Science in the Kitchen Part 25

Young beets will boil in one hour, while old beets require from three to five hours; if tough, wilted, and stringy, they cannot be boiled tender.

Baked beets require from three to six hours.

_RECIPES._

BAKED BEETS.--Beets are far better baked than boiled, though it takes a longer time to cook properly. French cooks bake them slowly six hours in a covered dish, the bottom of which is lined with well-moistened rye straw; however, they may be baked on the oven grate, like potatoes. Wipe dry after washing, and bake slowly. They are very nice served with a sauce made of equal quant.i.ties of lemon juice and whipped cream, with a little salt.

BAKED BEETS NO. 2.--Wash young and tender beets, and place in an earthen baking dish with a very little water; as it evaporates, add more, which must be of boiling temperature. Set into a moderate oven, and according to size of the beets, bake slowly from two to three hours.

When tender, remove the skins and dress with lemon juice or cream sauce.

BEETS AND POTATOES.--Boil newly matured potatoes and young beets separately till tender; then peel and slice. Put thorn in alternate layers in a vegetable dish, with salt to taste, and enough sweet cream nearly to cover. Brown in the oven, and serve at once.

BEET HASH.--Chop quite finely an equal quant.i.ty of cold boiled or baked beets and boiled or baked potatoes. Put into a shallow saucepan, add salt and sufficient hot cream to moisten. Toss frequently, and cook until well heated throughout. Serve hot.

BEET GREENS.--Take young, tender beets, clean thoroughly without separating the tops and roots. Examine the leaves carefully, and pick off inferior ones. Put into boiling water, and cook for nearly an hour.

Drain, press out all water, and chop quite fine. Serve with a dressing of lemon juice or cream, as preferred.

BEET SALAD, OR CHOPPED BEETS.--Cold boiled or baked beets, chopped quite fine, but not minced, make a nice salad when served with a dressing of lemon juice and whipped cream in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls of lemon juice to one half cup of whipped cream, and salt if desired.

BEET SALAD NO. 2.--Chop equal parts of boiled beets and fresh young cabbage. Mix thoroughly, add salt to taste, a few tablespoonfuls of sugar, and cover with diluted lemon juice. Equal quant.i.ties of cold boiled beets and cold boiled potatoes, chopped fine, thoroughly mixed, and served with a dressing of lemon juice and whipped cream, make a palatable salad. Care should be taken in the preparation of these and the preceding salad, not to chop the vegetables so fine as to admit of their being eaten without mastication.

BOILED BEETS.--Wash carefully, drop into boiling water, and cook until tender. When done, drop into cold water for a minute, when the skins can be easily rubbed off with the hand. Slice, and serve hot with lemon juice or with a cream sauce.

STEWED BEETS.--Bake beets according to recipe No. 2. Peel, cut in slices, turn into a saucepan, nearly cover with thin cream, simmer for ten or fifteen minutes, add salt if desired, and thicken the gravy with a little corn starch or flour.

CABBAGE.

DESCRIPTION.--The common white garden cabbage is one of the oldest of cultivated vegetables. A variety of the plant known as red cabbage was the delight of ancient gourmands more than eighteen centuries ago.

The Egyptians adored it, erected altars to it, and made it the first dish at their repasts. In this they were imitated by the Greeks and Romans.

Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, considered the cabbage one of the most valuable of remedies, and often prescribed a dish of boiled cabbage to be eaten with salt for patients suffering with violent colic.

Erasistratus looked upon it as a sovereign remedy against paralysis, while Cato in his writings affirmed it to be a panacea for all diseases, and believed the use the Romans made of it to have been the means whereby they were able, during six hundred years, to do without the a.s.sistance of physicians, whom they had expelled from their territory.

The learned philosopher, Pythagoras, composed books in which he lauded its wonderful virtues.

The Germans are so fond of cabbage that it enters into the composition of a majority of their culinary products. The cabbage was first raised in England about 1640, by Sir Anthony Ashley. That this epoch, important to the English horticultural and culinary world, may never be forgotten, a cabbage is represented upon Sir Anthony's monument.

