Herbaceous Articles follow ; and, though we are not
accustomed to consider Cabbage as an herb, it began
existence as cole-wort, a shrub or herb on the south coast
of England. Cultivation has developed it into a firm
round head ; and as a vegetable, abounding as it does in
nitrogen, it ranks next to beans as a food. Cauliflower
is a very delicate and highly prized form of cabbage, but
cabbage itself can be so cooked as to strongly resemble
it.
Onions are next in value, being much milder and
sweeter when grown in a warm climate, but used chiefly
as a flavoring. Lettuce and Celery are especially valua-
ble ; the former for salads, the latter to be eaten without
dressino; thouo'h it is excellent cooked. Tomatoes are
108 THE CHEMISTRY OF VEGETABLE FOOD.
really a fruit, though eaten as a vegetable, and are of
especial value as a coolmg food. Egg-plant, cucum-
bers, &c., all demand space; and so with edible fungi,
mushrooms, and truffles, the latter the property of the
epicure, and really not so desirable as that fact would
indicate.
Fruits are last in order ; and among these stands first
of all the apple. While in actual analysis fruits have
less nutritive value than vegetables, their acids and salts
give to them the power of counteracting the unhealthy
states brought about by the long use of dried or salted
provisions. They are a corrective also of the many evils
arising from profuse meat-eating, the citric acid of lemons
and grape-fruit being an antidote to rheumatic and gouty
difficulties. Cold storage now enables one to command
grapes long after their actual season has ended, and they
are invaluable food. The brain- worker is learning to
depend more and more on fruit in all its forms ; and
apples lead the list, containing more solid nutriment than
an}^ other form. While considered less digestible raw than
baked, they are still one of the most attractive, life-giving
forms of food, and if eaten dail}^ would prove a standard
antidote to patent medicine. The list of fruits is too
long for mention here ; but all have their specific uses,
and are necessary to perfect health.
Sugar and Honey follow in the stores of the vegetable
kingdom. Cane-sugar and glucose, or grape-sugar, are the
two recognized varieties, tliough the making of beet-sugar
has become an industr}^ here as well as in France. Grape-
sugar requires to be used in five times the amount of cane,
to secure the same degree of sweetness. Honey also is a
food, — a concentrated solution of sugar, mixed with
THE CHEMISTRY OF VEGETABLE FOOD. 109
odorous, gumui}^, and waxj^ matters. It possesses much
the same food value as sugar, and is easily digested.
With the various Farinaceous Preparations, Sago,
Tapioca., Arrow-root ., &c., the vegetable dietary ends.
All are light, digestible foods, principally starchy in char-
acter, but with little nutriment unless united with milk
or eggs. Their chief use is in the sick-room.
Restricted as comment must be, each topic introduced
will well reward study ; and the story of each of these
varied ingredients in cookery, if well learned, will give
one an unsuspected range of thought, and a new sense of
the wealth that may be hidden in very common things.
110 CONDIMENTS AND BEVERAGES,
CHAPTER XII.
CONDIMENTS AND BEVERAGES.
Page 54
Presented as published in 1881. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Herbaceous Articles follow ; and, though we are not accustomed to consider Cabbage as an herb, it began existence as cole-wort, a shrub or herb on the south coast of England. Cultivation has developed it into a firm round head ; and as a vegetable, abounding as it does in nitrogen, it ranks next to beans as a food. Cauliflower is a very delicate and highly prized form of cabbage, but cabbage itself can be so cooked as to strongly resemble it.
Onions are next in value, being much milder and sweeter when grown in a warm climate, but used chiefly as a flavoring. Lettuce and Celery are especially valuable ; the former for salads, the latter to be eaten without dressing; though it is excellent cooked. Tomatoes are
really a fruit, though eaten as a vegetable, and are of especial value as a coolmg food. Egg-plant, cucumbers, &c., all demand space; and so with edible fungi, mushrooms, and truffles, the latter the property of the epicure, and really not so desirable as that fact would indicate.
Fruits are last in order ; and among these stands first of all the apple. While in actual analysis fruits have less nutritive value than vegetables, their acids and salts give to them the power of counteracting the unhealthy states brought about by the long use of dried or salted provisions. They are a corrective also of the many evils arising from profuse meat-eating, the citric acid of lemons and grape-fruit being an antidote to rheumatic and gouty difficulties. Cold storage now enables one to command grapes long after their actual season has ended, and they are invaluable food. The brain- worker is learning to depend more and more on fruit in all its forms ; and apples lead the list, containing more solid nutriment than any other form. While considered less digestible raw than baked, they are still one of the most attractive, life-giving forms of food, and if eaten dail}^ would prove a standard antidote to patent medicine. The list of fruits is too long for mention here ; but all have their specific uses, and are necessary to perfect health.
Sugar and Honey follow in the stores of the vegetable kingdom. Cane-sugar and glucose, or grape-sugar, are the two recognized varieties, though the making of beet-sugar has become an industr}^ here as well as in France. Grapesugar requires to be used in five times the amount of cane, to secure the same degree of sweetness. Honey also is a food, — a concentrated solution of sugar, mixed with
odorous, gummy, and waxy matters. It possesses much the same food value as sugar, and is easily digested.
With the various Farinaceous Preparations, Sago, Tapioca., Arrow-root ., &c., the vegetable dietary ends. All are light, digestible foods, principally starchy in character, but with little nutriment unless united with milk or eggs. Their chief use is in the sick-room.
Restricted as comment must be, each topic introduced will well reward study ; and the story of each of these varied ingredients in cookery, if well learned, will give one an unsuspected range of thought, and a new sense of the wealth that may be hidden in very common things.
CHAPTER XII.