Vegetables

Vegetables, various parts of specially cultivated (garden) herbaceous plants, which in their raw form or after appropriate culinary preparation serve for human nutrition. Most vegetables are annual or biennial plants; the latter are usually cultivated as annuals and only left for a second year to obtain seeds. The number of garden plants is over 200. They are distributed among 40 botanical families. Through selective breeding, many varieties have been developed for each species. Thus, up to 2,000 cultivated varieties of potatoes are known, up to 150 of sugar peas, etc. Depending on which parts of the plants are used for food, vegetables are traditionally divided into the following groups: 1. Cabbage vegetables - cabbage (head, cauliflower, leafy) (from the cruciferous family). 2. Tuberous vegetables - potato (from the nightshade family); sweet potato (from the morning glory family); Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke) (from the composite family). 3. Root vegetables - turnip, kohlrabi, rutabaga, radish, horseradish (from the cruciferous family); beet (from the goosefoot family); carrot, parsley, parsnip, celery, horseradish (from the umbel family); chicory, dandelion, sweet root-scorzonera (from the composite family). 4. Fruit and seed vegetables: a) gourd or cucumber vegetables - cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelons, melons (from the gourd family); b) legume vegetables - peas, beans, broad beans (from the legume family); c) tomato vegetables - tomatoes, eggplants, and sweet peppers (from the nightshade family). 5. Bulb vegetables: onion, leek, shallot, garlic (from the lily family). 6. Dessert vegetables - asparagus (from the asparagus family); artichoke (from the composite family). Vegetables are one of the main products of mass nutrition. Consumption of vegetables has increased significantly in recent years. This increase is a direct result of the socialist reconstruction of the country based on the five-year plan. A series of directives from the party and higher legislative bodies now encourages the broad development of vegetable production, particularly through suburban state farms. The chemical composition of vegetables varies widely depending on the type and variety of vegetable, the nature of the soil, methods of its cultivation and fertilization, climate and weather conditions, degree of maturity at harvest, etc. The composition, digestibility, percentage of waste, and caloric value of vegetables according to the Central Statistical Administration (1925) are shown in Table 1. Due to their high water content, fresh vegetables represent a concentrated food to a small extent, and their caloric value, with the exception of legume vegetables, is not great, but for dried vegetables it is of the same order as for grain breads. Some vegetables have less nutritional value than primarily flavor value. Thus, parsley, celery, tarragon, dill, onion, garlic, and others, containing essential oils and some pungent substances, are seasonings for food, improve its taste and increase its digestibility. The extremely high content of vitamins in vegetables is extremely important. Vegetables are rich in all groups of vitamins, especially vitamins B and C. This circumstance gives vegetable nutrition exceptional importance. Vegetables must be an essential part of our food throughout the year (for details on vitamins in vegetables, see Vitamins). In addition, fresh vegetables have the ability to aid digestive processes through the enzymes they contain. Thus, onion has peptolytic, i.e., protein-splitting to peptones action; the juice of cabbage leaves, lettuce, and some root vegetables has tryptic action; cabbage juice acts most strongly in this direction. Many vegetables contain diastase that saccharifies starch. Cabbage juice has the ability to split fats and glycosides. Some vegetables contain oxidases and catalases; the most are found in onions. Table 2, compiled according to data from the Moscow Higher Technical School, shows the content of enzymes in vegetables (+ indicates the presence of the enzyme, - the enzyme was not found).

