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.