Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/321

 various cooked forms. Cooking the onion, especially boiling, expels a large part of its most pungent character, so that the cooked onion does not manifest itself so unpleasantly in the breath when eaten as is the case with the raw onion. The onion is also very commonly eaten in this country fried, especially with beefsteak. The variety of onions cultivated is legion, but they are due rather to different methods of cultivation, etc., to botanical character.

Composition.—

Water,                  87.55 percent Ash,                      .57    " Protein,                  1.40    " Fiber,                    .69    " Sugar, starch, etc.,      9.53    " Fat,                      .26    "

The onion, it is seen, is rather poor in protein but rich in sugar and allied bodies.

Parsnips.—The botanical name of the parsnip is Pastinaca sativa L. French, panais; German, Pastinake; Italian, pastinaca; Spanish, chirivia.

The parsnip is nearly related to the carrot in its appearance and also its properties. The root is usually long and straight and gradually tapering. It, however, often has other shapes, as is the case with the carrot and beet.

Composition.—

Water,                   80.34 percent Ash,                      1.03    " Protein,                   1.35    " Fiber,                     .53    " Sugar, starch, etc.,      16.09    " Fat,                       .66    "

The above data show that the parsnip is not much richer in nutrients than most of the roots grown, except in sugar and starch content. The large quantity of carbohydrates gives it its chief food value. These carbohydrates are not by any means all sugar and starch, but include a very considerable proportion of cellulose which is more or less digestible.

Peas.—The botanical name of the pea plant is Pisum sativum L. French pois; German, Erbse; Italian, pisello; Spanish, guisante.

The pea is quite as highly valued for table use as the bean, and, perhaps, is almost as extensively cultivated. The pea, however, is not usually eaten in the pod. It is probably indigenous to Central Europe, but has been so long cultivated that an exact history of its original distribution is not known. There, are many different varieties of the pea, but the one most highly prized is a small and very sweet pea. The larger variety does not have the palatability and other highly prized edible qualities that distinguish the smaller variety. The pea is found in the markets of the United States throughout the whole year, being grown under cover in the winter time. It becomes an abundant crop