Vegetables

82 Tab. I i *| 1 £ ev go ga ; я crt я ; п rrt ж Э ю B 1 ей to rt !5 к 2 я гз <D ! M ga j 5 к a!я к Vegetables v e- :Й o ya » s e! 2? 2 < a ch k ;ch n 05 k i - + + + ! + 1- + + + + 1 + + + Sugar beet . + + _j- - - + + -г + + Garden beet + + + + 4- + + + Turnip........ + +? + ? + + + + in the daily diet of a healthy person V. should enter not only in processed, but also in raw form. It should however be borne in mind that on raw V., especially those obtained from irrigated fields, there may be both helminth eggs and causative agents of infectious diseases. Therefore when consuming V. in raw form a certain caution is necessary: before consumption they must be thoroughly washed with hot water, and in doubtful cases also peeled from the outer layer. V. also affect the processes of digestion due to their high fiber content. Our organism lacks the enzyme which could act on fiber, and therefore not only the fiber itself is protected from the action of digestive juices, but also due to the peculiar structure of plants the fiber protects the starch and protein substances contained in it from digestion. By irritating the intestinal mucosa and increasing its peristalsis, excessive intake of V. may reduce the assimilation of other food. Therefore most V. are consumed exclusively in minced, sufficiently boiled or fried form, whereby V. lose the vitamins of group C, which do not withstand temperatures above 40-50°. The form that preserves the taste and vitamin properties of certain V. is juice (e.g. carrot). The industrial processing of V. in the USSR is also significantly increasing. According to the 5-year plan of the food and agricultural industries, the procurement of raw materials by the state food industry of the Supreme Council of National Economy of the USSR in relation to potatoes (distilling and starch-glucose industry) by the end of the five-year period should amount to 2,493 thousand tons (3.76% of the total harvest) compared to 669.8 thousand tons in 1927-28. The growth in industrial use of V. in general should increase by 324%, in particular tomatoes by 251%. Fresh V. are difficult to preserve during the winter. Even when stored in well-equipped cellars a significant portion of them spoils and deteriorates in taste. Some V., e.g. all greens, cucumbers, cannot lie even for several days. The most important methods of preserving V. are drying, sterilization and pickling combined with salting. The latter method is based on creating unfavorable conditions for the development of microorganisms both by increasing osmotic pressure (salting) and by increasing the concentration of hydrogen ions (formation of lactic acid). The latter factor also occurs in pickling (acetic acid). For drying in the USSR go white cabbage and Brussels sprouts, bulb onion and leek, root parsley and parsley greens, celery, podded peas, green peas, podded beans, green beans, carrot, parsnip, beet, potato, dill. For drying the most suitable varieties are used, which give little waste when cleaned. V. intended for drying should not show signs of spoilage. Greens should go for drying immediately after harvesting while they have not wilted, root crops and potatoes are sorted by size, washed, peeled, minced in machines and blanched, i.e. immersed in boiling water for 1-5 minutes, whereby the natural color is fixed and drying is accelerated. Blanching aims to kill the enzymes present in V. which contribute to the change of the product. Temperature and duration of drying vary depending on the type of V. from 3 to 6 hours at 40-80°. Average yield of finished product (in percent): for potatoes 16-18, cabbage 8-10, beets 12-13, root parsley 15-16, parsley greens 12-16, carrots 9-10, parsnip and onions 15-16, root celery 9-10, celery greens 12-16. Dried vegetables should not contain foreign impurities and should be free from the presence of animal pests, plant parasites and sulfur dioxide. They should after 30-40 minutes of soaking in water at room temperature swell to the normal size of fresh V. After soaking in water at room temperature for 1-1^г/₂ hours potatoes should boil through in 25-50 minutes (OST 783). Dried V. are consumed in the form of individual V. or mixtures which can be composed in various combinations. The most common use of mixtures is shown in tab. 3. Before preparing dishes dried V. are washed with water to remove sand and dust and placed for 8-10 hours in cold boiled water, in which they are also cooked with slow heating. The cooking water contains a significant part of the aromatic substances and part of the salts of dried vegetables, therefore it should be used. The most correct way is to steam dried V. Soup mixtures should not be boiled for a long time. After boiling for several minutes they need to be "left to