Science in the Kitchen Part 24

DESCRIPTION.--The turnip belongs to the order _Cruciferae_, signifying "cross flowers," so called because their four petals are arranged in the form of a cross. It is a native of Europe and the temperate portions of Asia, growing wild in borders of fields and waste places. The ancient Roman gastronomists considered the turnip, when prepared in the following manner, a dish fit for epicures: "After boiling, extract the water from them, and season with c.u.mmin, rue or benzoin, pounded in a mortar; afterward add honey, vinegar, gravy, and boiled grapes. Allow the whole to simmer, and serve."

Under cultivation, the turnip forms an agreeable culinary esculent; but on account of the large proportion of water entering into its composition, its nutritive value is exceedingly low. The Swedish, or Rutabaga, variety is rather more nutritive than the white, but its stronger flavor renders it less palatable. Unlike the potato, the turnip contains no starch, but instead, a gelatinous substance called pectose, which during the boiling process is changed into a vegetable jelly called pectine. The white lining just inside the skin is usually bitter; hence the tuber should be peeled sufficiently deep to remove it. When well cooked, turnips are quite easily digested.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Turnips are good for culinary purposes only from the time of their ripening till they begin to sprout. The process of germination changes their proximate elements, and renders them less fit for food. Select turnips which are plump and free from disease. A turnip that is wilted, or that appears spongy, pithy, or cork-like when cut, is not fit for food.

Prepare turnips for cooking by thoroughly washing and sc.r.a.ping, if young and tender, or by paring if more mature. If small, they may be cooked whole; if large, they should be cut across the grain into slices a half inch in thickness. If cooked whole, care must be taken to select those of uniform size; and if sliced, the slices must be of equal thickness.

_RECIPES._

BOILED TURNIPS.--Turnips, like other vegetables, should be boiled in as small an amount of water as possible. Great care must be taken, however, that the kettle does not get dry, as scorched turnip is spoiled. An excellent precaution, in order to keep them from scorching in case the water becomes low, is to place an inverted saucer or sauce-dish in the bottom of the kettle before putting in the turnips.

Put into boiling water, cook rapidly until sufficiently tender to pierce easily with a fork; too much cooking discolors and renders them strong in flavor. Boiled turnips should be drained very thoroughly, and all water pressed out before preparing for the table. The age, size, and variety of the turnip will greatly vary the time necessary for its cooking. The safest rule is to allow plenty of time, and test with a fork. Young turnips will cook in about forty-five minutes; old turnips, sliced, require from one and a quarter to two hours. If whole or cut in halves, they require a proportionate length of time. White turnips require much, less cooking than yellow ones.

BAKED TURNIPS.--Select turnips of uniform size; wash and wipe, but do not pare; place on the top grate of a moderately hot oven; bake two or more hours or until perfectly tender; peel and serve at once, either mashed or with cream sauce. Turnips are much sweeter baked than when cooked in any other way.

CREAMED TURNIPS.--Pare, but do not cut, young sweet white turnips; boil till tender in a small quant.i.ty of water; drain and dry well. Cook a tablespoonful of flour in a pint of rich milk or part cream; arrange the turnips in a baking dish, pour the sauce over them, add salt if desired, sprinkle the top with grated bread crumbs, and brown in a quick oven.

CHOPPED TURNIPS.--Chop well-boiled white turnips very fine, add salt to taste and sufficient lemon juice to moisten. Turn into a saucepan and heat till hot, gently lifting and stirring constantly. Cold boiled turnip may be used advantageously in this way.

MASHED TURNIPS.--Wash the turnips, pare, and drop into boiling water. Cook until perfectly tender; turn into a colander and press out the water with a plate or large spoon; mash until free from lumps, season with a little sweet cream, and salt if desired. If the turnips are especially watery, one or two hot, mealy potatoes mashed with them will be an improvement.

SCALLOPED TURNIPS.--Prepare and boil whole white turnips until nearly tender; cut into thin slices, lay in an earthen pudding dish, pour over them a white sauce sufficient to cover, made by cooking a tablespoonful of flour in a pint of milk, part cream if preferred, until thickened. Season with salt, sprinkle the top lightly with grated bread crumbs, and bake in a quick oven until a rich brown. Place the baking dish on a clean plate, and serve. Rich milk or cream may be used instead of white sauce, if preferred.

