The Epicure's Almanac or Diary of Good Living
June 17th : BOILING PEAS OR FRENCH BEANS
The jocose directions given to a bad cook,to “send her peas to Hammersmith, as the certain way to Turn’em Green,” need no longer be adopted; a less inconvenient method (although omnibuses are to be found every five minutes, on their way to the mentioned goal), is to use half a tea-spoonful of sub-carbon of soda, thrown into the water a minute before you put the vegetables into the saucepan.
This will assuredly preserve the colour of peas and French beans, and may be used with good effect on cauliflower and broccoli, obtaining thereby a fine contrast in colour between the vegetable and its stalk .