Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1872 — Gathering and Preparing Vegetables. [ARTICLE]

Gathering and Preparing Vegetables.

A few rules for gathering and preparing vegetables in the country may be given, which, if carefully observed, will secure their being brought to in an excellent condition, and eaten without one murmur of djssatisfation. 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-tiristles ?” Those who cultivate but a few acres.simply for family use, haying 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 fanners 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 owff garden or the tnarket. It is the length of time it has been gathered, anfi the manner in which it has been prepared, that determines its excellence.

All vegetables are injured by lying exposed to eun and rain; but corn, peas, fresh beans, asparagus, and lettuce become perfectly worthless. They should be gathered while4he-dew is yet on them, brought to the house, and placed at once ' th 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, untirTEis time to prepare ttrem '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 thgre is a black or rusty spot on an ear of corn, reject it entirely; it show's the beginning of disease, Itiimproves a mess of peas, adding greatly"tb’-flfeH’-. sweetness, to boil the 'ptnls (after Shelling) about fifteen minutes, in the water you will boil the peas in. For this purpose, it is neces- . sary to pour cold water over the pods, to remove dust or minute bugs that may have been 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 m the i water a moment after it is clean. As soop 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; then boiling water 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—a still better way—them for the proper time. Twenty minutes, for asparagus, peas and corn, is long enough—never over thirty minutes; when so old as to need longer cooking, they are too old to use at all. Beans require longer time, unless very young; from three-quarters to an hour will be necessary. All much sweeter and fresher when steamed. But if you boil them; use aS littlß 'wateT ns possible;— Airs. H. IF. Beecher, in Christian Enion.