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Prepare Vegetable Dishes
Prepare Vegetable Dishes
VEGETABLE
DISHES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• Determine the types and characteristics of vegetables;
• Root vegetables that are not peeled, such as potatoes for baking, should be scrubbed
very well with a stiff vegetable brush.
• Wash green, leafy vegetables in several changes of cold water. Lift the greens from
the water so that the sand will sink to the bottom. Pouring off into a colander dumps
the sand back onto the leaves.
• If needed for later use, drain vegetables well, cover and refrigerate to prevent drying.
• Soaking:
• To preserve as much flavor, do not soak vegetables in water for long periods (except for dried
legumes).
• If necessary, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower may be soaked for 30
minutes in cold salted water to eliminate insects.
• Dried legumes are soaked for several hours before cooking to replace moisture lost in drying.
Dried beans absorb their weight in water.
• Treat vegetables that brown easily (potatoes, eggplant, artichokes, sweet potatoes) with an
acid, such as lemon juice, or an antioxidant solution, or hold under water until ready to use
(some vitamins and minerals will be lost).
Peeling, Cutting and Trimming:
• Peel most vegetables as thinly as possible. Many nutrients lie just under the skin.
• Peel and cut vegetables as close to cooking time as possible to prevent drying and loss
of vitamins through oxidation.