BOILING VEGETABLES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 193, 17 August 1939, Page 16

BOILING VEGETABLES.

HOW TO PRESERVE FLAVOUR. French cooks, we are often told, never spoil their vegetables by boiling them in too much water and serving them in an unappetising, tepid, watery fashion, as is so often done in England. Of course, vegetables steamed are always better than vegetables boiled, but as it is not convenient to steam them sometimes, we must learn the best ways of boiling them. Young, fresh vegetables are quickly cooked; as a rule you can reckon that 20 minutes are sufficient for boiling young vegetables. Older and tougher ones should be allowed about 45 minutes.

Valuable vitamins are destroyed by putting soda in the water in which vegetables are cooked, but as a rule a pinch of bicarbonate of soda is added to the boiling water to preserve the colour of the vegetables. After the vegetables are washed and prepared, let them stand in cold water while the water in the saucepan is coming to the boil, then drain them in a colander and put them into the quickly boiling water. Salt should always be added to water in which vegetables are to be boiled in the proportion of about one teaspoonful salt to one pint water. Salt develops the flavour of the vegetables and helps to preserve their colour by raising the boiling point of water. Avoid rapid boiling of vegetables that by nature are inclined to go mashy. All vegetables must be- drained directly they are cooked—this is a most important point to remember.

Directly the vegetables have been boiled tender drain away the water—as the water contains valuable mineral salts, keep it and use it if you can for making soup or gravy. Put vegetables in a colander, squeeze out all moisture, cover with a plate and stand over an empty saucepan at side of stove to drain dry and keep hot while the joint is finishing cooking, or return the vegetables to a dry pan, mash to a puree, cr chop finely and reheat with plenty of butter, pepper and salt. All root vegetables are nice mashed and reheated in butter, and carrots are delicious chopped into dice. Finely chopped parsley sprinkled over them improves their appearance when served.