COOKING VEGETABLES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 May 1939, Page 8

COOKING VEGETABLES

A CULINARY ART. Vegetables prepared correctly are rich in food values. When vegetables are made into soups their digestibility is greatly increased. An important rule to remember when boiling vegetables is: Keep the lid off the saucepan for green vegetables, and the squcepan securely covered while cooking root vegetables. The object is to allow all impurities to escape in the one case, and to conserve flavours in the other.

When there is a mixture of both root and green vegetables, the water should be kept at a steady simmer, with the lid slightly raised from the pan. Care should be taken to squeeze all the moisture from green vegetables after cooking. They should be tied in a piece of coarse muslin before placing them in the pan. After cooking, lift the bag with a skewer, then empty the water from the pah and suspend the bag from the skewer, which is placed across the top of the pan.

Boil greens in as little water as possible, and, after they are drained, reheat them with a little butter, pepper and salt. They taste much nicer cooked this way. When boiling cauliflowers, place them in the pan with their heads downwards, so that if any scum arises it will not settle on the flowers and discolour them. Leave the skins on carrots that are to be cooked whole, as these help to retain the flavour. Tne skins can be removed after cooking with the back of a knife. All vegetables must be washed thoroughly in several waters. Green vegetables should be allowed to stand for a little time in cold salted water to bring out any insects. Then plunge into boiling salted water, adding a tiny pinch of sugar to preserve their colour. ; If cold water is poured over beetroot as soon as it is removed from the pan the skins will come off readily.