Salads, wlien properly prepared, are very appetizing and whole*
some, especially in the spring when the system needs the refresh-
ing and tonic elements of the green salad plants. They may also
be made very attractive additions to the table, and as will be seen
by reference to the recipes which follow are very easily prepared, re-
quiring very little thought or labor and many from the most simple
ingredients, while some are quite inexpensive, utilizing odds and ends
that frequently go to waste. The variety of salad materials is almost
innumerable and may be divided into six classes ; salad plants, un-
cooked and cooked vegetables, meats, fish, and fruits. For a list of the
first, see Marketing. The excellence of a salad depends upon the fresh-
ness of its materials, and the preservation of an equal flavor in the use
of condiments ; the best salad is one in which no one flavor pre*
dominates and the ingredients composing the salad must harmon-
ize with the dressing. The importance of using none but the purest
condiments must not be overlooked, for a perfect salad cannot be made
with inferior ingredients. All vegetables must be carefully cleaned
and if to be used uncooked, thoroughly cooled before dressing. Let-
tuce should be carefully washed, as soon after picked as possible, in
plenty of cold, salted water, rejecting all imperfect leaves, behig
careful not to bruise stems or leaves as it causes them to wilt, and
left in clean, cold, salted water until fresh and crisp ; then wrapped
in a clean wet cloth, and kept in a cool, dark place ; to lay it next
ice in a refrigerator is an excellent way to keep it fresh and crisp.
The salad in which lettuce is used should not be dressed until just
£64 Salads.
before serving, because the lettuce wilts so soon after the dressing
is applied; the nicest small leaves should be reserved for.decorat-
ing, the larger ones should b^ laid around the sides and in bottom
of salad bowl, and the rest torn apart with the fingers.
Celery should also be carefully washed in plenty of cold, salted
water, trimmed into lengths, wrapped in a wet cloth, and kept in cold
place until wanted for the salad, when it should be cut into bits
with a knife, not chopped. When celery cannot be had, chopped
white cabbage, or head lettuce, shredded, may be used instead with
celery seed. Frozen celery should be thrown into cold water while
it is yet stifif; if it is allowed to partly thaw before putting into cold
water it will be spoiled. All vegetables can be kept as above and
crisped by placing in ice water an hour or two before serving. As-
paragus, pease, and string beans for salads should be boiled in salted
boiling water until tender, then drained and put into cold water at
once, to preserve their color, and drained on a dry cloth to free from
moisture before using. In preparing meat for salads it is much nicer to
pick it or cut with a knife instead of chopping, always removing bits
of gristle, fat and skin.
Page 487
Presented as published in 1890. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
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Salads, wlien properly prepared, are very appetizing and whole*
some, especially in the spring when the system needs the refresh-
ing and tonic elements of the green salad plants. They may also
be made very attractive additions to the table, and as will be seen
by reference to the recipes which follow are very easily prepared, re-
quiring very little thought or labor and many from the most simple
ingredients, while some are quite inexpensive, utilizing odds and ends
that frequently go to waste. The variety of salad materials is almost
innumerable and may be divided into six classes ; salad plants, un-
cooked and cooked vegetables, meats, fish, and fruits. For a list of the
first, see Marketing. The excellence of a salad depends upon the fresh-
ness of its materials, and the preservation of an equal flavor in the use
of condiments ; the best salad is one in which no one flavor pre*
dominates and the ingredients composing the salad must harmon-
ize with the dressing. The importance of using none but the purest
condiments must not be overlooked, for a perfect salad cannot be made
with inferior ingredients. All vegetables must be carefully cleaned
and if to be used uncooked, thoroughly cooled before dressing. Let-
tuce should be carefully washed, as soon after picked as possible, in
plenty of cold, salted water, rejecting all imperfect leaves, behig
careful not to bruise stems or leaves as it causes them to wilt, and
left in clean, cold, salted water until fresh and crisp ; then wrapped
in a clean wet cloth, and kept in a cool, dark place ; to lay it next
ice in a refrigerator is an excellent way to keep it fresh and crisp.
The salad in which lettuce is used should not be dressed until just
£64 Salads.
before serving, because the lettuce wilts so soon after the dressing
is applied; the nicest small leaves should be reserved for.decorat-
ing, the larger ones should b^ laid around the sides and in bottom
of salad bowl, and the rest torn apart with the fingers.
Celery should also be carefully washed in plenty of cold, salted
water, trimmed into lengths, wrapped in a wet cloth, and kept in cold
place until wanted for the salad, when it should be cut into bits
with a knife, not chopped. When celery cannot be had, chopped
white cabbage, or head lettuce, shredded, may be used instead with
celery seed. Frozen celery should be thrown into cold water while
it is yet stifif; if it is allowed to partly thaw before putting into cold
water it will be spoiled. All vegetables can be kept as above and
crisped by placing in ice water an hour or two before serving. As-
paragus, pease, and string beans for salads should be boiled in salted
boiling water until tender, then drained and put into cold water at
once, to preserve their color, and drained on a dry cloth to free from
moisture before using. In preparing meat for salads it is much nicer to
pick it or cut with a knife instead of chopping, always removing bits
of gristle, fat and skin.