Wizard Recipes

The various ways in which cooking affects vegetables should be thoroughly understood by the housewife. In the first place, some methods conserve the food material whereas others waste it.

For instance, boiling in water, which is probably one of the most common ways of cooking vegetables, is decidedly advantageous in some respects, but the water dissolves much of the soluble material, such as mineral salts, sugar, etc., found in the vegetables, so that unless some use is made of this water in the cooking of other foods, considerable waste results.

On the other hand, steaming and baking permit no loss of food material, and so they should be applied to vegetables whenever it is desired to conserve food substances.

The flavors of vegetables are greatly changed during the process of cooking, being increased in some cases and decreased in others. In the case of such strongly flavored vegetables as cabbage, cauliflower, onions, etc., it is advisable to dissipate part of the flavor.

Therefore such vegetables should be cooked in an open vessel in order that the flavor may be decreased by evaporation. Vegetables mild in flavor, however, are improved by being cooked in a closed vessel, for all their flavor should be retained.

The overcooking of vegetables is sometimes responsible for an increase of a disagreeable flavor. Another feature of vegetables often changed by cooking is their color. For instance, green vegetables do not, upon cooking, always remain green. In many cases, the color may be improved by adding a very small quantity of soda to the water in which the vegetables are cooked.

Attention should also be given to the length of time vegetables are subjected to heat, for the over boiling of some vegetables is liable to develop an unattractive color in them.

This is particularly the case with cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts, which develop not only a strong, disagreeable flavor but also a reddish color when cooked too long.

The application of heat to vegetables also has a definite effect on them. By sufficient cooking, the cellulose of vegetables is softened to the extent that it is less irritating and much more likely to be partly digested than that of raw vegetables. The acids of fruits increase upon cooking, and so the acidity of vegetables is increased to a certain extent.

Vegetables that contain starch are rendered digestible in no other way than by cooking. On the other hand, the protein material of this food is coagulated by the application of heat, just as the white of an egg or the tissue of meat is coagulated and hardened. However, cooking is the only means of softening the cellulose that surrounds this material.

Still, high-protein foods, such as beans, peas, and lentils, can be much improved if they are cooked in water that is not very hard. The lime in hard water has a tendency to harden them to the extent that they require a much longer time to cook than when soft water is used.

These vegetables may be still further softened by the addition of a small quantity of soda to the water in which they are cooked, but care should be taken not to use too much soda, as it will injure the flavor.

When soda is used, the vegetable should be parboiled for 10 or 15 minutes in the soda water and then drained and cooked in fresh water. This method, of course, does not apply to vegetables that are cooked in soda water to retain their color.

Salt is always added in the cooking of vegetables to season them. In the use of salt, two important points must be borne in mind: first, that it has the effect of hardening the tissues of the vegetable in much the same manner as it hardens the tissues of meat; and, secondly, that it helps to draw out the flavor of the vegetables.

These two facts determine largely the time for adding the salt. If an old, tough, winter vegetable is to be prepared, it should be cooked until nearly soft in water that contains no salt, and the salt should be added just before the cooking is finished.

When it is desired to draw out the flavor, as, for instance, when vegetables are cooked for soup or stews, the salt should be supplied when the vegetables are put on to cook.

Young tender vegetables may be cooked in salt water, but as such water extracts a certain amount of flavor, an effort should be made to use it in the preparation of stews, sauces, and soups.

As a cook ,you have a choice of many kinds of vegetables and many cooking methods. Not surprisingly, then, you are also faced with the necessity of learning many rules for cooking vegetables. Cooking affects vegetables in four ways. It changes the following:

1. Texture.

2. Flavor.

3. Color.

4. Nutrients.

How much these four characteristics change determines whether your final product is attractive and delicious to the customer or whether it ends up in the garbage. You can control these changes if you understand how they happen.

Unfortunately, there is still legitimate controversy among chefs about proper vegetable cooking techniques. Modern technology has not yet solved all the problems that experienced chefs tackle successfully every day in the kitchen.

