FoodNet

Foods, their selection and preparation

1935

Page 326

Presented as published in 1935. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
These and Other Garden Herbs Can Add Flavor and Interest to Many Everyday Dishes • ( Upper left ) Rosemary leaves, fresh or dried, are used in cream soups, combined with parsley in butter over poultry, and sparingly in meat stews and sauces. ( Upper right ) Sweet basil adds distinc¬ tive flavor to salads, cooked cucumber, squash, and dishes containing eggs. It combines well with other flavors. {Right) Sweet marjoram is used dried in seasoning for poultry or veal, fresh or dried in herb butters for use with cold meats, and in potato salad and cooked vegetables. ( Lower left) Tarragon is used in green salads, adds flavor to tartar and other acid sauces used with fish, and in mild-flavored cream soups. {Lower right) Thyme is blended with other herbs into mixtures for use in stuffings, gravies, meat stews, soups, and egg and cheese dishes practice was to place the bean with a special supply of sugar in a tightly closed container. The sugar absorbed the delicate flavor from the bean and carried it into cakes and des¬ serts. Now the beans are extracted in al¬ cohol, and vanilla extract has come to be the most popular of the flavorings. Flavoring extracts are sold in bottles, which should be kept closed to avoid loss of flavor. They should be used only in small amounts. Herbs. In addition to the vegetables al¬ ready considered as useful in seasoning there are the savory herbs. These are grown spe¬ cially for condimental purposes and are used in small amounts green or dried. As a garnish or as finely minced green leaves, parsley, rosemary, sweet basil, mint, sweet marjoram, tarragon, chervil, summer savory, and dill all have special uses. They may be added to the dish to be seasoned directly or used in the form of herb butters. These green leaves are good sources of vitamins A and C when used fresh as a gar¬ nish and should be eaten and not pushed to one side. A small collection of herbs in a window box is useful to add flavor and in¬ terest to many winter dishes. All the herbs listed above and sage and winter savory are dried for winter use. When the dried herbs are used, chopped parsley, always available in fresh form, should be added to give color and texture. Plant Roots. Two roots used in fresh form — ginger and horseradish — might well be considered (with the herbs). Fresh ginger root is a favorite seasoning with the Chinese. Horseradish, of European origin, is exten¬ sively grown and used in this country for its hot, biting taste. Fungi. Two fungus plants are important in seasoning — mushrooms and truffles. Mush¬ rooms are generally available fresh, canned, and occasionally dried. While used alone as a vegetable, or combined with meat in creamed dishes, they are also much used as a seasoning since they furnish extractives of pleasing flavor. Truffles are black fungus plants that grow completely covered in the soil. They are about the size of plums and have an aromatic and pungent flavor. They are not readily available in this country, but in France they grow wild and are used for seasoning and garnishing meat dishes. Flower Buds. Capers are flower buds that grow on a small shrub found in the Mediter¬ ranean area. These are distributed in pickled form. They are used in sauces for meat and fish. USE OF CONDIMENTS