SALADS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19961, 20 November 1934, Page 10

SALADS

IMPORTANCE OF DRESSINGS Salad dressings are all-important and no salad should ever be served without its right dressing; it increases the nutriment, aids the digestion and greatly improves the flavour. But too often a salad dressing is a thin, watery substance, strongly flavoured with vinegar and mustard, and perhaps lumpy. This is an insult to any salad. A dressing should be smooth and well flavoured, with no one flavour predominating. It is really at its best best when a little olive oil is added; this makes a smoother texture, and is a splendid aid in digestion. Many cooks are often averse to using olive oil in salad dressings, but if they will try it two or three times they will soon find that the dressing made without olive oil has not the body and flavour of that made with oil. It is wrong to pour dressing over a salad and then to let it stand or some time; this absolutely ruins the salad. Dressing can be made as early as you like, but it should not be poured over until just before serving the salad, or it can be served separately. French Dressing.—There are two ways of making French dressing. The first requires two parts of oil, one part vinegar, salt, cayenne, mustard, sugar. Method: Mix oil and vinegar. Flavour to taste with the rest of the ingredients. French Dressing No. 2. —Four tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice, four tablespoons salad oil, half teaspoon salt, quarter teaspoon pepper. Method: Combine ingredients. Shake in a bottle or stir until well blended. Extra flavour can easily be given to French dressing. Chopped parsley or mint can be added, or chopped green and sweet red peppers (half a teaspoon each of the above mixture); two tablespoons of tomato sauce or catsup can be added, or to give a particularly savoury flavour, add two hard-cooked eggs chopped finely, one tablespoon pimento, rubbed through a sieve, one finely-chopped green pepper, one tablespoon tomato sauce or catsup, half teaspoon paprika. This is a most popular dressing. The secret of a smooth dressing lies in pounding the yolk of egg till it is absolutely smooth, then adding mustard, sugar and salt and mixing it until there are no lumps at all. Cream Salad Dressing.—Two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, one level teaspoon sugar, one level teaspoon salt, six tablespoons cream, half level teaspoon mustard, six tablespoons vinegar vinegar or lemon juice. Method: Pound yolk of egg with back of wooden spoon. Add mustard, sugar and salt. Mix well. Work cream in gradually, then add vinegar or lemon juice slowly.