OUR COMMON VEGETABLES. 



127 



Seakale, Turnip, &c. — when quite fresh. In all these the per- 

 centage of water is high, being generally somewhere about 

 90 per cent., so that the absolute quantity of nutritious matter 

 is small in such vegetables, Parsnips being the best in this respect. 

 In Potatosthe water is 75 per cent., while the starch is 15 per 

 cent., the nitrogenous ingredients (albuminoids) being about 

 2 per cent. only. On the other hand, such vegetables as Peas 

 and Haricots were air-dried and ripe when they were analysed. 

 Consequently the water sinks to about 14 per cent, as in 

 Haricots, the nutrient value rising to 80 per cent. ; the albumi- 

 noids reaching 20 per cent, and upwards ; so that while Potatos, 

 being highly farinaceous, are an excellent adjunct to meat, 

 Beans, Peas, Lentils, &c, are more like meat themselves, being 

 the best vegetable " flesh-formers."* 



Excepting those which are eaten fresh as salads, all the rest 

 undergo certain alterations by being cooked ; and regarding 

 their nutrient ingredients quantitatively, while the nutrient 

 ratios remain the same, the nutrient values may vary greatly ; 

 for, apart from the useful salts which may be more or less 

 lost in the boiling, the chief difference resides in the amount of 

 water absorbed. Indeed, for any given quantity, the nutritive 

 value will, of course, vary inversely with the moisture imbibed. 



Hence the actual amount of food-material diminishes with 

 bulk in cooking ; especially in such vegetables as Turnips, &c, 

 which imbibe large quantities of water. 



There remains the other side of the question — namely, as to 

 how much of the nutrient values man can assimilate. This 

 depends, of course, partly on his digestive powers ; but apart from 

 that, the highly nitrogenous foods, as those supplied by the 

 Leguminosa, i.e. ripe Peas, Beans, &c, it is estimated that but 

 little over one half can be utilised. 



* Excepting those of the Bean, which is taken from Les Legumes et les 

 Fruits, by M. J. de Brevans, the above values are copied from Prof. A. H. 

 Church's Handbook of Food (Sth. Kens. Mus. ; Branch Mus., Bethnal 

 Green, 1890). 



