22 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



EBSUAJT, 19 9 



Cauliflower, the most refined and most nutritive of. 

 the cabbage family. Buy only the very best seed 

 offered 



Begin to store them about the end of 

 October or the hrst week in November, if 

 frost has started. An excellent way is to dig 

 up the whole plant, leaving plenty of root 

 and earth on. Plant them very close 

 together in a sheltered part of your ground 

 in patches that will be easy to get at, say 

 about five rows to each patch. Cover the 

 patches with litter, leaves, or salt hay. They 

 can also be stored in coldframes. Good 

 strains are Long Island Improved and 

 Paris Market. 



CAULIFLOWERS AND BROCCOLI 



Cauliflower is generally considered to be 

 the most refined member of the cabbage 

 family. I believe it is also the most nutri- 

 tious. Cauliflower and broccoli are the 

 only members of the family in which the 

 flower is greatly developed. In the other 

 cases it is the leaves which we eat. 



Broccoli is hardier and easier to grow 

 than cauliflower, but the whole plant is 

 coarser and not nearly so much esteemed. 

 It is absolutely essential that this plant be 

 fresh when eaten, for if it has lain around any 

 time it often becomes intensely bitter. The 

 only way to get good broccoli is to grow it 

 yourself, and pick and eat it within the hour. 



In both vegetables the flower must be com- 

 pact, solid, and snowy white — not loose, 

 branching or "stemmy" — for a branched 

 cauliflower is rougher in texture and stronger 

 in flavor. It should be crisp, i. e., the stalks 

 should snap easily; flabby stalks that bend 

 instead of breaking are not fresh. 



While cauliflowers are growing the leaves 

 must be tied up over the flowers to whiten 

 them and to prevent sunburn, which causes 

 the pure whiteness of the flower to be marred 

 by unsightly black specks, thus spoiling the 

 table appearance, although the flavor may 

 be satisfactory. 



It is impossible to get the be^t cauliflower 

 from seed costing less than twenty-five cents 

 a packet. You want the kind that costs 

 the seedsman $90 a pound, not the kind that 

 costs $2.50. 



Good strains are: Best Early, Snowball, 

 Dwarf Erfurt. 



Cauliflower and broccoli can be stored in 

 the same ways as cabbage. In piling have 

 the heads downward, the stalks up. 



Volga, of the flat-headed type. This is used for 

 salad and winter storage 



Brussels Sprouts are most delicately flavored, but 

 should be touched by frost to be in perfection 



Cauliflowers that are wanted for storing 

 should be planted in the early part of 

 September. 



HOW TO COOK THE CABBAGE TRIBE 



There is Great Art, with capital letters, 

 in cooking cabbages, and, in fact, all 

 "greens," to perfection. In order to pre- 

 serve their color and flavor properly put 

 them into plenty of fast boiling water, cook 

 quickly till done, and take them up the 

 moment they become tender. Over-cooking 

 fades the color. Old, dark-green, thick-ribbed, 

 coarse-leaved cabbages are better not cooked 

 for the table at all, but if they must be used 

 boil them in three separate waters, and do 

 not forget to use boiling water each time. 



Cauliflower and broccoli must be put into 

 the water with the flower part down to keep 

 them white. Otherwise the scum that 

 arises will discolor them. If left in the 

 water after they become tender the heads 



Cteorgia collards, a non-heading cabbage suitable 

 for dry and warm regions 



will break, the color will be spoiled, and the 

 crispness will depart. Steaming is an ideal 

 way of cooking cauliflower. 



In selecting for the table choose cabbages 

 that are fresh, brilliant in color, fine and 

 crisp in texture, neither stringy nor hard, 

 but sweet, succulent, and tender. Coarse, 

 dark-green leaves are strong in flavor and 

 odor, and take an immense time to cook — 

 very long, thick midribs also should be 

 avoided as much as possible, as they take 

 so much longer to cook than the leaves that 

 the latter are overdone and spoiled before 

 the stalks are cooked. 



Old, large cabbages are best not used 

 for the table, but given to the cattle who 

 are not particular as to quality. Wilted 

 cabbages, or, in fact, "greens" of any sort, 

 that are flabby and yellowish with the 

 commencement of decay, are unfit for food. 

 If greens are slightly withered stand them 

 in very cold water for about half an hour, 

 and their crispness will be restored. 



Cabbages that have been frozen must be 

 placed in cold water till thawed out again, 

 but even then the quality of a frozen cabbage 

 is very inferior to a really fresh one. 



All vegetables must be thoroughly cleaned 

 before cooking. First, pour boiling water 

 over them, to get the insects out (they will 

 die and drop out), then wash several times 

 in cold water. If the vegetable is to be 

 served raw, do not pour boiling water over 



N^ 



' l&i 



The Savoy cabbage, known by its crinkled leaf, in 

 the acme of flavor of the true cabbage type 



