12. VARIETY IN SALAD INGREDIENTS.--One of the advantages of salads is
that the ingredients from which they can be made are large in number. In
fact, almost any cooked or raw fruit or vegetable, or any meat, fowl, or
fish, whether cooked expressly for this purpose or left over from a
previous meal, may be utilized in the making of salads. Canned foods of
these varieties may also be used to advantage for salads during the
winter when fresh foods are expensive and difficult to procure. The idea
that such foods cannot be used is wrong.
13. As far as meats are concerned, they are not used so extensively in
salads as are fruits and vegetables. Often, however, veal or pork may be
used to increase the quantity of material needed to make certain salads,
such as chicken salad. Canned fish or fish freshly cooked makes
appetizing salads, and if there is not a sufficient quantity of one kind
on hand, another may be added without impairing the quality of
the salad.
14. As has already been stated, almost any vegetable, raw, canned, or
freshly cooked, can be used in the making of salads. In addition, these
vegetables may be combined in almost any way. Small amounts of two,
three, four, or more vegetables may be combined with an appetizing salad
dressing and served as a luncheon or dinner salad. If no definite recipe
is followed but whatever material that happens to be on hand is
utilized, the result is not only an appetizing salad, but a saving of
vegetables that might otherwise be wasted.
[Illustration: FIG. 1]
15. Fruits, both canned and raw, are largely used in the making of
salads. As with vegetables, almost any combination of them makes a
delicious salad when served with the proper dressing. Thus, a slice of
pineapple, a canned peach or two, or a few spoonfuls of cherries may be
added to grapefruit, oranges, bananas, or whatever fruit may happen to
be most convenient or easy to procure and served with the salad dressing
that is preferred. Vegetables are seldom used with fruits, celery being
the only one that is ever employed in this way. On the other hand, nuts
are much used with fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish in the making of
salads and any variety may be utilized.
16. SALAD GARNISHES.--The garnishing of salads, while it may seem to be
an unimportant part of the preparation of this food, is really a matter
that demands considerable attention. Lettuce is used oftenest for this
purpose, but almost any edible green, such as endive, watercress, etc.,
makes an excellent garnish. Generally when lettuce is the garnish, the
leaves are used whole, but if they are not in good condition for
garnishing or if use is to be made of the coarse outside leaves of the
stalks, they may be arranged in a pile, rolled tight, and then, as
shown in Fig. 1, cut with a sharp knife into narrow strips. Lettuce
prepared in this way is said to be _shredded_, and a bed of it makes a
very attractive garnish for many kinds of salad. Among the other foods
used as a garnish are certain vegetables that give a contrast in color,
such as pimiento, green peppers, radishes, and olives. Slices of
hard-cooked eggs or the yolks of eggs forced through a ricer likewise
offer a touch of attractive color.
17. NATURE OF SALAD DRESSINGS.--When a salad is properly made, a salad
dressing of some kind is usually added to the ingredients that are
selected for the salad. This dressing generally has for its chief
ingredient a salad oil of some kind, many satisfactory varieties of
which are to be found on the market. Olive oil has always been the most
popular oil used for this purpose, and in many respects it is the most
desirable. It can be obtained in several grades, the price varying with
the excellence of the quality. The best grades have a yellowish color,
the poorest ones are somewhat green, and those of medium quality shade
between these two colors. The best grades are also clear, while the
poorer ones are usually cloudy, the better the quality the less cloudy
the oil. Besides olive oil, however, there are oils made of cottonseed,
corn, and nuts. Many of these products are cheaper than olive oil and
are almost, if not quite, as satisfactory. In combination with the oil
that is used for salad dressing, there is always an acid of some kind,
such as vinegar or lemon juice. To these ingredients are added spices
and flavoring. Such a dressing is prepared without cooking, the
ingredients being combined by proper mixing or beating.
18. Another kind of dressing that is much used is known as boiled salad
dressing. Its ingredients are similar to those used in the uncooked
salad dressing, but usually less fat is employed and eggs alone or eggs
and some starchy material are used for thickening.
Then, again, entirely different kinds of dressing may be made for fruit
salads. Sometimes these dressings contain no fat, and other times they
have for their basis sweet or sour cream, but usually they are made so
that they are somewhat acid to the taste.