COOKING VEGETABLES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 84, 10 April 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

COOKING VEGETABLES.

The average cook Las quite a lot to learn, as a rule, about the cooking and serving of vegetables. Too often vegetables are boiled in a lot of water until they become a pulpy mass, and the water, containing thfr most valuable part of the vegetables—the mineral salts —is thrown away. If you must boil vegetables, use as little, not as much, water as possible, and save the water in which they are boiled for making soup or gravy. Do not add soda, which destroys the vitamins, or too much salt. Steaming is better than boiling for mo s t vegetables, especially those that contain a lot of water, such as vegetable marrow and turnips. When steaming vegetables you can use a steamer or a colander if it is placed on a saucepan big enough lor the holes to be covered, and if it has a lid that fits closely. Wash the vegetables wll and prepare tlieni ip the ordinary way, place them in the steamer or colanoer, sprinkle with salt, and let them cook over boiling water until they are quite tender. Steami"? is a longer process than boiling. W hen boiling spinach in a pan in the ordinary way.-remember that no water is neces- | sary. Wash and drain the spinach, put it in the pan over a low heat, and sprinkle the leaves with salt. Very soon enough moisture will have run out of the leaves to cook the vegetable perfectly. When serving any green vegetables, be sure they are drained as dry as possible and served very hot. After they are in their dish a tiny lump of butter put on top. and a dusting of !>epper often gives additional flavour. A -tftiy sprinkling of castor sugar improves green peas, dried or fresh.