CONTROLLING COLOR CHANGES

It is important to preserve as much natural color as possible when cooking vegetables. Because many people may reject or accept a vegetable on the basis of its appearance, it can be said that its visual quality is as important as its flavor or nutritional value.

Pigments are compounds that give vegetables their color. Different pigments react in different ways to heat and to acids and other elements that may be present during cooking, so it is necessary to discuss them one at a time.

WHITE VEGETABLES

White pigments, called flavones, are the primary coloring compounds in potatoes, onions, cauliflower, and white cabbage and in the white parts of such vegetables as celery, cucumbers, and zucchini.

White pigments stay white in acid and turn yellow in alkaline water. To keep vegetables such as cauliflower white, add a little lemon juice or cream of tartar to the cooking water. (Don’t add too much, though, as this may toughen the vegetable.) Covering the pot also helps keep acids in.

Cooking for a short time, especially in a steamer, helps maintain color (and flavor and nutrients as well).Overcooking or holding too long in a steam table turns white vegetables dull yellow or gray.

RED VEGETABLES

Red pigments, called anthocyanins, are found in only a few vegetables, mainly red cabbage and beets. Blueberries also are colored by these red pigments.(The red color of tomatoes and red peppers is due to the same pigments that color carrots yellow or orange.) Red pigments react very strongly to acids and alkalis. Acids turn them a brighter red.

Alkalis turn them blue or blue-green (not a very appetizing color for red cabbage). Red beets and red cabbage, therefore, have their best color when cooked with a small amount of acid. Red cabbage is often cooked with tart apples for this reason.

When a strongly acid vegetable is desired, such as Harvard Beets or Braised Red Cabbage, add just a small amount of acid at first. Acids toughen vegetables and prolong cooking time. Add the rest when the vegetables are tender.

Red pigments dissolve easily in water. This means

1. Use a short cooking time. Overcooked red vegetables lose a lot of color.

2. Use only as much water as is necessary.

3. Cook beets whole and unpeeled, with root and an inch of stem attached, to protect color. Skins easily slip off cooked beets.

4. When steaming,use solid pans instead of perforated pans to retain the red juices.

5. Whenever possible, serve the cooking liquid as a sauce with the vegetable.

GREEN VEGETABLES

Green coloring, or chlorophyll, is present in all green plants. Green vegetables are common in the kitchen,so it is important to understand the special handling required by this pigment.

Acids are enemies of green vegetables. Both acid and long cooking turn green vegetables to a drab olive green.

Protect the color of green vegetables by

1. Cooking uncovered to allow plant acids to escape.

2. Cooking for the shortest possible time. Properly cooked green vegetables are tender-crisp, not mushy.

3. Cooking in small batches rather than holding for long periods in a steam table. Steaming is rapidly becoming the preferred method for cooking green vegetables. Steam cooks food rapidly, lessens the dissolving out of nutrients and flavor, and does not break up delicate vegetables. Overcooking, however, can occur rapidly in steamers.

Do not use baking soda to maintain green color. Soda destroys vitamins and makes texture unpleasantly mushy and slippery.

How much water should be used when boiling? A large quantity of water helps dissolve plant acids, helps preserve colors, and speeds cooking .But some cooks feel that an excessive amount of nutrients are lost. See the next section for further discussion.

YELLOW AND ORANGE VEGETABLES

Yellow and orange pigments, called carotenoids , are found in carrots, corn, winter squash, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and red peppers. These pigments are very stable. They are little affected by acids or alkalis. Long cooking can dull the color, however.

Short cooking not only prevents dulling of the color but also preserves vitamins and flavors.

CONTROLLING NUTRIENT LOSSES

Vegetables are an important part of our diets because they supply a wide variety of essential nutrients. They are our major sources of vitamins A and C and are rich in many other vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, many of these nutrients are easily lost.

Six factors are responsible for most nutrient loss:

1. High temperature.

2. Long cooking.

3. Leaching (dissolving out).

4. Alkalis (baking soda, hard water).

5. Plant enzymes (which are active at warm temperatures but destroyed by high heat).

6. Oxygen.

Some nutrient loss is inevitable because it is rarely possible to avoid all of these conditions at the same time. For example,

• Pressure steaming shortens cooking time, but the high temperature destroys some vitamins.

