VALUE OF SALADS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21921, 3 October 1934, Page 5

VALUE OF SALADS

IMPORTANCE IN DIET SOME DELICIOUS RECIPES Salad is taking an increasingly prominent part in the modern diet. It. is so important to a well-balanced diet that a salad should bo served with at least one meal every day. It is excellent to serve with roast meat or between the meat and sweets course, while a well-made salad is a delicious and substantial dish in itself. A salad should please by its appearance and artistic arrangement as well as by its flavour. It is valuable because it contains mineral salts to aid digestion; water, celulose, that acts as roughage, and vitamins either a, b or c. In some vegetables—carrots and cabbage for instance —all three vitamins are present. Cabbage is valuable for salads, and yeb it is rarely served. A good thing is to take a young cabbage, wash and dry the centre leaves, and then chop them finely and serve as a basis instead of lettuce leaves. Red cabbage has a distinctive and delicious flavour. Greens lack oils and fats, and that is why a dressing is served, for they are rich in oils and fats and so supplement the greens. There are several essentials to a delicious salad. First, the lettuce must bo well washed and dried. It should never be prepared wet as it sometimes is. To dry it either put it in a wire lettuce basket or the leaves can be dried by shaking we'd in a tea towel and then left wrapped up. Care should be taken to avoid bruising the leaves. Salads are best made in an earthenware bowl, and a large bowl is best for mixing. Dressing should, always bo well arid carefully made. Nothing is worse than a thin and vinegary dressing; it ruins a salad. Never pour the dressing over the salad some time before it is served, or the lettuce will go limp and horrible, because the vinegar will eat into the loaves and the salt will take out the moisture and crispness. Pour dressing over at the last moment, or better still, serve it separately at the table and allow guests to pour it over. If a lettuce is wilted add a few drops of vinegar to the water in which it is soaking. Salad Dressings French Dressing.—This is _ the simplest of salad dressings and is delicious. It contains olive oil, and because of that many declare they do not like it, but it is. largely a matter of acquiring the taste, and once this has been cultivated everyone will admit that a little oil greatly improves the salad. The correct proportions for French dressing are two tablespoons oil, one tablespoon vinegar, quarter teaspoon salt, pinch cayenne, quarter teaspoon mustard, one third teaspoon caster sugar. Mix tho oil and vinegar well. One good way of doing this is to put them both in. a screw top jar and shake hard. Then flavour with the rest of the ingredients. Put to one side, and shake again before serving. Do not pouir over salad till last minute. Finely-chopped parsley is sometimes added to this dressing. Cooked Salad Dressing.—This is made without oil, ami 59 will be preferred by some. Stored in a jar in a cool place it will keep for several weeks.

A small quantity can bo broken down with cream or milk when dressing is wanted. Three yolks or two whole cpgs, one gill water, half gill vinegar, halt gill cream, half teaspoon salt, quarter teaspoon caster sugar, or moro, pinch of cayenne. Beat the yolks and add the flavourings. Then add water and vinegar, and cook with greatest care, stirring all the time. A double saucepan is much the best. Cook until it responds to the custard test, that is, is thick enough to coat the spoon. It should be absolutely smooth. Immediately it is ready take from fire and pour into a basin through a strainer; if loft m saucepan the extra heat may curdle the custard. Add cream. Mayonnaise. —This is the most difficult of dressings to make, but is so delicious that it is worth a little trouble. When finished, mayonnaise should be so thick that it will mask the salad when poured over the top. A thoroughly good recipe requires: Iwo raw yolks, one to two gills oil, two tablespoons vinegar, half teaspoon salt, pinch cayenne, one-third teaspoon, mustard, half teaspoon caster sugar. Use only the best oil; it is worth while buying a really good oil, for it is only used in small quantities and will last a long time. A really good vinegar should be used; the purer the vinegar the less needed. Put the yolks m a smooth busin, and with a wooden spoon beat iin the salt, cayenne, mustard and sueiar slightly. The oil must now bo addod, but it must bo added a drop at a time. Oil must be added in till the dressing becomes thick and creamy, so thick that it hangs from the spoon when held up. If the mixture becomes at all uneven, stop adding oil and beat thoroughly until the texture is even. Should it curdle, break the yolk <if an egg, add the mixture to it little l>y little until it is smooth again, when begin adding oil. When the mayonnaise is thick and creamy begin to add the vinegar, again adding drop by drop. It can be bottled, and will keep well, so a large quantity can be made at a time, and just a small amount used when necessary. A good mayonnaise is most useful, for, quite apart from salads, it can be used for ing ingredients together for sandwiches, savouries and hors d'oeuvre.