Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 105, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 May 1914 — FIRST OF VEGETABLES [ARTICLE]

FIRST OF VEGETABLES

ASPARAGUS 18 HEARTILY WEU COMED AS A DISH. OF SPRING. .-.CO Time and Care Expended in Its Preparation Is Well Repaid by Succulent Properties if It Is Properly Served. Asparagus is one of the things that make us glad when spring comes. Its flavor, like the first warm winds that blow out of an April sky, is a delicate forerunner of the richer gifts of summer. And, yet, is there one of all the many vegetables that the warm suns of summer bring out that is more toothsome than asparagus? From the housewife’s point of view, the best thing about asparagus is that it is so simple to prepare few the table. In fact, with a little boiling in a little water with a little salt and butter you have a dish fit for a king. The matter of boiling, however, is sometimes a stumbling block. We al! have seen asparagus come to the table with decapitated heads. This difficulty is due to the fact that the heads are so much tenderer than the stalks that when the stalks have been boiled sufficiently the heads have been boiled to pieces. One way to obviate this trouble is to take pains to put the bunches of asparagus after they have been washed and scraped into the boiling dish with the stalk end down. The boiling water should be poured over the stalks as far as the heads, but not to cover them. Then, as the stalks boll the heads are gently steamed, and if handled carefully will not break. Another way to obviate this difficulty is to use a wire basket which- is made especially for asparagus. This basket holds the stalks while cooking and the bottom opens easily, so that when the asparagus is cooked it can be put on a plate or serving platter without breaking the ends. It costs . 75 cents. Asparagus should always be cooked with salt in the proportion of a teaspoonful to a quart of water. No rule can be laid down as to the length of time to cook asparagus. When it is young and very tender 15 minutes will suffice. When it is somewhat older It will be improved by cooking up to 30 minutes or more. In choosing asparagus from the market it matters little whether it be small and highly colored or thickstalked and white. If it is young and fresh it is sure to be good. Asparagus is like fish in this, that you don’t really know its flavor until you have eaten it very fresh; just caught from the water or just cut from the asparagus bed. But the next best thing to do with respect to asparagus is to buy it on market day and get it home and in the icebox early In the morning before it has been exposed to the air and heat many hours. The custom of sending asparagus in as a separate course is a good one, for nothing is more satisfactory as a separate vegetable course than this succulent spring stalk. It can be served with the heads resting on a tiny strip of buttered toast, dressed with pepper and salt and butter or with a good cream sauce or it can be served in any of a dozen more elaborate ways. - ; Served simply with butter or cold, with a vinaigrette sauce. It is a good accompaniment of any roast meat Various sauces make various dishes ; of asparagus and although connoisseurs insist that the delicate flavor of this vegetable cannot be improved on by the addition of flavoring, other than pepper, salt and melted butter, still sauces can be depended on by •the cook for variety. * ■.„