=Boiled Brussels Sprouts.=--Wash and pick over the sprouts and boil
until tender (about twenty minutes to half an hour), in water to which
a little salt and a pinch of soda have been added. Drain, and reheat
with an ounce of butter with a little salt and pepper, but do not fry
them.
=Brussels Sprouts with Cream Sauce.=--Trim off the loose leaves and
soak for half an hour in cold salted water. Boil in sufficient water
to cover them, add a little salt and a piece of soda the size of a
pea, season with pepper, and pour over a cupful of cream sauce. Simmer
for five or ten minutes and serve, or reheat in Béchamel sauce, or in
melted butter.
=Brussels Sprouts Sauté.=--(1) Boil the cleaned sprouts for twenty
minutes in salted water with a pinch of soda, drain, fry in butter.
Season with minced parsley and pepper, and serve. Grated nutmeg may be
added or one or two spoonfuls of white wine vinegar.
(2) Clean and trim one quart of sprouts and soak in cold water for
half an hour. Then cook for half an hour in salted boiling water with
a little soda; drain, and add three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Sprinkle
with pepper, and shake the pan over the fire until they are slightly
coloured. Serve at once.
=Brussels Sprouts with Cream.=--Prepare the sprouts according to
directions given for boiled sprouts, drain and reheat with a little
Béchamel sauce, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; heat thoroughly,
add a little cream, bring slowly to the boil, and serve.
=Brussels Sprouts au Gratin.=--Prepare according to directions given
for Brussels sprouts with cream sauce. Put in a buttered baking dish.
Sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.
=Brussels Sprouts alla Parmesan.=--Boil the sprouts until tender in
salted water, and drain. Arrange in a baking dish with alternate layers
of grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and melted butter,
and serve very hot.
=Brussels Sprouts alla Chipolata.=--Wash and trim one quart of Brussels
sprouts, cook for five minutes in boiling salted water with a pinch of
soda. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain and recook in boiling water
to cover. Cook for twelve minutes and drain very dry. Serve with melted
butter poured over.
CABBAGE (_Brassica oleracea. Cruciferæ_).
It seems better to deal with the culture of the generality of Brassicas
together, and to first speak of the conditions under which all
flourish, noting any special requirement of a subject under its own
heading.
Cabbage-kind without any exception are greedy feeders, they like
holding soil; stiffish loam, even if it verges on clay, will suit them
all. Waterlogged ground of course will not do for them; heavy soil
must be well drained to be of use. But they are none of them over
particular; given space, nourishment, and firm ground they will do well
in any good garden soil.
It is unwise to crop ground continuously with Brassicas, in which
class turnips are included, as the disease called clubroot is apt to
infest cabbage-stale soil, and is difficult to overcome. Dressings of
lime are a preventive of this, and in many soils should be applied
every third winter, four pounds to a rod of land. Lime, indeed, is a
most valuable aid to culture; it sets free the nitrogenous constituents
of the earth, and almost every kitchen crop is the better for its
generous use.
Speaking generally, ground should be prepared for cabbages by
trenching in a good supply of fairly fresh manure some two or three
months before planting, as the earth should have time to settle and
consolidate, since a light open condition of the soil tends to produce
lank, long-jointed greens, while firm ground will grow compact and
well-shaped cabbage or sprout.
Cabbage-kind is in season for every month of the year, though in July
and August it is apt to be infested with green caterpillars, offspring
of the common white butterfly, yet in these months there is such an
abundance of other vegetables that then it is in least request.
COMMON CABBAGE (_Brassica olerata capitata_).
There are two chief sowing months for cabbage, April and August, but
the latter is far the most important from the point of view of the
cook, as it provides those exquisite spring cabbage, which, properly
served, are among the very best of vegetables.
At the end of March or the beginning of April, sow in the open a good
compact variety of medium-sized cabbage. When the plants are large
enough to handle, prick them out six inches apart in nursery beds,
and plant in their permanent quarters in June and July. They should
stand eighteen inches to two feet apart, according to the vigour of
the variety selected. This comparatively early sowing will give early
autumn cabbage. A late April sowing will provide plants which will
heart in November and December. Cabbage follows peas or broad beans
well, but we think that in the small garden it is wasteful to give too
much room to autumn cabbage and so stint space for Brussels sprouts and
autumn broccoli.
