VEGETABLES Family Meals a GUIDE for CONSUMERS
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Umi ^"^^ <!*f.^^ VEGETABLES family meals A GUIDE FOR CONSUMERS # ^f ■ S.pFPT. or *C' CULTURE Ü HOME AND GARDEN BULLETIN NO.105 CONTENTS Page Page Buying vegetables 3 Basic vegetable cookery—Con. Purchase units 4 Frying 12 Number of servings 5 Panning 13 Storing vegetables 5 Glazing 13 Fresh 5 Frozen vegetables^ 14 Frozen 7 Canned vegetables 15 Canned and dried 7 Basic vegetable cookery 7 Dried vegetables 15 Preparing 7 Seasonings and sauces 17 Boiling 8 Spices and herbs 17 Pressure cooking 8 Sauces in variety 19 Creaming and scalloping 10 Lively leftovers 20 Baking 10 Kecipes 21 French frying 11 Index to recipes 32 Prepared by Human Nutrition Research Division Agricultural Research Service Acknowledgment is made to fhe Consumer and Food Economics Research Division for calculating the calorie value of recipes in this bulletin. This is a (C1J04M^JMí(^ of USDA Washington, D.C. Issued September 1965 Slightly revised July 1969 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 20 cents VEGETABLES IN FAMILY MEALS: A Guide for Consumers Vegetables grow in great vari- tain. They also contribute B vita- ety—from A (asparagus) toZ (zuc- mins, iron, and other nutrients. chini). Often they are low in cost And how drab our diets would be and calories and a number of them without the color and crispness of rank high in vitamins and minerals. fresh-tossed salads, the tang and One-half cup of most boiled vege- texture of relishes, and the dis- tables contains less than 50 calories. tinctive flavors of our vegetable Starchy vegetables like lima beans, dishes. peas, corn, and plain, boiled pota- Raw vegetables are becoming toes supply from 50 to 100 calories increasingly popular as a low-calorie in a half-cup serving. between-meal snack. Weight Most dark-green and deep-yellow watchers do well to keep a supply of celery sticks, carrot sticks, rad- vegetables excel as dependable, and ishes, or green pepper slices ready inexpensive sources of vitamin A. in the refrigerator to eat when In fact, unless your meals include hunger strikes. several servings of carrots, spinach, In this publication you'll find— sweetpotatoes, winter squash, broc- • Practical tips on buying and coli, kale or other greens each week, storing vegetables. your family may not get enough # Basic, easy-to-follow methods vitamin A. As a bonus, many dark- of cooking vegetables. green vegetables supply valuable # A comprehensive collection of amounts of vitamin C, iron, and recipes that make the most of vege- other vitamins and minerals. tables in main dishes, soups, salads, The mature dry legumes—dry and snacks. peas and members of the bean fam- • Numerous ways to enhance the ily including navy, pinto, and soy- natural flavor of vegetables with beans—are outstanding among the spices, herbs, sauces, and season- vegetables for the protein they con- ings. BUYING VEGETABLES Besides a variety of fresh vege- Here are points you may want to tables now available the year round, consider in making your choice: you usually have the choice of buy- • Fresh vegetables are generally ing other forms—canned, frozen, or highest in quality and lowest in dehydrated. price when in season. In selecting, look first for freshness. Vegetables the approximate amount of vege- should be comparatively dry; ex- table in each follow. cessive moisture hastens decay. Approximate amount Can size (net weight) of contents For more information, see Home 8 or 8J^ ounces 1 cup and Garden Bulletin 143, **How To 12 ounces l>^orl% cups 16 or 17 ounces 2 cups Buy Fresh Vegetables." ^ 1 pound, 4 ounces 2>4 or 2}i cups 1 pound, 13 ounces 3J4 or S% cups • Canned vegetables are prob- 6 pounds, 2 to 12 ably the most convenient because ounces 12 to 13 cups they only need brief reheating and do not require refrigerated storage Most frozen vegetables come in until opened. See PA 708, ''How the familiar '*family-size'^ 10-ounce To Use USDA Grades in Buying package. A few come in 8-, 9-, and Food/' for help in choosing grades 12-ounce packages. Many retail for specific uses.