EXTENSION COURSE IN VEGETABLE FOODS. 51 



Beverages like tea and coffee, such materials as sugar and oil when 

 used mainly for flavor, vinegar, and other food accessories are also 

 considered in this lesson. 



CONDIMENTAL VEGETABLES AND PREPARED RELISHES. 



Under this head may be included many vegetable products, such 

 as peppers of various sorts, mustard, and horse-radish, and a host of 

 preparations or compounds designed to give zest or enjoyment to the 

 act of eating and to aid digestion. Various pickled fruits and vege- 

 tables, the preparation and use of which is discussed in a later lesson, 

 should be mentioned in this connection. 



Some materials of East Indian origin, such as curry, chutney, cat- 

 sup, and tamarinds, are well-known relishes. Tomato, apple pulp, 

 etc., are likewise used as a medium for combining many spices and 

 condiments. Mushroom and walnut juices are used for the basis of 

 table sauces. Sassafras leaves, when young and tender, are used in 

 some localities to thicken soups, etc., and, like okra, supply a muci- 

 laginous material. 



FLAVORING MATERIALS. 



The herbs properly include the herbaceous or green portion of 

 certain annuals, biennials, and perennials that are used green or 

 dried, and usually in a chopped or sifted form, in sauces and stuffings. 

 The word is also used to include the medicinal plants which once 

 were grown or gathered and stored by every housemother. By the 

 way of further distinction, the herbs used for flavoring were often 

 called savory herbs, and those which were cooked for use alone were 

 called potherbs. (See p. 14.) Among the herbs most used in the 

 kitchen are marjoram, sage, summer savory, thyme, mint, parsley, 

 dill, tarragon, bay leaves, and sweet basil. These are combined with 

 meats or used generally in unsweetened dishes. 



Spices, with the exception of pepper, red pepper, and mustard, 

 are associated mainly with sugar in common household use. Some 

 spices, as nutmeg and mace, are used in meat dishes and with vege- 

 tables in continental cookery, and much less commonly by American 

 cooks. Cloves are also used in a limited way in meat cookery; for 

 instance, they are often stuck in a ham before baking. 



Other common spices are allspice (pimento), cassia, cinnamon, 

 ginger, mace, nutmeg; aniseed, caraway, cardamom, and coriander 

 are less generally used. 



