Since experience has taught us that the delicate machinery of the body
requires oil to keep it running smoothly, salads as one of the most
agreeable means of supplying this need, have been growing in favor.
In our recipes for salad dressings, we have endeavored to give
sufficient variety in oils to suit all tastes and circumstances.
“Vinegar--acetic acid, is about ten times as strong as alcohol,
and makes more trouble in the stomach than any other acid except
oxalic.”--_Dr. Rand._
“No acid should be taken into the mouth with starch as it will
prevent the action of the saliva; but if starches have been properly
masticated, and a proper amount of saliva mingled with them, lemon
juice will not interfere with the digestion of starch in the
stomach.”--_Dr. Kress._
For the above reasons, we use no flour or cornstarch in dressings, use
lemon juice as the acid, and exclude potato salad. Cold potatoes of
themselves are difficult of digestion and combining them with an acid
renders them still more so.