Spinach is always in season, but is valued most during the winter and
spring, as it is one of the few green vegetables that we get then, and
is not expensive. It should be green and crisp.
Asparagus.
Asparagus, from hot houses and the South, begins to come into the
market in March and April. It is then costly, but in May and June is
abundant and quite cheap. About the last of June it grows poor, and no
matter how low the price, it will be an expensive article to buy as it
has then become very "woody." The heads should be full and green; if
light and not full, the asparagus will not spend well.
Dandelions.
The cultivated dandelion is found in the market in March, April and a
part of May. It is larger, tenderer and less bitter than the wild
plant, which begins to get into the market--in April. By the last of
May the dandelion is too rank and tough to make a good dish.
Cauliflower.
This vegetable is generally quite expensive. It is found in the market
a greater part of the year, being now grown in hot houses in winter.
It is in perfection from the first of May to November or December. The
leaves should be green and fresh and the heads a creamy white. When
the leaves are wilted, or when there are dark spots on the head, the
cauliflower is not good.
Tomatoes.
The fresh tomato comes to the market from the South in April and
sometimes in March. On account of the high price it is then used only
where the canned tomato will not answer. In July, August and September
it is cheap. It comes next to the potato in the variety of forms in
which it may be served. By most physicians it is considered a very
healthful vegetable. The time to buy ripe tomatoes for canning is
about the last of August, when they are abundant and cheap. About the
middle or last of September green ones should be secured for pickling,
etc. As the vines still bear a great many that cannot ripen before the
frost comes, these are sold for this purpose.
Beans.
There are two kinds of green beans in the market, the string or snap
bean and the shell bean. String beans come from the South about the
first of April. They are picked in Northern gardens about the first of
June, and they last until about the middle of July. They should be
green, the beans just beginning to form, and should snap crisply. If
wilted or yellow they have been picked too long.
Shell Beans.
Shell beans come in May, but are not picked at the North before June.
They are good until the last of September. There is a great variety of
shell beans, but the Lima is considered the best When fresh, shell
beans are dry and smooth; but if old, they look dull and sticky.
Celery.
Celery is found in the market from August to April, but is in its
prime and is cheapest from November to the first of March. Before the
frost comes it is slightly bitter, and after the first of March it
grows tough and stringy. Unless one has a good cellar in which to bury
celery, it is best to purchase as one has need from time to time.
Celery is a delicious salad. It is also considered one of the best
vegetables that a nervous, rheumatic or neuralgic person can take. The
heads should be close and white, and the stalks should break off
crisply. Save the trimmings for soups.
Lettuce.
Lettuce is found in the market all the year round, being now raised in
hot houses in winter. It then costs two and three times as much as in
summer; still, it is not an expensive salad. There are a number of
varieties having much the same general appearance. That which comes in
round heads, with leaves like a shell, is the most popular in this
country, because it can be served so handsome. There is another kind,
high in favor in Paris and in some localities in this country for its
tenderness and delicate flavor, but not liked by marketmen, because it
will not bear rough handling. The tune will come, however, when there
will be such a demand for this species that all first-class provision
dealers will keep it. The French call it Romaine, and in this country
it is sometimes called Roman lettuce. It does not head. The leaves are
long and not handsome whole; but one who uses the lettuce never wishes
for any other. Lettuce should be crisp and green, and be kept until
used in a very cold place--in an ice chest if possible.
Mushrooms.
Mushrooms are in the market at all seasons. In summer, when they are
found in pastures, they are comparatively (fifty or seventy-five cents
a pound), but in winter they are high priced. Being, however, very
light, a pound goes a great way. The French canned mushrooms are safe,
convenient and cheap. One can, costing forty cents, is enough for a
sauce for at least ten people. There is nothing else among vegetables
which gives such a peculiarly delicious flavor to meat sauces.
Mushrooms are used also as a relish for breakfast and tea, or as an
entrée. In gathering from the fields one should exercise great care
not to collect poisonous toadstools, which are in appearance much like
mushrooms, and are often mistaken for these by people whose knowledge
of vegetables has been gained solely by reading. The confusion of the
two things has sometimes resulted fatally. There can hardly be danger
if purchases are made of reliable provision dealers.
Green Corn.
Green corn is sent from the South about the last of May or the first
of June, and then costs much. It comes from the Middle States about
the middle of July and from the Eastern in August, and it lasts into
October in the North Eastern States. It should be tender and milky,
and have well-filled ears. If too old it will be hard, and the grains
straw colored, and no amount of boiling wilt make it tender. Corn is
boiled simply in clear water, is made into chowders, fritters,
puddings, succotash, etc.
Artichokes.
There are two kinds of artichokes, the one best known in this country,
the Jerusalem artichoke, being a tuber something like the potato. It
is used as a salad, is boiled and served as a vegetable, and is also
pickled. This artichoke comes into the market about July, and can be
preserved in sand for winter use.
The Globe Artichoke.
A thick, fleshy-petaled flower grows on a plant that strongly
resembles the thistle; this flower is the part that is eaten. It is
boiled and served with a white sauce, and is also eaten as a salad. It
is much used in France, but we have so many vegetables with so much
more to recommend them, that this will probably never be common in
this country.
Cucumbers.
Cucumbers are in the market all the year round. In winter they are
raised in green houses and command a high price. They begin to come
from the South about the first of April, and by the last of May the
price is reasonable. They last through the summer, but are not very
nice after August They are mostly used as a salad and for pickles, but
are often cooked. They should be perfectly green and firm for a salad,
and when to be pickled, they must be small. If for cooking, it does no
harm to have them a little large and slightly turned yellow.
Radishes.
There are two forms of the radish commonly found in the market, the
long radish and the small round one. They are in the market in all
seasons, and in early spring and summer the price is low. Radishes are
used mostly as a relish.
Chicory or Endive.
The roots and leaves of this plant are both used, but the leaves only
are found in the market (the roots are used in coffee), and these come
in heads like the lettuce. Chicory comes into the market later than
lettuce, and is used in all respects like it. Sometimes it is cooked.
Sweet Herbs.
The housekeeper in large cities has no difficulty in finding all the
herbs she may want, but this is not so in small towns and villages.
The very fact, however, that one lives in a country place suggests a
remedy. Why not have a little bed of herbs in your own garden, and
before they go to seed, dry what you will need for the winter and
spring? Thus, in summer you could always have the fresh herbs, and in
whiter have your supply of dried.
It is essential to have green parsley throughout the winter, and this
can be managed very easily by having two or three pots planted with
healthy roots in the fall. Or, a still better way is to have large
holes bored in the sides of a large tub or keg; then fill up to the
first row of holes with rich soil; put the roots of the plants through
the holes, having the leaves on the outside; fill up again with soil
and continue this until the tub is nearly full; then plant the top
with roots. Keep in a sunny window and you will have not only a useful
herb, but a thing of beauty through the winter.
For soups, sauces, stews and braising, one wants sweet marjoram,
summer savory, thyme, parsley, sage, tarragon and bay-leaf always on
hand. You can get bunches of savory, sage, marjoram and thyme for five
cents each at the vegetable market. Five cents' worth of bay-leaves
from the drug shop win complete the list (save tarragon, which is hard
to find), and you have for a quarter of a dollar herbs enough to last
a large family a year. Keep them tied together in a large paper bag or
a box, where they will be dry. Mint and parsley should be used green.
There is but little difficulty in regard to mint, as it is used only
in the spring and summer.