STEAMED TURNIPS.--Select turnips of uniform size, wash, pare, and steam rapidly till they can be easily pierced with a fork; mash, or serve with lemon juice or cream sauce, as desired.

STEWED TURNIPS.--Prepare and slice some young, fresh white turnips, boil or steam about twenty minutes, drain thoroughly, turn into a saucepan with a cup of new milk for each quart of turnips; simmer gently until tender, season with salt if desired, and serve.

TURNIPS IN JUICE.--Wash young white turnips, peel, and boil whole in sufficient water to keep them from burning. Cover closely and cook gently until tender, by which time the water in the kettle should be reduced to the consistency of syrup. Serve at once.

TURNIPS WITH CREAM SAUCE.--Wash and pare the turnips, cut them into half-inch dice, and cook in boiling water until tender. Meanwhile prepare a cream sauce as directed for Scalloped Turnips, using thin cream in place of milk. Drain the turnips, pour the cream sauce over them, let them boil up once, and serve.

PARSNIPS.

DESCRIPTION.--The common garden parsnip is derived by cultivation from the wild parsnip, indigenous to many parts of Europe and the north of Asia, and cultivated since Roman times. It is not only used for culinary purposes, but a wine is made from it. In the north of Ireland a table beer is brewed from its fermented product and hops.

The percentage of nutritive elements contained in the parsnip is very small; so small, indeed, that one pound of parsnips affords hardly one fifth of an ounce of nitrogenous or muscle-forming material. The time required for its digestion, varies from two and one half to three and one half hours.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Wash and trim off any rough portions: sc.r.a.pe well with a knife to remove the skins, and drop at once into cold water to prevent discoloration. If the parsnips are smooth-skinned, fresh, and too small to need dividing, they need only be washed thoroughly before cooking, as the skins can be easily removed by rubbing with a clean towel. Reject those that are wilted, pithy, coa.r.s.e, or stringy. Large parsnips should be divided, for if cooked whole, the outside is likely to become soft before the center is tender. They may be either split lengthwise or sliced. Parsnips may be boiled, baked, or steamed; but like all other vegetables containing a large percentage of water, are preferable steamed or baked.

The time required for cooking young parsnips, is about forty-five minutes; when old, they require from one to two hours.

_RECIPES._

BAKED PARSNIPS.--Wash, thoroughly, but do not sc.r.a.pe the roots; bake the same as potatoes. When tender, remove the skins, slice, and serve with cream or an egg sauce prepared as directed for Parsnips with Egg Sauce. They are also very nice mashed and seasoned with cream. Baked and steamed parsnips are far sweeter than boiled ones.

BAKED PARSNIPS NO. 2.--Wash, sc.r.a.pe, and divide; drop into boiling water, a little more than sufficient to cook them, and boil gently till thoroughly tender. There should remain about one half pint of the liquor when the parsnips are done. Arrange on an earthen plate or shallow pudding dish, not more than one layer deep; cover with the juice, and bake, basting frequently until the juice is all absorbed, and the parsnips delicately browned. Serve at once.

BOILED PARSNIPS.--Clean, sc.r.a.pe, drop into a small quant.i.ty of boiling water, and cook until they can be easily pierced, with a fork.

Drain thoroughly, cut the parsnips in slices, and mash or serve with a white sauce, to which a little lemon juice may be added if desired.

BROWNED PARSNIPS.--Slice cold parsnips into rather thick pieces, and brown as directed for browned potatoes.

CREAMED PARSNIPS.--Bake or steam the parsnips until tender; slice, add salt if desired, and a cup of thin sweet cream. Let them stew slowly until nearly dry, or if preferred, just boil up once and serve.

MASHED PARSNIPS.--Wash and sc.r.a.pe, dropping at once into cold water to prevent discoloration. Slice thinly and steam, or bake whole until perfectly tender. When done, mash until free from lumps, removing all hard or stringy portions; add salt to taste and a few spoonfuls of thick sweet cream, and serve.

PARSNIPS WITH CREAM SAUCE.--Bake as previously directed. When tender, slice, cut into cubes, and pour over them a cream sauce prepared as for Turnips with Cream Sauce. Boil up together once, and serve.