In cold soils and in the north of England a sowing of Flower of Spring
cabbage should be made about the twentieth of July, in southern England
the seventh of August is a better date. These cabbage should be pricked
out as soon as large enough, and planted in their permanent quarters
in September, though even November is sometimes not too late. It is
good practice to put these spring cabbage in rows fifteen inches apart
in light soil, eighteen inches in heavier ground, and to crowd them in
the row even as near as six inches apart. In this case two out of every
three plants can be drawn to serve as winter greens, leaving the rest
spaced eighteen inches distant to heart in April, May, and even June.
After cutting cabbage, if there is no immediate need to pull up the
stumps, a second crop of very delicious sprouts will in open weather
quickly appear.
=Red Pickling Cabbage= should be sown in April and treated as ordinary
autumn cabbage. They must be put out quite thirty inches apart.
=Chow-Chow or Chinese Cabbage.=--It is cultivated in the same way as
turnips. It succeeds best when sown about August in drills, with a
space from twelve to eighteen inches between the rows, and the drills
thinned out to about nine inches or one foot apart. The leaves can be
eaten boiled like ordinary borecole, or the midribs can be sent to
table like asparagus or chard or seakale beet.
BROCCOLI (_Brassica olerata Botrytis_).
This valuable subject is, in its hearting varieties, almost
indistinguishable from cauliflower, from which it is probably derived,
but it has the great added merit of hardiness. It requires similar soil
and treatment to the rest of the cabbages, but a few special points
about its culture should be noted.
The first sowing of autumn and winter cropping varieties should
be made in March in a cold frame. The plants must be pricked out
and hardened off, and finally be planted in May in their permanent
quarters. We find it good practice, in a small garden, to set them
between the rows of early potatoes on the day they are finally earthed
up. For this purpose the potato rows should be thirty inches apart, and
the broccoli should be two feet apart in the row. When the potatoes are
dug in July the earth is laid level round the stems of the broccoli,
an ounce to the square yard of nitrate of soda is sprinkled round the
plants, and the earth trodden firm. From this planting fine heads may
be cut in late September and sometimes on to December.
The main sowing of Broccoli is made out of doors in April, when early
and late spring flowering sorts should be sown, as well as purple
sprouting broccoli. As soon as large enough rather more than sufficient
plants should be pricked out into a nursery bed six inches apart,
and these will follow green peas, or broad beans about mid-July,
without any digging of the ground beyond a slight surface forking and
levelling. They should be put out two feet apart in every way and be
well watered in. Dwarf cabbage lettuce may be put out between at the
same time; they will be quickly cleared away.
When the plants are starting growth in the spring, a sprinkling of
nitrate of soda will help in the production of fine heads. It is also a
good thing to give them a mulch of manure in early February.
=Cauliflower= does not differ botanically from broccoli, but it is more
tender and difficult. The heads have, perhaps, a more delicate quality,
but we confess that in the small garden we now only grow the Autumn
Giant Cauliflower, which comes in earlier than the broccoli, and we
depend on the latter for the rest of the year.
Cauliflower that are to be cut in the following summer should be sown
about mid-August; they must be well watered and weeded, and cold frames
must be made ready for them, by placing six inches of good light soil
over a layer of rubble or ash. In October, or early in November, set
the plants four inches apart in these frames, and give a good watering;
if necessary keep shaded from excessive sun for a few days. Admit
plenty of air, and do not let them dry out, but be sparing with the
water-pot after the plants are once established. On fine warm days take
the lights off altogether, keep closed during frost, and do not let fog
have too free an entry; pick any yellow leaves as they show. If frost
is severe, cover with mats. Plant out at the end of March, two feet
apart, in really rich soil in a warm border; keep watered if necessary,
and after they are well settled in give a dose of nitrate, half an
ounce to the square yard, and repeat this a fortnight later during a
shower if possible.
