The Canadian Horticulturist. 369 



THE CAULIFLOWER. 

 Directions fop Serving the Cauliflower. 



CABBAGE or cauliflower, unless taken directly from the 

 garden, is much improved if so placed that it can absorb 

 water through its stalk for twelve to twenty-four hours before 

 cooking. Soak a cauliflower, head down, in cold salted 

 water for an hour before cooking to draw out any insects 

 that may be concealed. A small cauliflower may be cooked 

 whole and should be placed in the pot with the flowerets up, 

 as the stalk needs the most thorough cooking ; a large head should be divided 

 into six or eight pieces. 



Cook in a kettle of rapidly-boiling salted water, to which may be added 

 one-fourth of a level teaspoonful of soda. (The soda aids in softening the woody 

 fibre.) The kettle should be skimmed occasionally while the vegetable is cook- 

 ing, or, to save trouble, some prefer tying the cauliflower in a thin cloth. An 

 agate or porcelain-lined kettle is preferable to iron, which is likely to discolor the 

 cauliflower. 



The odor is less noticeable if the kettle is left uncovered. The water may 

 also be changed to dispel the odor. A cauliflower should be tender after twenty 

 to thirty minutes of rapid boiling. If over-cooked it appears soggy and water- 

 logged. 



A good cauliflower, well cooked, requires little additional flavor beside salt 

 and good butter. Some, however, prefer the addition of grated cheese. The 

 cauliflower may also be served as a garnish for meats, in sauces, soups, and is 

 excellent cold as a salad. Many prefer it with a thick cream sauce. 



" Cold boiled cauliflower is very good fried plain in butter, or breaded and 

 fried, or mashed and fried like oyster plant, with the addition of an egg and a 

 palatable seasoning of salt and pepper.'' 



The last paragraph is from Miss Carson's Practical American Cookery. 

 Many other hints may be obtained from this and other leading guides to cookery. 



Varieties of Celery. — Celery, to be good, has to be perfectly blanched, 

 and the blanching process is accomplished generally by heaping the earth around 

 the stalks. For this reason the short bunchy varieties of celery are more ad van 

 tageous than the taller-growing kinds, as requiring less labor in earthing up. It 

 is chiefly for this reason that the thick dwarf kinds are in favor with American 

 gardeners, as requiring less labor to produce. Some of these, however, are not 

 nearly as toothsome as the taller varieties, and the efforts of the improver should 

 be towards producing sweet, nutty-flavored varieties of the dwarf kinds. — Mee- 

 hans' Monthly for October. 



