Chapter IX: Part 9

=Garden Swedes.=--There are two forms, known as the white-fleshed garden swede and the yellow-fleshed garden swede, which are much superior for table purposes. They do not grow to so large a size as the field types, have no coarse neck at the top of the root, and the flavour is less strong. To those who like swedes I would strongly recommend these. They can be sown from April onwards, and should be grown in much the same way as turnips.

=Globe Artichokes= are grown plentifully in Italy, and can, with care, be grown in England. As I have noted in the following chapters, they can be blanched in the same way as the cardoon, which is closely allied to the artichoke; the stalks are blanched from October to March somewhat in the manner of celery, and when well cooked it makes an excellent dish. Abroad the cardoon is much in demand, and is served in a variety of ways.

=Kohl-rabi= belongs to the Cabbage family, in which the stem has been induced to form a bulb. For many years large coarse types have been grown in this country for cattle food, but the tender and fine leaved forms have, until recent times, been little cultivated on this side of the Channel. The bulbs should be used when they are about the size of an orange.

=Mercury or Good King Henry= is very well known in some parts of England, especially in the Lincolnshire district, where it is sometimes called Lincolnshire asparagus. It is a perennial, and proves itself to be a very useful plant.

=Orache or Mountain Spinach= is another plant which produces much leaf, and which is used in the same way as the ordinary spinach. There are white and red leaved varieties, and these reach a height of several feet. The plant is easily cultivated.

=Poirée or Swiss Chard.=--This would be in season from late summer until the early frosts cut it down, or the season may be extended by lifting the plants and storing them.

=Petits Pois.=--The small-podded, round-seeded sorts such as Earliest Blue are those used, although there is no reason why the small seeds of almost any kind should not do equally well. The pods, however, of the fine English marrow-fats would have to be gathered very young indeed, or the seeds would be too large. There are several ways of preparing “Petits Pois” according to the flavour desired. (_See_ Recipes.)

I am sure when these vegetables are more known, they will be as much liked as those with which we are more familiar, and we are much indebted to Messrs. Sutton & Sons for not only the information about them, but the fact that the plants have been fully tested by them as amenable to cultivation in England, and that the seeds can be obtained from this firm.

=Salsify=, or, as it is sometimes called, the vegetable oyster, is a plant producing a long fleshy taproot, which is entirely buried in the ground. Salsify is cooked in various ways.

=Scorzonera= is a plant somewhat resembling salsify in character, but differs from it in the leaf and the colour of the skin, which is nearly or quite black. The cultivation and soil is the same for it as for salsify, and the roots should be cooked in the same way.

=Spinach-Beet=, another member of the beet family, is known as the “perpetual” or spinach-beet. It is a very useful plant, and if sown in the spring and summer, much in the same way as beet, continues to send up young foliage all through the autumn and winter. The foliage is used exactly like spinach, and can be had when ordinary spinach is not procurable. It is not necessary to deeply dig the ground, as it is only the foliage which is used. Those who are fond of spinach would do well to grow this for winter and spring supplies.

=Stachys Tuberifera= is a curious little vegetable, and has only been introduced into Europe from China or Japan during the past few years; its common name is Chinese artichoke; the tubers are used either boiled or fried, and they have a nutty flavour.

=Sugar Corn or Maize.=--This plant, a form of maize, is very easy to grow in this country; it makes a delicious dish, and I am surprised it is not more often used. Even when we have short, or poor, summers the earliest varieties seem to do very well here, and reach the stage at which they should be cooked, although they would not often ripen their seeds here, but they will not stand frost at all.

=Sugar Peas (Mangetout).=--These are cultivated in precisely the same way as the ordinary type. They have no tough membrane inside, consequently they are what is usually termed “stringless,” and as such are cooked whole. The pods of the best varieties are usually constricted, instead of being smooth and flat, and show the seeds through. The plants grow to various heights, but those attaining six feet or so give the best pods. The pods should be gathered when fairly young--that is before the seeds are much developed--boiled whole, and served up with melted butter.

=Wax-pod Bean= is another type of bean, known as Butter bean. The pods are usually yellow or whitish, and are tender, without strings, and if gathered fairly small and cooked whole are very nice. Should the pods be too large to cook whole, they should be broken across in two or three pieces--not slit with a knife. The culture is the same as for dwarf and runner beans.

=White Sprouting Broccoli.=--Although the purple sprouting broccoli is known to all, the white sprouting is not so familiar. It is cultivated in the same way, and during March produces a large quantity of small and tender white sprouts. The plant is hardy in most seasons, and the young sprouts have a very agreeable, mild flavour.

=Winter Radish= is a very useful plant. The ordinary kind of radish is of little use after it is full grown, but the class now referred to remains in condition for a long time. Probably the best type is that known as the Chinese rose colour. The seeds are sown about August, and although the roots will be ready by October, they can be left in the ground till wanted, or dug up and stored in sand. They grow larger than the ordinary radishes, and are entirely buried in the ground, and even when full grown remain solid and juicy.

=Witloef= is largely grown around Brussels, and is preferred for cooking to chicory, although the smaller-leaved kinds do equally well for salading; this can be had in season from October to the following spring. It is this plant which is often served in Paris restaurants under the name of “endive,” but it is of course different from endive as we know it.

HINTS ON VEGETABLE COOKING IN BAGS.

The following vegetables can be cooked with advantage in paper bags by those who like this mode of cooking:

Jerusalem artichokes, broad beans, sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, cucumber, endive, chicory, French beans, seakale, mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable marrow.

These must in each case be washed, trimmed, and prepared in the same way as for ordinary cooking, duly seasoned and placed with a little water, and in some cases butter as well, in a grease-proof paper bag (sealed up), and put in a moderately-heated oven on an iron or wire grid, not a solid shelf, such as is usually found in coal-heated ovens. The heat thus reaches the contents of the bag from all sides and the top and bottom. From fifteen to thirty minutes should be allowed to cook any kind of vegetables; some will take even less time, and some take more. When paper bags are not available, use pure white paper, brush over with oiled butter on one side and wrap the vegetables in the paper, buttered side inwards. Care must be taken to see that the ends of the paper are carefully sealed up; for this reason, paper bags are more convenient, being easier to seal up.--C. HERMAN SENN, _How to Cook Vegetables_.

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. at Paul’s Work, Edinburgh

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Italics have been represented by _underlines_. Bold face has been represented by =equal signs=. Small caps have been represented by CAPITALS.

Obvious printing errors have been silently corrected. Species names have been changed to lower case when needed for consistency. Hyphenation, capitalization, and italics have been made more consistent.

The formatting of some headings has been changed for consistency and to more logically reflect the structure of the work.

Inconsistencies in the formatting of recipe attributions have been retained.

Illustrations have been moved to more logical places within the work.

It has been difficult in some instances to determine whether inconsistencies in spelling are deliberate. For example, “sauce piquante” occurs in the original in four variations. “Sauce piquante” and “piquant sauce” have been retained. In general, names of recipes have been allowed to stand, despite inconsistencies.

The use of both “shallot” and “eschalot” to refer to the same thing has been retained.

The spellings “peacons” and “cocoanut” have been retained.

The ending parenthesis has been moved in a sentence that originally stated, “...add a quart of peas (green peas, if not in season dried peas) previously soaked....”