Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1915 — TO PREPARE AND USE VEGETABLES [ARTICLE]

TO PREPARE AND USE VEGETABLES

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT EXPERTS GIVE REBULTB OF BTUDY AND EXPERIMENT. SOME PLANTS EATEN RAW i ————■nHFre*h Vegetables an Essential Part of Man’s Diet —How Waste Can Be Avoided in the Compounding of Baiads. (Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) Fresh green vegetables are generally relished and form a part of man’s diet whenever they can be obtained. Such vegetables may be called salad plants though it Is difficult to classify plants according to the uses to which they are put, for almost all are used for mady different purposes. Lettuce, for example, a vegetable which in this country is most always eaten raw, in Europe is often cooked, and thus it becomes a potherb as well as a salad plant. Water cress, though often used as a salad, is sometimes used simply as a condiment. Peas,, beans, potatoes and vegetables such as spinach, which are most commonly served as a “vegetable,” are often put into salads. In spite of these difficulties in the way of classification, we may include under salad plants those whose leaves and stems are usually eaten raw with a sour dressing, and define a salad as a dish consisting in whole or in part of vegetables, either raw or cooked, mixed with a sour dressing. Salad dressing usually contains a fat as well as an acid. Housekeepers often claim to know and care little about salads, but those who dig wild Jerusalem artichokes in the spring or start the early peppergrass or radish to serve as relishes at the table are providing salads for their families; or, again, those who prepare the cold vegetables left at noon, such as “greens,” with a dressing even of salt and vinegar for supper, < make salaas. Fresh cucumbers with vinegar or other dressing are salads Just as much as are the more elaborate dishes. Balad: a Food To Be Eaten With Balt. The derivation of the word salad shows it to mean a food to be eaten with salt. It would be better to keep near to this original meaning rather than to go to the extreme Of some housekeepers who. in their search for novelties for their tables, build up salads from strange combinations in ornate forms. The distinctive salad plants are very succulent; that is, they consist mainly of water. Hence, they are especially refreshing in warm weather. As a separate course they are a pleasant contrast to the heavier dishes of a formal meal. They also serve to prevent too great concentration of food, and thus aid in the digestive process. Upon the valuable saline properties of these raw plants we are Just beginning to place a definite value, though evidently these were recognized by the instinct of the people of the far past. Why Dressings Are Used. Fat is a compact food and, weight for weight, is about two and a quarter times as valuable as protein or carbohydrate for fuel in the human body. A tablespoonful of oil would go farther toward supplying energy for keeping the human machinery running than a large head of lettuce. Over all the world people have Instinctively added a condensed dressing consisting mainly of oil, bacon fat, or cream to the salad plants bulky with cellular tissue and water, and have eaten such salads with meat and bread supplying protein and carbohydrate, and thus have secured a fairly balanced ration. Modern study of bacteriology Indicates that pagan and religious ceremonies of purification by fire and water had definite value for healthful life in this world. Water cleanses to some extent, but only through intense or long-continued heat is complete sterilization and freedom from bacteria and parasites secured. Therefore great care is needed in the selection and preparation of foods which are not to be subjected to heat. Cress, lettuce, and other salad plants, carelessly cultivated and handled in the market and half cleaned in the kitchen, may transmit disease, as may milk, raw oysters and other animal foods. The fashion of cutting across a head of lettuce or celery, though it may give each person a fair share of the choice and less tender portions, cannot be recommended, because it is practically Impossible to cleanse the axils of the leaves, the groove* where they Join the stem. All such plants should he separated in their natural divisions and washed in more than one water, individual attention being given to hollows in stalks or leaves. Sand is unpleasant, but less harmful that? other things that may be left behind after washing; its presence, however, Justifies the suspicion that the washing was not thorough or carefully done. Vegetables such as spinach, which are difficult to free from grit, should be washed in a number of waters, and lifted out of the pan each time in loose handfuls before the water has been drained off. In this way the sand and grit has an opportunity to sink to the bottom of the pan, while If the vegetables are left In it, part of the sand at least is again distributed over the washed leaves. Green vegetables should always be

looked over carefully to make sure that any inferior portions, insects, or other things which are undesirable are removed. The quality of vegetables may be greatly injured by insect peeta and plant diseases. If the plant suffers very severely from such enemies, it cannot make normal growth, and so> all or parts of it may be Inferior. For Instance, green peas or string beans from vines badly attacked by insects or by some fungous disease do not attain full perfection Obviously, leaves used as greens are of inferior quality if worm-eaten. Insect pests and plant diseases can often be controlled by the use of Insecticides and in similar ways. If such things are used there Is all the more reason for washing vegetables thoroughly before preparing them for the table, to remove any hellebore, copper salts, or other substance used in treating the plant, which may adhere to it. Salt in the water will aid in drawing out parasites if they happen to be present.. There is distinct advantage in washing all salad plants in running water, especially for the removal of insect* from lettuce. After washing several times and removing Imperfections, salad plants may be kept In a cool place like a cellar or refrigerator for some hours or even a day before using. After draining off the last water, wrap the leaves or stalks in a cloth or put in a clean paper bag; this is more effective than keeping them In water. During the cleaning process it i* advisable to sort out the coarsest portions to add to soup materials; the next best may not be attractive to serve by themselves, but can be cut or shredded for combination with other materials, while the best of all — the heart of the cabbage, celery, or lettuce —should be served in the least elaborate way with salt or a simple dressing^ Save Waste in Making Balads. No plan for serving salads should be encouraged which leads to a waste of food material. If it is desired to use the outer portion of a cabbage for a salad bowl, any adhering dressing may afterwards be washed off and the cabbage used for a scallop or soup. The outer leaves may be cooked for greens or soup. Many materials may be combined with the cabbage, celery, and lettuce —raw apples, radishes, or even canned fruit, such as pears cut in slices or cubes. Lettuce is generally recognized in this country as the main dependence for salad by itself and in combination with other foods. There are many varieties, adapted to different conditions, but all may be classed under two general heads—the cabbage lettuce, where the heads are solid and compact, and the cos lettuce, where the leaves are long and loose and less delicate than those of the other type. Romaine is an example of cos lettuce. There are also varieties with blanched centers and curly varieties with dark-tinged leaves. Chicory may be cultivated for salad, and Is more desirable when blanched. Endive, which is nearly related to chicory, is another useful salad plant. The corn salad or lamb’s lettuce is a small plant often found in city markets. Sorrel, wild and cultivated, some young and tender seaweeds, and many mild-flavored plants or weeds may be used as raw salads. Others are better for partial cooking, even If served cold as salads. Celery in its wild state is an unpromising if not harmful vegetable; by cultivation, and especially by blanching its leafstalks, it has been made a popular salad plant, and haa been thought to have certain medicinal virtues. The fibrous outer stalks and larger white leaves of a bunch of celery should be reserved for soup making. Some of the larger stalks, too stringy to sdfrvo whole, may be used in salads if cut in quarter-inch slices, or if too tough tor that, may be cooked after cutting and added to soups or served with white sauce or toast. The tender inner stalks should be seared plain to eat with salt. Sometimes the groove In the stalk is filled with prepared cheese. The center of the root Is a delicate morsel. Leave* and root may be dried to flavor future soups.