School and Home Cooking Part 9

3. Cooking in such a small quant.i.ty of water that none needs to be drained away after cooking.

4. Cooking in steam.

5. Cooking in the oven by means of dry heat.

COOKING VEGETABLES IN WATER.--Water in which vegetables are cooked should be salted. Use 1 teaspoonful of salt for each quart of water. The water should be _boiling_ when the vegetables are added and should be kept boiling _gently_ during the entire cooking. Rapidly boiling water wears off the edges of vegetables and breaks them.

The water in which vegetables are cooked is called _vegetable stock_.

When vegetables are pared or sc.r.a.ped before cooking in water, the stock should be utilized in making vegetable sauces.

Test vegetables for sufficient cooking with a fork or knitting needle.

BEETS

Clean beets by scrubbing them with a small brush, using it carefully so as not to break the skin. Leave two or three inches of the stems on until the beets are cooked. Cook them whole in boiling salted water (see _Cooking Vegetables in Water_). Test only the largest beet for sufficient cooking. Use a knitting needle or wire skewer for testing. Drain and cover with cold water and rub off the skin with the hands. Cut the beets into slices, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and add a little b.u.t.ter.

A small quant.i.ty of vinegar may be added, if desired. Serve hot.

Beets may also be served with a _sauce_. Prepare the sauce like White Sauce, using for the liquid three parts of water and one part of vinegar.

Beets may be _pickled_ by slicing them or by cutting into cubes and placing in plain or spiced vinegar. Serve cold.

SCALLOPED TOMATOES WITH ONIONS

2 cupfuls sliced onions 2 cupfuls tomatoes 1 tablespoonful fat Salt and pepper 1 cupful bread crumbs

Parboil the onions for 15 minutes; drain. [Footnote 18: When the water is drained from the onions, there is a loss of nutriment. In cooking onions, however, we usually consider it advisable to lose some food value for the sake of flavor. See "Nutriment versus Flavor".] Into a greased baking-dish put a layer of tomatoes, then one of onions, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat until all the vegetables are added.

Mix the bread crumbs and fat as directed for Stuffed Tomatoes. Sprinkle these crumbs on top of the vegetables. Bake in a moderate oven (400 degrees F.) for 30 minutes or until the onions are tender. Serve hot.

BROILED TOMATOES

Wash and cut tomatoes in halves, crosswise; do not peel them. Place them (with cut surface up) in a "frying" pan (without fat). Cook on top of the range or in the oven at a low temperature for about 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft, but not broken. Add a bit of b.u.t.ter to each half of tomato and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

QUESTIONS

Since sugar is manufactured from beets, the latter must contain considerable sugar. From this fact and the results of Experiment 11, explain why beets must not be pared or cut in pieces before cooking.

State another reason why beets should not be pared or cut into pieces before cooking. Also give the reason for leaving a portion of the stem on beets during cooking.

Explain why only one beet should be tested for sufficient cooking, and why it should be tested with a knitting needle or wire skewer rather than with a fork.

What is the price of beets per pound? How many beets in a pound?

Carefully explain how the nutriment is retained by cooking beets and tomatoes according to the recipes of this lesson.

What is the advantage and disadvantage in draining water from onions after parboiling them?

LESSON XII

FRESH VEGETABLES (B)

FOOD PREJUDICES.--Most persons have decided likes and dislikes for certain foods. These opinions very often have no reasonable foundation. One taste of a food poorly prepared or a disparaging remark heard in childhood may be the cause for a lifetime's aversion for a food.

There is no better way to overcome food prejudices than by learning to prepare foods well--to make them tasty and nutritious--and to appreciate their nutritive value. Food prejudices like most others may be overcome by a thorough knowledge of the subject.

Come to the school kitchen with an open mind. When you understand why certain foods are valuable in diet and are able to prepare them skilfully, you may learn to enjoy them. To discover that foods which you previously considered commonplace and uninteresting are tasty, is really a pleasing experience.

TIME FOR COOKING FRESH VEGETABLES IN WATER.--It is not possible to state just how long a vegetable will be required to cook in water. The time varies with the kind of vegetable, its size, and age. Usually the older a vegetable, the longer the time required for cooking. Young vegetables, especially green corn and tender cabbage, may be spoiled by too long cooking.

For novices, a time table may be helpful not only in determining when a food is sufficiently cooked but in deciding how long to allow for cooking a food before it is to be served. But do not depend entirely upon a time table. Judging by appearance and using the fork or knitting needle is the most reliable test.

TABLE

Asparagus 15-20 minutes Beets (young) 45-60 minutes Beets (old) 3-4 hours Cabbage 15-30 minutes Carrots 30-60 minutes Cauliflower 20-30 minutes Celery 20-45 minutes Green Corn 12-20 minutes Lima beans (fresh) 45-60 minutes Onions 30-45 minutes Parsnips 30-45 minutes Peas (fresh) 20-30 minutes Potatoes 25-30 minutes Spinach 15-30 minutes Squash (summer) 20-30 minutes String Beans 1-3 hours Sweet Potatoes 15-25 minutes Turnips 30-45 minutes

PARING VEGETABLES.--If the outside skin of a vegetable is removed, it should be pared as thin as possible. The covering of the carrot and new potato is so thin that it can be removed by sc.r.a.ping, thereby saving the valuable nutritive substances just beneath the skin.

Turnips are an exception to the rule, a thick layer of cellular material covers them. For this reason, a thick paring is cut from turnips. (Cut a turnip in two and note the thickness of its skin.)

MASHED TURNIPS

6 medium turnips Salt and pepper 2 tablespoonfuls b.u.t.ter or subst.i.tute

Scrub and pare the turnips. Cut each into cubes. Place in the top part of a steamer (see Figure 31) and cook until tender when tested with a fork or knitting needle.

Mash the turnips with a potato masher. Add b.u.t.ter or subst.i.tute and enough salt and pepper to season. Serve hot.

b.u.t.tERED CARROTS

4 cupfuls carrots, cut into strips 2 tablespoonfuls b.u.t.ter or subst.i.tute 2 teaspoonfuls salt Dash pepper

Scrub and sc.r.a.pe carrots, cut them into strips. Put them in a saucepan and add water to a depth of 1 inch. When the carrots are tender and only a small amount of water remains, add the b.u.t.ter or subst.i.tute and seasonings. Continue to cook slowly until almost all of the remaining water has evaporated. Serve the vegetables and surrounding liquid hot.

Young string beans cut in halves lengthwise and parsnips cut in strips may be cooked in the same way.

(Adapted from a _United States Department of Agriculture_ recipe.)

QUESTIONS

Why should the outside skin of a vegetable be pared as thin as possible?

What is the exception to this rule?

How should vegetable stock be utilized? Why?

Housekeepers usually add milk to potatoes when mashing them. Why is moisture not added to mashed turnips?