finish cooking" (to cook without boiling) in a thermos. If dried V. are cooked without preliminary softening and swelling in water, they turn out hard. -Ready pickled cabbage (OST 2349) should be light-amber-yellow in color, have a pleasant aromatic smell, weakly sour taste without bitterness, crunch on the teeth, not be slimy and sticky. Shredded cabbage should be not shorter than 100-150 mm in length and thin, 2-3 mm in shreds. Chopped cabbage should be finely and evenly chopped. Free brine in pickled shredded cabbage should not be more than 10% of the total weight of cabbage, and for chopped not more than 15%. The brine should be the natural juice of cabbage without any addition of water, have a pleasant smell, weakly turbid-yellowish color, sour-salty taste, without any deposits of dirt and mucus. Borscht In percent In percent White cabbage . Carrot . Beet . . Potato Parsnip Root celery Bulb onion . . Rutabaga ..... Red pepper . Parsley greens Dill ...... Bay leaf . Celery .... 0.25 0.5 0.125 0.125 20 10 55 0.25 0.5 0.125 0.125 Shchi In percent In percent White cabbage . . . Carrot . . . Potato',. . Parsnip . . Bulb onion Root celery Rutabaga ..... Red pepper . Parsley greens. Bay leaf . 50 17 10 1.625 10 0.25 0.125 75 10 2.5 10 1 1 0.25 0.125 0.125 Julienne soup In percent Potato soup In percent Carrot..... Root celery Bulb onion. . Parsnip .... White cabbage ..... Leek ..... Rutabaga ..... Dill...... Parsley greens Celery .... Bay leaf . 30 12 7 20 5 10 1.5 1.5 Carrot..... Root celery Celery . . . Potato . . . Bulb onion . Parsnip . . . Cauliflower Brussels sprout . . Leek . . . Podded peas Green peas Podded beans Green beans Asparagus . . . Dill .... Celery greens Parsley greens Kohlrabi .... In percent 30 12 7 20 5 10 1.5 1.5 should contain lactic acid from 1.0% to 2.4%. Carrots or apples (quartered) are added in an amount from 2% to 3%. The amount of salt (1st or 2nd grade, but not "smetka") per 100 kg of cabbage should be 2.5 kg. When opening barrels of pickled cabbage no gases should be released from them, and the cabbage should not give off a bad smell or be frozen. Cabbage that does not meet the above requirements is classified as substandard. Substandard pickled cabbage is allowed to be sold and transported by rail and water routes if there is a certificate from sanitary supervision authorities about its suitability for consumption.--Salted cucumbers (OST 2362) depending on their size are divided into 3 grades: 1) cucumber ("vodinka"), 2) half-cucumber ("poluvodinka") and 3) cornichon ("otrostok"). Ready salted cucumbers should be dark green in color, without white slimy film, not crushed and firm to the touch, with a crunch when bitten, pleasant salty-sour taste, with the sensation of the bouquet of added spices, but without any smells and tastes not characteristic of salted cucumbers. The brine should be transparent, without mold, viscosity and contain table salt from 6% to 8%, lactic acid from 0.75% to 1.2%, without any admixture of coloring substances, saltpeter and other preservatives. When opening barrels no gases should be released from them; the brine and cucumbers should not give off a bad smell, and the brine should completely cover the cucumbers.--Tomato puree in barrels (OST 2127) is a homogeneous mass of natural red or brick-red color. Artificial coloring of tomato puree is not allowed.

Tomato paste should not have a foreign odor or taste, contain sand; dry substance should be not less than 12%; table salt not more than 10%; total acidity, calculated as malic acid, not more than 1.5%; ash content, without NaCl ash, not more than 2.0%; ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid, not more than 0.05%. The best place for storing raw vegetables is cellars that meet the following requirements: 1) absence of light, 2) constant temperature of about 5-6°, 3) sufficient dryness of the cellar, but not excessive, otherwise the vegetables will wilt. Successful storage also depends on the placement of vegetables in the cellar. Rutabaga, turnip, along with potatoes, can be stored piled in heaps or bins. Many root vegetables are better stored in sand, in which they do not dry out quickly; these include carrots, beets, horseradish, parsley, turnip. Leafy vegetables (leaf celery, chicory, lettuce) are planted with roots in wet sand. Cabbage is hung on poles in the cellar. When stored in a refrigerator, cabbage at a temperature from 0 to +2° is placed in 2-3 rows on special racks or in baskets no higher than 50 cm to ensure air access to all heads. Storage period up to 1 year with shrinkage of 5-10% of weight. Dried greens are stored in bags, they should be kept in a dry, but not warm place, since in a damp place insect larvae breed in them. The most suitable temperature for transported