One hour.—String and shelled beans; cauliflower; oyster plant; winter squash, steamed or baked; young turnips.
Two hours.—Old carrots, beets, and turnips.
Six to eight hours (or more).—Dried beans, lentils, and peas, baked in the oven, with water added.
The potato, a starchy vegetable.—Make it your pride to serve a plain potato, mealy and inviting. Potatoes are “new,” fully ripe, and old. The new potato is in market in July and August, and may be recognized by its very thin skin. The later potatoes have a thicker skin, the color still being fresh. In the spring after
its winter storage, the potato is “old.” It seems a little less firm, the color of the exterior is somewhat changed; perhaps the buds in the eyes of the potato are beginning to grow. When cooked it has a stronger flavor, and rather darker color. If the potato has been frozen, a sweet flavor is developed, and the quality is waxy. Potatoes are sometimes inferior in quality when the season is a poor one, or when some potato disease is prevalent. The following classification shows you in how many ways potatoes may be cooked, and also shows you how easy it is to classify recipes in an orderly way.
I. Potatoes cooked whole.
1. Steamed.
a. With skin.
b. Without skin.
2. Boiled.