PARSNIPS WITH EGG SAUCE.--Sc.r.a.pe, wash, and slice thinly, enough parsnips to make three pints; steam, bake, or boil them until very tender. If boiled, turn into a colander and drain well. Have ready an egg sauce, for preparing which heat a pint of rich milk or very thin cream to boiling, stir into it a level tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a little milk. Let this boil a few minutes, stirring constantly until the flour is well cooked and the sauce thickened; then add slowly the well-beaten yolk of one egg, stirring rapidly so that it shall be well mingled with the whole; add salt to taste; let it boil up once, pour over the parsnips, and serve. The sauce should be of the consistency of thick cream.

PARSNIPS WITH POTATOES.--Wash, sc.r.a.pe, and slice enough parsnips to make two and a half quarts. Pare and slice enough potatoes to make one pint. Cook together in a small quant.i.ty of water. When tender, mash smoothly, add salt, the yolks of two eggs well beaten, and a cup of rich milk. Beat well together, put into an earthen or china dish, and brown lightly in the oven.

STEWED PARSNIPS.--Prepare and boil for a half hour; drain, cover with rich milk, add salt if desired, and stew gently till tender.

STEWED PARSNIPS WITH CELERY.--Prepare and steam or boil some nice ones until about half done. If boiled, drain thoroughly; add salt if desired, and a tablespoonful of minced celery. Turn rich boiling milk over them, cover, and stew fifteen or twenty minutes, or till perfectly tender.

CARROTS.

DESCRIPTION.--The garden carrot is a cultivated variety of a plant belonging to the _Umbettiferae_, and grows wild in many portions of Europe. The root has long been used for food. By the ancient Greeks and Romans it was much esteemed as a salad. The carrot is said to have been introduced into England by Flemish refugees during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Its feathery leaves were used by the ladies as an adornment for their headdresses, in place of plumes. Carrots contain sugar enough for making a syrup from them; they also yield by fermentation and distillation a spirituous liquor. In Germany they are sometimes cut into small pieces, and roasted as a subst.i.tute for coffee.

Starch does not enter into the composition of carrots, but a small portion of pectose is found instead. Carrots contain more water than parsnips, and both much cellulose and little nutritive material. Carrots when well cooked form a wholesome food, but one not adapted to weak stomachs, as they are rather hard to digest and tend to flatulence.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--The suggestions given for the preparation of parsnips are also applicable to carrots; and they may be boiled, steamed, or browned in the same manner. From one to two hours time will be required, according to age, size, variety, and method of cooking.

_RECIPES._

BOILED CARROTS.--Clean, sc.r.a.pe, drop into boiling water, and cook till tender; drain thoroughly, slice, and serve with a cream sauce.

Varieties with strong flavor are better parboiled for fifteen or twenty minutes, and put into fresh boiling water to finish.

CARROTS WITH EGG SAUCE.--Wash and sc.r.a.pe well; slice and throw into boiling water, or else steam. When tender, drain thoroughly, and pour over them a sauce prepared the same as for parsnips (page 244), with the addition of a tablespoonful of sugar. Let them boil up once, and serve.

STEWED CARROTS.--Prepare young and tender carrots, drop into boiling water, and cook for fifteen or twenty minutes. Drain, slice, and put into a stewpan with rich milk or cream nearly to cover; simmer gently until tender; season with salt and a little chopped parsley.

BEETS.

DESCRIPTION.--The beet is a native of the coasts of the Mediterranean, and is said to owe its botanical name, _beta_, to a fancied resemblance to the Greek letter B. Two varieties are in common use as food, the white and the red beet; while a sub-variety, the sugar beet, is largely cultivated in France, in connection with the beet-sugar industry in that country. The same industry has recently been introduced into this country. It is grown extensively in Germany and Russia, for the same pose, and is also used there in the manufacture of alcohol.

The beet root is characterized by its unusual amount of sugar. It is considered more nutritive than any other esculent tuber except the potato, but the time required for its digestion exceeds that of most vegetables, being three and three fourths hours.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Beets, like other tubers, should be fresh, unshriveled, and healthy. Wash carefully, scrubbing with a soft brush to remove all particles of dirt; but avoid sc.r.a.ping, cutting, or breaking, lest the sweet juices escape. In handling for storage, be careful not to bruise or break the skins; and in purchasing from the market, select only such as are perfect.

Beets may be boiled, baked, or steamed. In boiling, if the skin is cut or broken, the juice will escape in the water, and the flavor will be injured; for this reason, beets should not be punctured with a fork to find if done. When tender, the thickest part will yield readily to pressure of the fingers. Beets should be boiled in just as little water as possible, and they will be much better if it has all evaporated by the time they are cooked.