SC - An Interesting Cookbook- OOP

[Bonne of Traquair]

>
>A neighbor just loaned me "The Virginia House-wife" by Mary Randolph, 
>edited
>by Karen Hess. Among other interesting things I've found browsing, Mrs 
>Randolph does not
>believe in long cooking- her vegetables are done to crisp-tender, and Ms.
>Hess suggests that our more recent business of cooking things until they're
>grey might be a direct result of commercial canning processes,

And/or the admonitions to thoroughly re-cook home canned foods, especially 
in the days before pressure canners.   Another reason was that at one point 
the usefulness of food nutritionally was measured via the, um, output of 
waste.  Vegetables well cooked were less fibrous and more "digestible" that 
is, less waste product.  Therefore well-cooked vegetables were considered 
better for you than crisp-tender cooked vegetables.  That was nutritional 
science 100 years ago.

For more information on why we cook like we do, and why some ideas about 
nutrition came into being, read "Perfection Salad : Women and Cooking at the 
Turn of the Century" by Laura Shapiro,ISBN: 0805002286. It discusses the 
history of home economics and nutrition research in the United States.
(no, I don't know all that off the top of my head! As usual, I only recalled 
which shelf a book I've read over several times sits upon in my local 
library and after a few minutes I thought I recalled the title. I tried it 
out on a search of a used book locater and Voila!)

There's another book on the shelf on much the same topic,but focusing on the 
social services aspects of home economics, specifically in turn of the 
Century Boston.  If the title comes to me, I'll let you know!

Yes, I am quite aware that my memory works in mysterious ways!

Bonne



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