vegetables is about +4°, and the duration of transport (in days) varies from 10 to 40 days depending on the type. Kohlrabi has a stem thickened into a turnip-like or spherical formation, which is actually eaten. According to the color of the skin of this formation, varieties are distinguished as green and purple. Inside such a thickening there is a tender, juicy core. In the USSR, kohlrabi is almost not cultivated. In Western Europe, especially in Germany and Holland, kohlrabi is the most common, beloved vegetable. Young heads of early varieties are particularly valued. Kohlrabi has a more delicate taste and contains more protein substances than rutabaga, which is why the introduction of this culture into our gardens is extremely desirable. It is eaten fried, for sauces, etc., and also goes for drying. Late varieties can be stored all winter. According to Schleinitz's data, 1 kg of kohlrabi prepared for the market gives 591 g of edible part, which has the following composition (in percentages of the vegetable): water-92.7; nitrogenous substances-2.02; protein-1.03; fat-0.14; non-nitrogenous extractive substances-3.57; fiber-0.64; ash-0.86. Pickles represent various vegetables preserved in vinegar with the addition of mustard and sharp spices. They are used as a seasoning for sauces or as a salad with roast meat. Capers are the flower buds of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa). They are prepared in vinegar and used as a seasoning. Spinach leaves are used for fresh soups, soups and sauces, and are also canned in tins as whole leaves and as puree and for drying. Spinach has the highest content of nitrogenous substances among vegetables - over 34%, calculated on dry matter, as well as a significant content of iron, on average for the raw product 0.0141%; iron in spinach is in the form of an organic, easily digestible compound, and therefore spinach is recommended for nutrition of anemic persons. Spinach extracts: Spinol with 31.5% ash and 0.26% iron. Extr. Ram-kulini with 44.5% ash and 2% iron. Spinach is eaten fresh, boiled and ground (puree) with oil and eggs, also in soups, botvinya and other dishes. It is used to obtain chlorophyll, which is used for coloring green peas. Sorrel is a perennial plant, very common in the wild in wet pastures and meadows. It is also cultivated in gardens. It contains a large amount of nitrogenous substances consisting entirely of proteins. The sour taste is due to oxalic acid, contained in the form of acid potassium oxalate (0.56-0.93% C2HKO). The latter salts are quickly absorbed by the body and have a certain effect on the activity of the heart and central nervous system. Therefore, sorrel should be eaten in small quantities. It is better to cook sorrel in water with the addition of lime or in very hard water in order to convert the harmful acid potassium oxalate into an insoluble neutral calcium salt, poorly absorbed by the body.--In the sanitary assessment of raw vegetables, one usually proceeds from their external appearance and organoleptic data, indicating the percentage of spoiled ones. Lukyanovich. The physiological significance of vegetables and their role in human nutrition are very great and are determined by a number of factors. Vegetables are a valuable material due to their carbohydrate content (especially potatoes), as well as proteins (legumes); vegetable proteins are less complete compared to animal proteins (according to McCollum-25% of the value of milk protein) and are digested worse (potato proteins 80%, legumes 70%) than meat proteins (97%) or milk proteins (93%); nevertheless, vegetable proteins in nutrition are a valuable addition to animal proteins; besides, vegetable proteins are usually free of purines (with the exception of legumes, asparagus and cauliflower). In terms of nutritional value, potatoes occupy first place among vegetables, which, according to some hygienists (Hindhede), can maintain nitrogenous balance in the body without the addition of other food (except fats) and play the role of basic nutrition (which however is denied by the majority). The digestibility of vegetables depends on their age (young varieties contain more tender hemicellulose and more loose fiber), on the degree of grinding and the method of preparation; boiled vegetables are digested better than raw ones, in a pureed form (puree)-even better; digestibility of carbohydrates when eating vegetables ranges from 94% (legumes) to 83% (other vegetables). Vegetables play an important role as a source of vitamins and mineral salts; due to their content of potassium and other basic valences they maintain the required degree of alkalinity of tissues in the body (R. Berg), being 'basic' food in contrast to 'acidic' food (meat and grains). However, according