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Vegetables, Keeping Of

When it is necessary to keep vegetables for a day or two, spread them out on a cellar floor, or keep them in a perfectly dry cool situation, but not exposed to currents of air. Be careful that each kind of vegetable is kept away from the other kinds, to prevent deterioration in flavour. Examine them daily to ascertain that they are not withering. Carrots, turnips, beetroot, parsnips, potatoes, and beans keep best in dry sand or earth in a cellar. The mould which hangs about them should be left upon them, and if any sprouts appear, they should be carefully removed. Cabbages, if spread out on earth in a cool cellar, will keep good for two or three months. Celery and leeks also may be kept for two or three months in a cellar in boxes filled with earth. The stalk ends of asparagus and cucumbers, on the contrary, should be placed in about two inches of cold water. Store onions should be hung in a cool dry place. Vegetables should not be washed or placed in water until a short time before they are to be used.