The nutritive value of the cabbage is not high, nearly ninety per cent being water; but it forms an agreeable variety in the list of vegetable foods, and is said to possess marked antis...o...b..tic virtue. It is, however, difficult of digestion, and therefore not suited to weak stomachs. It would be impossible to sustain life for a lengthened period upon cabbage, since to supply the body with sufficient food elements, the quant.i.ty would exceed the rate of digestion and the capacity of the stomach.

M. Chevreul, a French scientist, has ascertained that the peculiar odor given off during the boiling of cabbage is due to the disengagement of sulphureted hydrogen. Cabbage is said to be more easily digested raw than cooked.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--A good cabbage should have a well-developed, firm head, with fresh, crisp leaves, free from worm-holes and decayed portions. To prepare for cooking, stalk, shake well to free from dirt, and if there are any signs of insects, lay in cold salted water for an hour or so to drive them out. Rinse away the salt water, and if to be boiled, drop into a small quant.i.ty of boiling water. Cover closely and boil vigorously until tender. If cooked slowly, it will be watery and stringy, while overdone cabbage is especially insipid and flavorless. If too much water has been used, remove the cover, that evaporation may go on more rapidly; if too little, replenish with boiling water. Cabbage should be cooked in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware sauce pan or a very clean iron kettle. Cabbage may also be steamed, but care must be taken to have the process as rapid as possible. Fresh young cabbage will cook in about one hour; old cabbage requires from two to three hours.

_RECIPES._

BAKED CABBAGE.--Prepare and chop a firm head of young white cabbage, boil until tender, drain, and set aside until nearly cold. Then add two well-beaten eggs, salt to taste, and a half cup of thin cream or rich milk. Mix and bake in a pudding dish until lightly browned.

BOILED CABBAGE.--Carefully clean a nice head of cabbage, divide into halves, and with a sharp knife slice very thin, cutting from the center of the head outward. Put into boiling water, cover closely, and cook rapidly until tender; then turn into a colander and drain, pressing gently with the back of a plate. Return to the kettle, add salt to taste, and sufficient sweet cream to moisten well, heat through if at all cooled, dish, and serve at once. If preferred, the cream may be omitted, and the cabbage served with tomato sauce or lemon juice as a dressing.

CABBAGE AND TOMATOES.--Boil finely chopped cabbage in as little water as possible. When tender, add half the quant.i.ty of hot stewed tomatoes, boil together for a few minutes, being careful to avoid burning, season with salt if desired, and serve. If preferred, a little sweet cream may be added just before serving.

CABBAGE CELERY.--A firm, crisp head of cabbage cut in slices half an inch or an inch thick, and then again into pieces four or five inches long and two or three inches wide, makes a quite appetizing subst.i.tute for celery.

CABBAGE HASH.--Chop fine, equal parts of cold boiled potatoes and boiled cabbage, and season with salt. To each quart of the mixture add one half or three fourths of a cup of thin cream; mix well and boil till well heated.

CHOPPED CABBAGE OR CABBAGE SALAD.--Take one pint of finely chopped cabbage; pour over it a dressing made of three tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a half cup of whipped cream, thoroughly beaten together in the order named; or serve with sugar and diluted lemon juice.

MASHED CABBAGE.--Cut a fine head of cabbage into quarters, and cook until tender. A half hour before it is done, drop in three good-sized potatoes. When done, take all up in a colander together, press out the water, and mash very fine. Season with cream, and salt if desired.

STEWED CABBAGE. Chop nice cabbage quite fine, and put it into boiling water, letting it boil twenty minutes. Turn into a colander and drain thoroughly; return to the kettle, cover with milk, and let it boil till perfectly tender; season with salt and cream to taste. The beaten yolk of an egg, stirred in with the cream, is considered an improvement by some.

CAULIFLOWER AND BROCCOLI.

