs no washing; simply remove all the silk. If there is a black or rusty spot on an ear of corn, reject it entirely; it shows the beginning of disease. It improves a mess of peas, adding greatly to their sweetness, to boil thepods, after shelling, about fifteen minutes in the water you are about to boil the peas in. For this purpose, you must pour cold water over the pods, to remove any dust or minute bugs that may be upon them; wash quickly, and then leave them to drain before shelling. The peas, of course, after this need no washing, neither do beans. Asparagus should be washed quickly, to remove all dust; but must on no account be left in the water a moment after it is clean. As soon as washed, put in a cullender to drain, and then over the stove to cook as soon as you can. All vegetables should be laid in the saucepan in which they are to be cooked, with sufficient salt to season sprinkled over them; thenboilingwater poured on, and the whole brought to a boil immediately, else they become of a brownish color and look very uninviting. The salt, either put on them first or the water salted before they are put in, prevents the color changing. Then boil, or, what is better,steamthem for the proper time,—twenty minutes for asparagus, peas, and corn is long enough, never over thirty minutes; when so oldas to need longer cooking, they are too old to use at all. Beans require longer time, unless very young; from three quarters of an hour to an hour will be necessary.
Very few vegetables, comparatively, are as digestible raw as when cooked; those used for salads, such as celery, lettuce, cabbage, etc., are exceptions. Some which when raw are quite poisonous can, by skillful boiling, be transformed into our most nutritious and easily digested food; yet the attempt to cook them is too often made in such a careless and reckless way that, although whatever poison they contain when raw is dispelled, the mode of cooking makes them about as injurious to the health as the poison could have been,—half raw or overcooked till they are clammy or sodden, or cooked with salt and fat meat until their whole nature seems changed,—requiring a stomach like that of an ostrich to digest them.
Thepotato, when raw, is not only unpalatable and injurious, but is supposed to be really poisonous, while proper cooking changes it to one of the most palatable and healthful of all vegetables.
Thebitter cassavais so deadly when raw that the Indians use the juice to poison their arrows; but when grated and pressed, to remove the juice, it is subjected to a heat which destroys all that is unsafe, and then we have the tapioca, so much prized for table use, and which is regarded by many physicians as far more digestible for infants than arrowroot; but thesweet cassava, from which bread is made, is, even when raw, free from all harmful qualities. Thewake-robin, from which sago is made, is so poisonous that the juice will blister the hand; but like the cassava, when roasted or boiled, is entirely free from all injurious qualities, and is, after being thus cooked, made into sago.
In many of our “cook-books”mintis recommended for seasoning various kinds of vegetables, but we do not believea good vegetable can be improved by anything that destroys the true natural taste. Peas may be much improved, we think, by boiling the pods, after washing them in clear soft water, about fifteen minutes; then strain the water from the pods, bring it to a boil, add some salt to keep the peas green, and use as much as is needed to boil the peas themselves in. It gives them all the sweetness that the pod contains, which is sufficiently near the flavor of the pea not to impart any unnatural taste. A little cream may be added with the butter, pepper, and salt required to dress them, although we think the little water that is needed to cook them (and it should bevery little) is far better. When we see a littlemintadvised to “give a fine flavor,” we have no objection to others enjoying it, but confess we think it a perverted taste.
Peas, beans, asparagus, corn, and potatoes should be either steamed or cooked in as little water as can be used without burning them; and to dress the first three, some of the water in which they are boiled should be used; then, in helping them out, if any prefer them dry, it is very easy to take them from the dish free from liquor.
Another great mistake consists in allowing most kinds of vegetables to cook too long. Some require much longer time to cook than others, but all need careful watching. Beets, turnips, carrots, parsnips, etc., need considerable cooking; but if you go beyond a certain point they become watery or sodden, and lose half their excellence or are completely ruined. Peas, corn, and potatoes should require but little time to be cooked sufficiently. When young, peas and corn do not require over fifteen or twenty minutes; as they become larger or attain their full growth, thirty minutes may be needed; if more than that, they are no longer fit to use, except for soups or meal.
Peas, beans, asparagus, and lettuce are often injured by being washed too much, or by being left soaking in water.Wash as little and as quickly as possible; drain, then cover up the dish, and put them in a cool place out of the sun till ready to cook. Lettuce, particularly, will be far more crisp and tender if, after washing and picking it over carefully, it is laid on ice till needed.