EXTENSION COURSE IN VEGETABLE FOODS. 59 
little thickening and more seasoning will be needed, while with celery or onion 
more thickening and less added flavor will be required. 
Ezercise.—Make two green-pea soups, using for one the dry split green peas 
at about 14 cents per quart, and for the other canned green peas at the same 
price per can. Count cost of materials, time, and fuel in each case. 
REVIEW QUESTIONS, LESSON XI. 
1. Briefly describe the principal processes of cooking which are applied to 
vegetables. 
2. What general preparation would be common to all methods? 
38. When may it be advisable to cook a double portion of any vegetable? 
4. How shall it be decided what materials to add to a vegetable in its 
preparation for the table? 
5. What types of knives are most helpful in preparing vegetables? Describe 
different processes requiring different motions. 
6. Some vegetables should be scraped; others pared. Give examples. 
7. Describe several utensils helpful in preparation of vegetables. 
8. Suggest combinations of vegetables and explain why they are acceptable. 
9. Give general plan for making soups from one kind of vegetable. Mention 
combinations that might be used in the same way. 
10. Describe process of making croquettes or some scalloped vegetable. 
LESSON XII. DRYING, EVAPORATING, AND SALTING VEGETABLES. 
Most foods are best when fresh, but since they can not always be 
had in this condition some means must be found for preserving them. 
Decay in fruit or vegetables changes texture and flavor and is caused 
by the development of bacteria, spores, molds, and other low forms of 
life. Methods of preserving are simply means of checking their 
growth. The first step should be to protect the material from unnec- 
essary contamination from them, but since they are everywhere 
present in the air even the most scrupulous cleanliness is hardly sufh- 
cient alone. 
Most of these microorganisms grow only in the presence of mois- 
ture, and this fact explains the method of preserving by means of 
drying. 
DRYING AND EVAPORATING FOODS. 
The drying of foods has been practiced by primitive people from 
the beginning of civilization and is only aiding. nature’s processes. 
The seeds dry as they ripen and berries dry on the bushes. The 
Indians preserved blueberries and other fruits in this way. Pumpkin 
was often dried in strips by the early colonists, and sections of apple 
were strung and hung: where they would dry readily. The bulk and 
weight of such foods is much less than in the natural condition, hence 
less room is required for storage and much less labor is involved in 
_ transporting them from place to place. 
Herbs and spices were gathered, dried, and used to aid in the 
preservation of other foods. There was a right time for gathering 
each plant, it was believed, and in this lore ancient housekeepers 
were far more interested than modern ones. 