• Braising uses low heat,but the cooking time is longer.

• Baking eliminates the leaching out of vitamins and minerals, but the long cooking and high temperature cause nutrient loss.

• Boiling is faster than simmering, but the higher temperature can be harmful and the rapid activity can break up delicate vegetables and increase loss through leaching.

• Cutting vegetables into small pieces decreases cooking time, but it increases leaching by creating more exposed surfaces.

• Even steaming allows some leaching out of nutrients into the moisture that condenses on the vegetables and then drips off.

For best flavor, appearance and least nutrient loss cook vegetables as quickly as possible. The quickest-cooking methods present us with most tasty vegetables-blanching, stir-frying, deep-frying, grilling and broiling. But the slow-cooking oven roasting also brings out full flavors.

When you want to cook several kinds of vegetables together irrespective of what method you use, you have two choices to arrive at vegetables with the same degree of tenderness. Either add them to the pot or pan at different times, starting with the slowest-cooking, densest vegetables then gradually adding the faster-cooking ones, or cut them into different sizes-the slow-cooking vegetables into smaller pieces than the fast-cooking ones.

You may also combine two cooking methods. For example, pre-blanching vegetables significantly speeds up grilling, broiling or sautéing. Blanching is also an efficient way of preparing vegetables to fast last-minute serving, the way restaurant chefs serve freshly-cooked crisp vegetables in the shortest time.

The chef has the supply of pre-blanched, cooled vegetables ready to sauté on high heat in butter or oil and seasonings in less than a minute. Efficient home cooks do the same.

When cooking strong-flavored vegetables, such as those in the cabbage and onion families, the flavor becomes milder if you cook it in water to cover. The strong flavor components leach into the liquid.

They also become milder if you leave your pot uncovered so some of the strong volatiles spread their aromas throughout your house, leaving their vegetable source behind. Due to chemical reactions, prolonged cooking increases the strong flavor of cabbage-family vegetables, but decreases the onion-family vegetables.

A useful way of concentrating flavor in some high-moisture vegetables is a technique the French call dégorger. The idea is to get rid of part of the water without heat. You grate or finely dice the vegetables (cucumber, zucchini, cabbage) to increase the surface area and sprinkle it generously with salt.

After several hours the salt draws out some of the water that you drain in a colander or you wrap the vegetables in a kitchen towel and squeeze out the water by twisting the towel. After thoroughly rinsing out the excess salt, the vegetables are ready to sauté, stir-fry, bake or whatever method is suitable.

Useful Tips to remember :

¨ Use yellow onion in cooking, sweet onion for salads

¨ The flatter the onion the less the pungency

¨ For most intense garlic flavor add garlic late to the sauté pan or dishes

¨ Cooking ginger in water or oil mutes pungency; cooking in acidic liquid increases it

¨ Keep extra minced garlic and ginger in small containers in your freezer

¨ To ripen tomatoes, keep them out of the sun in a warm place in a closed paper bag

¨ Canned tomatoes are better for cooking than tomatoes out-of-season

¨ Chili powder is a spice mix; ground or powdered chili is pure red chili ground into fine

powder

¨ Keep ground chili and paprika in the freezer for best flavor

¨ To tame chili-induced fire in your mouth, get rid of chili oil with alcohol or milk products, or

soak it up with bread or tortilla; avoid water

¨ The ribs in the chili carry most pungency; the amount you include defines how hot your dish

will be

¨ Mushrooms add flavor and texture to dishes; some are bland but soak up flavorful liquids

¨ Heating creates the flavor in mushroom; raw mushrooms are pretty but flavorless

¨ Store mushrooms in paper bags in refrigerator, never in plastic

¨ Cook vegetables with three goals in mind: best flavor, most nutrients, most eye appeal

¨ Cook all vegetables for shortest time possible, particularly green vegetables to preserve color. Never add any acid or baking soda to the cooking water

¨ One of the best vegetable cooking methods is blanching in plenty of boiling, salted water. Microwave cooking is the least suitable