Vegetables should be cooked until they are perfectly tender but not overdone. Many cooks spoil their vegetables by cooking them too long, while quite as many more serve them in an underdone state to preserve their form. Either plan makes them less palatable, and likely to be indigestible.
Steaming or baking is preferable for most vegetables, because their finer flavors are more easily retained, and their food value suffers less diminution. Particularly is this true of tubers.
The time required for cooking depends much upon the age and freshness of the vegetables, as well as the method of cooking employed. Wilted vegetables require a longer time for cooking than fresh ones.
Time Required for Cooking.—The following is the approximate length of time required for cooking some of the more commonly used vegetables:—
Potatoes, baked, 30 to 45 minutes.
Potatoes, steamed, 20 to 40 minutes.
Potatoes, boiled (in jackets), 20 to 25 minutes after the water is fairly boiling.
Potatoes, pared, about 20 minutes if of medium size; if very large, they will require from 25 to 45 minutes.
Green corn, young, from 15 to 20 minutes.