to the same Berg's data, there is an excess of bases only in raw vegetables, while cooking leaches out the basic salts, and an excess of acids is created. Due to their high fiber content, vegetables stimulate intestinal peristalsis, ensure the necessary volume and degree of loosening of fecal masses; the weight of dried daily feces averages 133 g when eating potatoes, 101 g when eating carrots, and only 26 g when eating meat. From this it is clear the importance of vegetables in the prevention of constipation. Finally, the taste properties of vegetables are also important, depending mainly on sugar and essential oils. Vegetables have special significance as one of the ingredients of 'raw food' (see Dietotherapy). According to the followers of this dietary direction, raw vegetables, due to chlorophyll and carotene, are 'accumulators of solar energy'. This view is extremely controversial; it is only certain that raw vegetables are indeed exceptionally rich in vitamins, which in essence constitutes the main value of any raw food. Vegetable food, due to its large volume, requires a certain moderation in consumption in order not to excessively burden the digestive tract; particular caution is necessary for persons not accustomed to a vegetable diet and when transitioning from a meat diet to a plant-based one, which requires training with gradually increasing doses. The significance of vegetables in therapeutic nutrition is also very great. 1) Due to their negligible purine content (with few exceptions), vegetables are indicated in the diet of gout patients, liver, kidney and cardiovascular patients, constituting the main part of any vegetarian regimen (see Vegetarianism). 2) Vegetables, as protein-poor products, are indicated in any regimen with protein restriction, e.g., in putrefactive colitis and dyspepsia. 3) The diuretic role of vegetables, depending on the presence of potassium, calcium and sugar, is widely used in various edemas. 4) In diabetes, vegetables are used in various regimens: the oil-vegetable diet of Petren, the starchy-fruit-vegetable diet of Falta (see Diabetes mellitus), the legume diet of Labbe. 5) In obesity, vegetables rich in fiber with the least digestibility are given mainly (cucumbers, cabbage, lettuce);

Rosenfeld proposed a special potato diet (about 1 kg of potatoes, 200 g of meat, cheese, tea, coffee), which however is too monotonous and is now only used in the form of "potato days". 6) For constipation, vegetables, as already stated above, are an indispensable food that has a therapeutic effect sometimes regardless of the etiology of the constipation. 7) As a stimulant of gastric and pancreatic secretion, vegetables are used in the form of strong decoctions or in the form of dried powder from dill, parsley, spinach or tomatoes. 8) Among "folk" remedies, the use of radish juice for gallstone disease and garlic for bloody diarrhea has significance, partly even passing into clinical practice. 9) For any avitaminosis, vegetables are widely used in raw form (natural or as raw juices from carrots, cabbage, beets).-However, there are a number of contraindications for the use of vegetables, for example, for all types of diarrhea, especially for fermentative dyspepsia; for meteorism, for gastritis with reduced acidity (only vegetable purees are allowed); for liver diseases, tomatoes are contraindicated, for oxaluria - sorrel, spinach and tomatoes. Due to the variety of species, richness in nutritional materials and abundance of dishes prepared, vegetables play the main role in the vegetarian diet. Of individual dishes, mention should be made of: a) soups in the form of strong or weak decoctions, from pureed vegetables, seasoned with cereals, milk, sour cream, etc.- puree soups, cream soups, soups from boiled chopped vegetables with the addition of chopped greens; b) cutlets, puddings and other compact dishes; c) boiled, stewed, fried and baked vegetables as separate dishes or garnishes for meat; d) vegetables stuffed with meat, eggs or porridge (turnip, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini); e) due to good fat binding, it is possible to prepare very nutritious dishes and sauces (Provençal, ragout, macedoine, etc.) from vegetables, even from greens (spinach). Due to the low sodium chloride content, all vegetable dishes require more salt than meat and flour dishes. Finally, it is necessary to widely promote the use of raw vegetables in the form of juices and in natural form, for which purpose all green parts (tops, outer cabbage leaves, potato peel, etc.), which are usually thrown away, should be used in normal and therapeutic cuisine. The wide cultivation and consumption of vegetables are one of the conditions for improving the nutrition of the working masses.

i. lorie.