Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 307, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 December 1914 — NOVEL SALAD WRINKLE [ARTICLE]

NOVEL SALAD WRINKLE

tomatoes and cucumbers ark POACHED WHOLE. Makes the Latter Essler of Digestion, and Does Away With the Fear of Germs— Proper Method of Serving. Poaching whole tomatoes and cucumbers before serving them as* a salad is one of the latest culinary wrinkles. The idea appeals especially to persons suffering from an inborn fear of germs as well as those who cannot easily digest raw vegetables. The poaching process effectually settles the germ question and it is claimed renders these two favorite' salad Vegetables more digestible than in their raw state. If the water is boiling when the vegetables are put in they may be removed at the end of seven minutes. They are then ready to be drained and chilled, the skin of the tomato being at once pulled off. Tomatoes are immersed in the boiling water without being cut, but cucumbers should be thinly pared. A bay leaf, a sliced onion and a little vinegar are often added to the water in which these vegetables are poached, resulting in a delicate addition to their natural flavor. The tomato gives little evidence that it has been poached, but in the case of the cucumber, while the flavor is not changed, tile texture of the pulp is slightly different. A poached cucumber should not be served In thin slices, as is the custom with the uncooked vegetable, as it lacks the crispness which is one of its chief charms. It may, however, be sliced, provided the slices are not detached and the cucumber left in its original shape and laid on a bed of chopped ice. If the cucumber is pared with a fluted knife this method of serving it can be made decidedly attractive, as the appearance does not indicate that it has been sliced, while the fact that it has been facilitates serving. French dressing should be passed with cucumber so served. Poached cucumbers are desirable to use as cups in which to put sauce or small portions of vegetables served as a garnish for fish. When to be used for this purpose cut in thick slices, sufficient to serve as the height of the cup. Remove the inner seed portion and fill the cavity with whatever sauce or vegetable is desired. Arrange around the fish as a border, serving one cucumber cup to each portion. Stewed celery is delicious served in cucumber cups, and so are tiny lima beans. When the filling is a hot vegetable the cucumber cups should be reheated for serving, but for holding sauce they should be chilled. Poached tomatoes and encumbers served together, the tomatoes in slices and the cucumbers In cubes, make a delicious salad, even without the addition of either lettuce or romaine, ths use of which would introduce an uncooked material into the salad.