1 206 Relation of Color to Flavor in Fruits & Vegetables. [December, 



and green asparagus stems, Mr. Robinson, in his " Parks and 

 Gardens of Paris," p. 472, quotes the opinion of a French epicure 

 as follows : " In certain localities they do not yet value the dis- 

 tinction between blanched and green asparagus, and occasionally 

 prefer the latter. That is an error very prejudicial to the con- 

 sumer's interests. Properly blanched asparagus is infinitely more 

 tender and delicate. All asparagus cut when it is green is not fit 

 to be eaten in the ordinary way, but may be used, cut up small, 

 as an accompaniment to other dishes. To serve up green aspar- 

 agus is to dishonor the table. In the markets of Paris the green 

 asparagus is worth one franc a bunch, when the blanched is worth 

 three francs." 



It has often been a question to my mind why the white beet is 

 almost exclusively used in the manufacture of sugar. I had sup- 

 posed that the difficulty of eliminating the color from the juice 

 of the red beet to be the probable reason why the latter is not used 

 for this purpose. I have been able to find very little bearing 

 upon this subject, but that little indicates that the principal reason 

 is that the white beet contains a larger percentage of sugar. 

 Thus I find in Morton's " Cyclopaedia of Agriculture," Vol. 11, p. 

 925 : " Formerly the field beet, with rose colored skin, and pre- 

 senting, on being cut, alternate layers or zones of a white and a 

 red color, was much more extensively grown in Germany and 

 France for the purpose of sugar making than it is at present. 

 Preference is now given to the White Silesian beet, introduced 

 into France by Mathieu de Dombasle. The latter gives a larger 

 percentage of sugar and contains less water, saline matters and 

 nitrogenous substances than the former." According to M. Vil- 

 morin, all the beets now used in France for the manufacture of 

 sugar have been derived from the White Silesian variety. 



In this connection I quote a partial analysis of three varieties 

 of beet from the Transactions of the New York State Agricultu- 

 ral Society, 1852, p. 330. It notes the per cent of coloring mat- 

 ter and of the sugar and extract in each : 



Variety Per cent of Color- Per cent of Sugar \ 



^' ing Matter. and Extract. 



Turaip beet 038 43-039 



Long blood 0158 55-327 



While sugar 60.023 



We may infer from this that the per cent of sugar in these 



