Vegetables.

Vegetables are chiefly valuable for the mineral elements which they contain, and if they are wrongly cooked much of this important mineral matter may be lost and the vitamins destroyed, rendering them almost valueless.

Here are a few rules which are worth following:—

(1) When cooking vegetables use as little water as possible in order to prevent loss of salts. (2) Do not add soda to vegetables, as it destroys the vitamins. (3) Do not use stale, withered, or decayed vegetables. (4) Fast boiling without a lid, and the addition of a little sugar and butter, will preserve the colour of the vegetables. Peas, however, should be simmered gently. (5) Salt should be added when the vegetables are nearly tender. (6) Utilise the water in which the vegetables have been cooked for gravies, soups, etc. (7) To prevent the smell of greens going through the house, place a crust of bread tied in muslin on the top of the greens, as it will absorb the smell. Cabbage is the main culprit in this connection.