^ markets also offer 1- and 2-pound • Frozen vegetables closely re- packages of some vegetables. semble fresh vegetables in color, Some frozen vegetables are sold in flavor, and texture, and usually heavy polyethylene bags. You can cost more than canned vegetables. get 1 and 2 pounds of cut green beans, corn, peas, peas and carrots, • Dehydrated vegetables usually potatoes, and mixed vegetables take up less storage room than packaged this way. The advantage fresh, canned, or frozen vegetables. of this type of packaging is that the Within this group, the mature dry vegetables usually separate enough legumes, including dry beans, to pour from the bag and make it peas, and lentils are relatively inex- possible to use part of the package pensive, but require more prepara- at one time and return the rest to tion time than vegetables in other the freezer for a future time. forms. Some dried foods, such as For good-quality frozen vegeta- dehydrated potatoes and sweet- bles, follow these suggestions : potatoes, cost slightly more than comparable fresh products, but can • Buy from a reputable dealer be prepared much more quickly. who stocks reliable brands of frozen foods and has a rapid turnover. • Select clean, firm packages. If Purchase Units packages have softened, you can be sure the food has already lost qual- Canned vegetables come in a ity. However, a hard-frozen pack- variety of can sizes. The most age does not assure high quality. popular family size is the 16- or 17- Frozen food is safe to eat as long ounce can. If yours is a one- or as the package remains frozen, but two-person family, the 8- or 8K- a storage temperature of 0° F. or ounce can is a good choice. Can lower is necessary to maintain high sizes most commonly available and quality. • Buy only frozen foods that are ^Available from U.S. Department of displayed in a properly refrigerated Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. cabinet made for that purpose. Do not buy frozen vegetables stacked cause they lose water during cook- outside the frozen food cabinet even ing; others absorb water and swell if they are packed in dry ice. as- they cook. • Select packages only from clean Yield from a pound of fresh vege- cabinets in which foods are stacked tables may vary from two to six no higher than the proper fill line. servings (K cup each) of cooked This line, which is marked on the food. For the approximate amount inner side of many cabinets, indi- of each vegetable to buy for six cates the level above which frozen servings, see the Boiling Guide for foods should not be stacked. Fresh Vegetables, page 9. • Look for a thermometer in the Frozen vegetables usually do not cabinet; if there is one, it should lose much weight or volume during register 0° F. or below. preparation. For the approximate • Plan to pick up frozen foods amount of each vegetable to buy for last when shopping. For the trip six servings, see the Boiling Guide home, it's a good idea to protect for Frozen Vegetables, page 14. frozen foods in an insulated bag or Some loss of volume occurs during a double paper bag, particularly in preparation of canned vegetables for warm weather. At home, get pack- serving if the liquid is drained from ages into home freezer or freezing the vegetables or if the liquid is con- compartment as quickly as possible. centrated during cooking. From a 1-pound can of most vegetables you Number of Servings can expect three or four servings (K cup each) of drained vegetables and The number of servings you get two or three servings of canned from a common-size purchase unit greens, such as kale or spinach. of a vegetable varies widely with the Dried vegetables increase consid- kind of vegetable and whether it is erably in weight and volume during fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. cooking because they absorb water. Necessarily the inedible parts of See the Boiling Guide for Dry fresh vegetables—pods, husks, par- Beans, Peas, and Lentils, page 16, ings, and trimmings—^lower the for the approximate yield of cooked yield of edible food per pound. food from a cup of dry beans, peas, Some fresh vegetables shrink be- or lentils. STORING VEGETABLES Fresh evaporates from tissues. Other veg- etables—corn, beans, and peas— Even under ideal storage condi- lose sweetness within a short time tions—the right temperature and as sugar converts to starch. humidity—^most fresh vegetables re- Most fresh green vegetables keep tain top quality only for a few days. well and stay crisp if put in covered Green, leafy vegetables quickly containers or plastic bags and stored wilt and change flavor as water in the refrigerator. If you wash lettuce, celery, and other leafy Corn, Store unhusked and un- vegetables before storing, drain covered in refrigerator—1 or 2 days. thoroughly because too much mois- Eggplant, Store at cool room ture can hasten decay. Tops should temperature (approximately 60° F.). be removed from beets, carrots, and If air is dry, keep eggplant in plastic radishes. bag to retain moisture—1 or 2 days. Always sort vegetables before Onions, mature. Store at room storing. Discard or use at once any temperature or slightly cooler (60° bruised or soft vegetables; do not F. is best). Put in loosely woven store them with sound, firm vege- or open-meshed containers with tables. good circulation of air.