THE ART OF MAKING SALADS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 311, 17 December 1936, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE ART OF MAKING SALADS

Some Common Errors By Even Good Housewives.

have been, known io mankind for. centuries, ever since herbs •were first grown for food, and, as far., ii||©jgland is concerned, as far back histb'ry 1 goes. Yet even after all 4sse years of experience, Englishwomen are only just beginning to understand ‘ /the art of good salad making. In Shakespeare’s day a salad was a common dish, yet up to a hundred years later, the “sallet” as it was called, was looked down on as being a poor food for Britons, and was subjected to the contempt and wit of writers of that day. This attitude may partly 1 account for the ignorance of the average Briton in the matter of salads. Salads are capable of infinite variety. They may be made from green leaves alone; from a combination of green leaves and fruit; from cooked or fresh vegetables; and from fish, poultry, meat or eggs. Let us first consider the making of the simplest form of salad, using green leaves only. The average New Zealander considers that a salad can be made only of lettuce leaves. In that she shows her ignorance, for delicious salads can be made from water cress, garden cress, cabbage leaves, beet leaves, endive and sorrel. As the last two mentioned greens are seldom grown in New Zealand, we will leave them out of the discussion.

Never Soak the Leaves. Many' cooks, throw the lettu’ce leaves into a pan of water and leave them io soak, by which means they lose a great percentage of mineral salts and become thoroughly sodden. This is the initial mistake in the British way of making a salad, for in •the face of anything that may be said to the contrary, it is quite impossible to get the leaves sufficiently’ dry after they* have been immersed in the water for any length of time. The proper way, the “counsel of perfection,” if you like, is to discard the outer leaves altogether. The dirt has got .to them, and they would have to be washed with a great deal of water. They need not, however, be wasted. They can be used for a dish of- cooked lettuce, or put aside for the fowls or pet rabbit. For the perfect salad use the inner hearts only*. These can be carefully wiped, one by one, with a damp cloth arid, laid in a bowl as crisp and alive as if they were still growing in Mother Earth. Soused leaves are dead. On the other hand, if you are not fortunate enough .to grow your own lettuce, and are, therefore, not sure of its source, the leaves should be washed one by one under running water. After washing each leaf should be dried separately, and as carefully as possible to prevent bruising.-’ ■

If the leaves are wilted treat them this way’. Wash as described above, and wrap in a piece of damp muslin. Hang them up in a cool, draughty place. The air blowing through the muslin will make the leaves cool, crisp and fresh. The owner of a refrigerator is in a for.tu’nate position, as she can always have cold, crisp lettuce leaves by placing the washed lettuce wrapped in muslin in the refrigerator. Leave for from half an hour to an hour. Cress and cabbage may be treated with success in exactly .the same way as lettuce. Knife and Salad Never Meet. The second common mistake is to use a knife to cut the leaves. A knife and lettuce should never meet. Tear the leaves -with your fingers into bits that are not too small. Cutting bruises the leaves, and nothing looks so horrible as a salad of shredded morsels and strips of lettuce, which have been soaked in a coarsetextured, -watery’ dressing. When the leaves are in the salad bowl, the next step is the seasoning, or, as it is called, .the dressing. There are, broadly speaking, two varieties of dressing, the simple and the complex. Being a New Zea-

lander, and knowing New Zealand habits, I could with truth say that dressing in this country is not what its name implies, but a lumpy, badlyflavoured, unattractive, watery-look-ing mess, which is poured over the lettuce some time before it is served. The inevitable result of this practice is that the once crisp lettuce leaves become sodden and unpalatable. Salad dressing should only be added at the last minute before serving. If that is impossible, serve it in a bowl on the table. Salad dressing such as the average New Zealandei makes, should not be added to shredded lettuce at all. Only' the thinnest dressing, such as French dressing made with oil, is placed over shredded ( lettuce, and the amount used is'so little as not to spoil the appearance of the salad ai all. Oil tastes objectionable to the average New Zealand palate, and is not much used in the preparation oi salad dressings in this country.