Foods and home making

2. If you bought a chicken, fowl, or fish, carefully state what point; you kept in mind when selecting it. 3. If you cooked chicken, fowl, fish, or oysters, state the method of preparing it. If you considered the finished product successful, tell why you think it was successful. If the results were not entirely suc- cessful, state the cause of your failure. Also state what you would do the next time to avoid the mistake. 4. If you cleaned or cut up a chicken or fowl, state the number oi pieces into which you cut the bird and the name of each piece. HOME WORK 1. If possible do at least one of the following : a. Select a chicken or fowl at market. b. Clean and cut up a chicken or fowl. c. Cook a chicken or fowl. d. Select a fish at market. e. Clean and cook fish. /. Cook oysters. CHAPTER XXIX VEGETABLES FOR DINNER Can you answer these questions ? If not, look for the answers as you study this chapter. 1. Explain the following statement: It is wasteful to throw into the sink water in which vegetables were cooked. 2. How is it possible to cook vegetables in water so that no water needs to be drained away after cooking? What are the advantages of this method? 3. Why does a baked potato taste different from a boiled one? 4. Whv are steaming and baking good methods of cooking vegetables ? 5. How long does it take to bake a medium-sized potato? 6. Why is it a good thing to cook vegetables having skins without paring ? 7. What is meant by waterless cooking? 8. What effect does overcooking have on the color of vegetables? 9. How many minutes should green corn cook in water? What may be lost by cooking vegetables in water? You would not throw away a precious stone. Would you then throw away some of the treasures found in vegetables which may be far more valuable to you than gems? Let us see how we caff save the treasures of vegetables. By experiment it was found that when vegetables are cooked in water and the water is then thrown away , almost four times as much of valuable materials are lost as when the vegetables are steamed.1 This means then that when we cook vegetables in water, and after cooking pour that water down the drain, we are throwing away some of the treasures found in vegetables. 1 See page 265 of the Journal of Home Economics, May, 1925. 412 Vegetables for Dinner 413 Let us do some experimenting to find whether we lose anything besides nourishing materials when we cook vegetables in water and then throw away the water. Experiment 26: To show that flavor is lost when vegetables are cooked in much water. (а) Wash some spinach carefully. (See page 279.) Measure 1 cup, pressing the leaves in the cup as you measure them. Put the spinach in a saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Cook the spinach until it is tender. Then drain the water from the leaves, saving it. Taste the water ; note its color. Does it contain spinach flavor- ing? Cut the spinach leaves into pieces, using a knife and fork. To the leaves add \ teaspoon salt, pinch of pepper, 1 teaspoon butter, and \ teaspoon lemon juice.