DESCRIPTION.--These vegetables are botanically allied to the cabbage, and are similar in composition. They are entirely the product of cultivation, and const.i.tute the inflorescence of the plant, which horticultural art has made to grow into a compact head of white color in the cauliflower, and of varying shades of buff, green, and purple in the broccoli. There is very little difference between the two aside from the color, and they are treated alike for culinary purposes. They were known to the Greeks and Romans, and highly appreciated by connoisseurs. They are not as nutritious as the cabbage, but have a more delicate and agreeable flavor.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--The leaves should be green and fresh, and the heads of cauliflower creamy white; when there are dark spots, it is wilted. The color of broccoli will depend upon the variety, but the head should be firm, with no discolorations. To prepare, pick off the outside leaves, cut the stalk squarely across, about two inches below the flower, and if very thick, split and wash thoroughly in several waters; or better still, hold it under the faucet, flower downward, and allow a constant stream of water to fall over it for several minutes; then place top downward in a pan of lukewarm salted water, to drive out any insects which may be hidden in it; examine carefully for worms just the color of the stalk; tie in a net (mosquito netting, say) to prevent breaking, or place the cauliflower on a plate in a steamer, and boil, or steam, as is most convenient. The time required for cooking will vary from twenty to forty minutes.

_RECIPES._

(The recipes given are applicable to both broccoli and cauliflower.)

BOILED CAULIFLOWER.--Prepare, divide into neat branches, and tie securely in a net. Put into boiling milk and water, equal quant.i.ties, and cook until the main stalks are tender. Boil rapidly the first five minutes, afterward more moderately, to prevent the flower from becoming done before the stalks. Serve on a hot dish with cream sauce or diluted lemon juice.

BROWNED CAULIFLOWER.--Beat together two eggs, a little salt, four tablespoonfuls of sweet cream, and a small quant.i.ty of grated bread crumbs well moistened with a little milk, till of the consistency of batter. Steam the cauliflower until tender, separate it into small bunches, dip each top in the mixture, and place in nice order in a pudding dish; put in the oven and brown.

CAULIFLOWER WITH EGG SAUCE.--Steam the cauliflower until tender, separate into small portions, dish, and serve with an egg sauce prepared as directed for parsnips on page 244.

CAULIFLOWER WITH TOMATO SAUCE.--Boil or steam the cauliflower until tender. In another dish prepare a sauce with a pint of strained stewed smooth in a little water, and salted to taste. When the cauliflower is tender, dish, and pour over it the hot tomato sauce. If preferred, a tablespoonful of thick sweet cream may be added to the sauce before using.

STEWED CAULIFLOWER.--Boil in as little water as possible, or steam until tender; separate into small portions, add milk, cream and salt to taste; stew together for a few minutes, and serve.

SCOLLOPED CAULIFLOWER.--Prepare the cauliflower, and steam or boil until tender. If boiled, use equal quant.i.ties of milk and water.

Separate into bunches of equal size, place in a pudding dish, cover with a white or cream sauce, sprinkle with grated bread crumbs, and brown in the oven.

SPINACH.

DESCRIPTION.--This plant is supposed to be a native of western Arabia. There are several varieties which are prepared and served as "greens." Spinach is largely composed of water. It is considered a wholesome vegetable, with slightly laxative properties.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Use only tender plants or the tender leaves of the older stalks, and be sure to have enough, as spinach shrinks greatly. A peck is not too much for a family of four or five.

Pick it over very carefully, trim off the roots and decayed leaves, and all tough, stringy stalks, and the coa.r.s.e fibers of the leaves, as those will not cook tender until the leaves are overdone. Wash in several waters, lifting grit. Shake each bunch well. Spinach is best cooked in its own juices; this may be best accomplished by cooking it in a double boiler, or if placed in a pot and slowly heated, it will however, be stirred frequently at first, to prevent burning; cover closely and cook until tender. The time required will vary from twenty minutes to half an hour or more. If water is used in the cooking, have a half kettleful boiling when the spinach is put in, and continue to boil rapidly until the leaves are perfectly tender; then drain in a colander, press with the back of a plate to extract all water, chop very fine, and either serve with lemon juice as a dressing, or add a half cup of sweet cream with or without a teaspoonful of sugar. Boil up once, stirring constantly, and serve very hot. A garnish of sliced boiled eggs is often employed with this vegetable.

CELERY.

DESCRIPTION.--The common celery is a native of Great Britain. In its wild state it has a strong, disagreeable taste and smell, and is known as _smallage_. By cultivation it becomes more mild and sweet. It is usually eaten uncooked as a salad herb, or introduced into soups as a flavouring. In its raw state, it is difficult of digestion.