342 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



'has arisen because the cabbage is rarely well cooked. If the same 

 people who have found it indigestible should be served with some of the 

 ■same despised vegetable cooked in rapidly boiling water in an uncovered 

 vessel until just tender and no longer, they would probably withdraw 

 the charges they have made against it. Cooked in this way. it con- 

 tains little nourishment, for the water is thrown away, and with it, such 

 parts of the salts, sugars, etc., as have passfed out of the vegetable. It 

 is, however, a good carrier of other nutrients as fats, and gives variety 

 :and bulk to the diet. 



In preparing old or dried vegetables for the table, all the water 

 lost by the drying must be restored. This is best done by soaking for 

 a long time in cold water, though the process may be hastened somewhat 

 by using warm water. This soaking also removes some of the strong 



Fig. 3— Cells of cooked and digested potato, 

 a.— Oellvall. 

 6.— Cell contents not diii'stible by stiliva. 



flavors that are often objectionable, as in dried beans. After soaking, 

 these vegetables should be cooked for a long time to soften them and to 

 develop agreeable flavors and texture. The disagreeable raw taste which 

 dried vegetables and cereals have even after being softened, and the 

 starch thoroughly cooked, has never been satisfactorily explained, but, 

 it nevertheless remains a fact that it can be overcome only by long 

 cooking. 



Potatoes, when in good condition, belong properly among the mild 

 flavored vegetables, but need special treatment because of their compo- 

 sition, as they contain a large amovmt of both starch and water. A 

 starch paste is formed in the cells in the process of cooking, and the 

 ■substance holding the cells together is softened by the combined action 

 of heat and moisture. More moisture is present than is needed for these 

 processes, and during the cooking, much of the surplus is converted into 

 steam. This steam should be allowed to escape before it is reabsorbed 

 by the starch or cellulose making the potato solid and soggy. When 

 baked, the skin should be broken as soon as the potato is taken from the 

 oven. AVhen boiled with the skin on, it should be taken from the water 



