Ripe fruits, on the other hand, have been virtually cooked on
the tree, and are best when eaten thus, without being subjected
to artificial heat. The carbohydrate of fruit in its unripe state
is in the form of raw starch. As the fruit ripens, this starch is
changed to sugar, and is practically ready to be absorbed by the
digestive organs. The same is true of tomato. Thus no cooking
is required for ripe fruits, except to preserve them for future use,
62
by canning, etc. It is with starch that cooking has most to do, as
starch in its raw state cannot be utilized by the body, and it is
the most abundant of all food elements.
In the second object, development of food flavors, the preser-
vation of the mineral salts and vitamines is of paramount impor-
tance. The manner in which fresh vegetables are often cooked
deprives them of a large part of these essential constituents, and
thus robs them of their characteristic flavors. This has special ref-
erence to the boiling of vegetables in water, throwing the water
away, and then serving up the more or less insipid residue.
When tea was first introduced into England, a certain peddler
(so the story is told) called at a farmer's house and sold half a
pound of tea to the wife. About a month later he called to ask
her how she liked it. She told him they did not like it at all.
Then he asked her how she had prepared it. She said she had
boiled it like cabbage and had thrown the water away, but that
they "could not eat the stuff!" All very good, perhaps, in the
case of tea; but unfortunately, many people treat vegetables in
the same way. The important inorganic salts and mineral sub-
stances so abundant in fresh vegetables are more or less drawn
out into the water in which the vegetables are cooked. When this
is thrown away, a most valuable part of the food is wasted. The
same treatment is often given to cereals and legumes ; after being
boiled in a large quantity of water, they are drained, and the
water is allowed to run down the drain pipe of the sink.
For this same reason, the potato is far more nutritious if baked
or boiled in the skins. The carrot, when scraped, sliced thin, and
allowed to simmer until the liquid is mostly evaporated, will have
a delicate yellowish color and pleasant flavor, with its salts and
minerals conserved.
Most of the succulent vegetables are best when steamed, or
cooked in only sufficient water to make them tender; and the
remaining liquid should be regarded as the most essential part of
the food. When vegetables are thus cooked conservatively — that
is, in such a way as to retain their juices — they possess a far
richer flavor than when deprived of their juices by swimming in
63
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Page 34
Presented as published in 1921. 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
Ripe fruits, on the other hand, have been virtually cooked on the tree, and are best when eaten thus, without being subjected to artificial heat. The carbohydrate of fruit in its unripe state is in the form of raw starch. As the fruit ripens, this starch is changed to sugar, and is practically ready to be absorbed by the digestive organs. The same is true of tomato. Thus no cooking is required for ripe fruits, except to preserve them for future use,
by canning, etc. It is with starch that cooking has most to do, as starch in its raw state cannot be utilized by the body, and it is the most abundant of all food elements.
In the second object, development of food flavors, the preservation of the mineral salts and vitamines is of paramount importance. The manner in which fresh vegetables are often cooked deprives them of a large part of these essential constituents, and thus robs them of their characteristic flavors. This has special reference to the boiling of vegetables in water, throwing the water away, and then serving up the more or less insipid residue.
When tea was first introduced into England, a certain peddler (so the story is told) called at a farmer's house and sold half a pound of tea to the wife. About a month later he called to ask her how she liked it. She told him they did not like it at all. Then he asked her how she had prepared it. She said she had boiled it like cabbage and had thrown the water away, but that they "could not eat the stuff!" All very good, perhaps, in the case of tea; but unfortunately, many people treat vegetables in the same way. The important inorganic salts and mineral substances so abundant in fresh vegetables are more or less drawn out into the water in which the vegetables are cooked. When this is thrown away, a most valuable part of the food is wasted. The same treatment is often given to cereals and legumes ; after being boiled in a large quantity of water, they are drained, and the water is allowed to run down the drain pipe of the sink.
For this same reason, the potato is far more nutritious if baked or boiled in the skins. The carrot, when scraped, sliced thin, and allowed to simmer until the liquid is mostly evaporated, will have a delicate yellowish color and pleasant flavor, with its salts and minerals conserved.
Most of the succulent vegetables are best when steamed, or cooked in only sufficient water to make them tender; and the remaining liquid should be regarded as the most essential part of the food. When vegetables are thus cooked conservatively — that is, in such a way as to retain their juices — they possess a far richer flavor than when deprived of their juices by swimming in
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