For autumn use sow Autumn Giant in a frame and treat as prescribed for
Brussels sprouts. A sowing of a quick variety in heat in February will
give heads in summer; they need to be kept growing all the time, and
never to be checked by drought or cold or allowed to flag for want of
water.
=Brussels Sprouts.=--In the judgment of many this is the finest all
round winter vegetable, and it is worth while going to considerable
trouble to grow it well. It needs good soil, plenty of nourishment,
and a long growing season to bring it to perfection. Ground which has
been trenched and heavily manured in the late winter will grow the
best sprouts, and in large gardens it is well worth while to reserve a
plot for them, off which possibly spinach, or some quick crop such as
lettuce or radishes, may be gathered before May. But well consolidated
rich soil is necessary to the growth of sprouts.
Where there is space and it is desired to have Brussels sprouts as
early as September, a sowing should be made in mild heat at the end
of January. The plants should be pricked out in a cold frame early in
March and planted in their permanent position by the end of the month,
choosing a well sheltered sunny bed.
There is no doubt, however, that Brussels sprouts should have a frost
on them before they are really fit to eat, and the vegetable cannot,
normally, be had in perfection before the middle of October. For this
crop and the main crop generally sow in a frame about the second week
of March, prick out four inches apart into boxes which have an inch
layer of old manure at bottom and three or four inches of light rich
compost on top. Harden these off gradually, keep them growing on in
the open, never letting them get dry, and plant out at the end of
April or the beginning of May, thirty inches apart in every direction.
Beyond keeping them free from weeds, nothing more is needed, and this
sowing will keep the gardener going until February, for short-jointed,
well-ripened Brussels sprout plants are among the very hardiest of our
winter vegetables.
If late sprouts are required, a sowing out of doors early in April will
give the necessary plants for a late succession, but it is a crop that
cannot be hurried or forced; Brussels sprouts must have a long growing
season.
In the small garden the March sowing will be sufficient, and the
plants may be put out between the rows of early potatoes. With care,
we find this extremely good practice, especially if the potato ground
has had a good preparation with kainit as well as manure. If the potato
haulm gets too vigorous and shows signs of smothering the sprouts we
lay it by hand along the ridge tops, and when the potatoes are lifted
we give a dose of nitrate and tread the ground as recommended for
broccoli. A further sprinkle of nitrate is given during showers in
August.
BORECOLE or KALE (_Brassica oleracea acephala_).
This is a section of extremely hardy cabbages well calculated to
withstand the hardest weather, and to provide winter greens in
abundance, as well as the most delicious sprouts in spring. Indeed the
side shoots which sprout forth in March are perhaps the most precious
part of the yield of these subjects.
Cottagers, Scotch and Dwarf-curled Kale are perhaps the most useful
varieties. The first two are taller and require more space than the
last. The sowing time for all is in April; they should be sown out
of doors, pricked out in a nursery bed as soon as large enough, and
planted out as ground comes vacant from summer crops. The taller sorts
should be put thirty inches apart, the dwarfer kinds may be in rows two
feet apart and the plants twenty inches in the row, but in strong soils
two feet should be a minimum distance.
The cabbage tops of the kale can be gathered at any time during the
winter, and if the stumps are left in the ground many dishes of side
shoots will be gathered in March.
=Couve Tronchuda= or =Portugal Cabbage=.--This is a most delicious
variety, and should be sown in early April, and planted in rich soil as
soon as large enough; the plants should stand at least two feet apart.
Much depends on continuous growth; the plants do not come to great
perfection if they suffer an undue check. In the autumn the head makes
a first-rate cabbage, and the thick midribs of the larger leaves make
an unusual and excellent dish if thoroughly cooked (an hour at least)
and served with white sauce in the manner of seakale. This subject does
not stand frost well and should be cleared off the ground by Christmas.
SAVOY CABBAGE (_Brassica olerata bullata_).
Savoys should be sown out of doors in April and treated as autumn
cabbage. They are nearly allied to the Brussels sprouts and require
some frost to bring them to perfection; they may be considered early
winter cabbage.