Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1914 — PREPARING THE SALAD [ARTICLE]

PREPARING THE SALAD

IMPORTANT POINTS THAT MUST BE REMEMBERED. Flavor Should Be Varied, and That la by No Means a Hard Task —-Mix the Dish Immediately Before Serving. Avoid giving all salads the same taste by flavoring them with some condiment one is perhaps over-fond of. Variety is the main spice of salads as of life. While connoisseurs all agree that pure, fresh olive oil is the best for salads, there are people who prefer the fat smoked bacon and relish its flavor above all else. It is well to remember that we should know how to substitute one condiment or another, if necessary, and not go saladless for want of one particular flavoring material. Salt is perhaps the one indispensable seasoning, and of all flavoring substances the onion is the most valuable and enjoyable to all, even to those who would not willingly eat the salad if they knew the onion had been used. For use in salads, however, the onions must be mild in flavor and their presence cunningly concealed. Salads of all kinds should be gently handled. That is, they should not be heavily turned, but mixed in a very large bowl, by running the fork and spoon down the sides of the dish and then gently tossing the salad with an upward moyement, letting it mix as it falls back. In mixing a plain lettuce or other green salad it is well to put the 7 oil on first and then carefully toss the leaves about until all are covered, in every part, with a thin coating of the oil. Then add the other -ingredients and toss again. A small quantity of 611 is sufficient when this method of thorough mixing is observed. Lettuce should always be very carefully cleaned several hours before it is wanted and then wrapped In a wet cloth and put directly on ice until it is wanted. A salad should never be mixed until just before It is to be served. The various accompaniments of a salad add much to Its attractiveness. One thing full of possibilities Is the wafer. These should always be crisp, and if they are damp they can be crisped in the oven. Small wafers flavored with cheese are delicious with salad. So are thin salt wafers dotted with butter and sprinkled with pepper and browned in the oven. These should be served hot. Then there Is the cheese of various sorts that is served with salad. Imported cheese, naturally, is going up in price because of the war, but nothing is better than Philadelphia cream cheese, made into little balls and rolled in ground nut meats, or with two halves of walnuts or pecans pressed into the sides of a cheese ball. American domestic cheese sprinkled on wafers which are heated in the oven is also decidedly appetizing.