23. Much of the spoiling of vegetables can be avoided if proper attention is given to them in the market. Food of this kind should be so displayed that it is not exposed to the dirt and dust of the street, nor to flies and other destructive vermin. The practice of displaying vegetables on a stand in front of a store is gradually losing favor with the housewife who understands the sanitary precautions that should be taken with foods. On the other hand, housewives owe it to the merchant not to handle the foods they are going to buy, for the handling of them not only injures them so that they will not keep well, but renders them unfit to be accepted by the next purchaser.
24. The manner in which vegetables are sold should also receive consideration. It has been the custom to sell them by measure, but both housewives and merchants have come to realize that it is fairer to sell them by weight. Experience has shown that a pound is much more likely to be always uniform than is a quart or a peck. This is due to the fact that no two dealers are likely to measure in exactly the same way, even though the measures they use are up to the standard in size. Then, too, especially in the case of vegetables that are of various sizes and shapes, it is impossible to fill a measure properly because of the shape of the vegetables, and so either the housewife often receives short measure or the merchant gives more than the measure requires. All difficulty of this kind is entirely overcome when vegetables are weighed.
CARE OF VEGETABLES
25. PERISHABLE VEGETABLES, that is, those which spoil quickly, are usually bought in small quantities, and so are used up quickly. However, if they are kept on hand for only a day or so, they require a definite amount of care in order to insure the most satisfactory results in their use. To prevent them from spoiling or withering, they should be kept in a cool, damp place until they are needed. The most effective and convenient way in which to accomplish this is to store them in a refrigerator or other similar device. If ice cannot be obtained, the cellar should be utilized. Before vegetables of this kind are put away after being delivered from the market, they should be looked over carefully, and any that are spoiled should be discarded in order to prevent others that they might touch from becoming tainted. As little handling as possible, however, is advantageous, because when such foods become bruised and are then allowed to stand they are likely to spoil very quickly.
26. The less perishable vegetables, commonly called WINTER VEGETABLES because they may be kept through the winter, may be bought in quantity, provided proper storage facilities to prevent them from spoiling are available. Potatoes, in particular, are usually purchased in this way, for, as a rule, they may be obtained at a better price than when bought in small quantities, and then, too, they are a vegetable that most families use nearly every day. If they are bought in quantity, they should first be thoroughly tested, for often a potato looks very well on the outside while its texture and flavor may not be at all in accordance with its appearance. Great care should also be exercised to see that this vegetable, as well as carrots, turnips, parsnips, etc., has not been frosted, for frost ruins them as to texture and keeping qualities.
All such vegetables as these, provided they must be stored for any length of time, keep best in a cold, fairly dry atmosphere. To prevent them from sprouting, the storage room should, if possible, be kept dark, but in case they do sprout, the sprouts should be removed as soon as they are discovered. The best receptacles for the storage of these winter vegetables are bins, a convenient type of which is shown in Essentials of Cookery, Part 2, and the most satisfactory place in which to put such bins is a cellar that has a dirt floor rather than a board or a cement floor.
CLASSIFICATION OF VEGETABLES
27. Because of their difference in physical structure, both as plants or parts of plants, and their variation in chemical composition, it is a rather difficult matter to classify vegetables. The vegetables that are discussed throughout these Sections are therefore not included in any classes, but are arranged alphabetically, a plan that the housewife will find very convenient. However, there are a few general classes whose names and characteristics should be known by the housewife, for an understanding of them will enable her to make a more intelligent use of this food. These classes, together with a brief description of the features that characterize them and the names by which the principal varieties are known, are here given.
