Half-an-hour before they are to be eaten, the lettuces
should be pulled to pieces with the hands, dirt removed with
a damp cloth, and each leaf broken into three or four. A
leaf that will not break is not worth eating. Next, rub a
clove of garlic round the bowl, pour in 3 units of salad oil.
Add the lettuce and shake well. 'J'hen add 1 unit of
vinegar — tarragon if possible — salt, pepper, and sugar, about
^ unit each, 1 unit of chopped chervil, and 1 of the green
part of young onions. Mix by putting a plate on the top of
the bowl and shaking. Salads may be treated with mayon-
naise sauces, but the plain dressing is moi-e wholesome.
The following salad maxims were given to the writer by a
pupil of Soyer ; Never let water touch the lettuce. Never
290
The Indian Housekeeper and Cook 291
let a knife touch it. Never touch it till half-an-hour before
it is to be eaten. Never put mustard in a salad sauce. Never
mix different kinds of salad stuffs. Never decorate your
salads.
1. English Salads. — Tliese are for the most part served as an
accompaniment to cold meat, and the sauce, as a rule, seems com-
pounded of mustard, vinegar, and the yolks of hard-boiled eggs.
Yet few, who have once tasted a really well-dressed salad, do not
prefer it to the ordinary sort of pickle. Great care must be used
ill the selection of the oil, as any suspicion of rancidity in it com-
pletely destroys a salad. Half the oil which comes out to India
is in reality cotton-seed oil, which has been expressed in, and
exported from Italy.
2. Italian Salads. — These are really cold macedonies of vege-
tables, and may be made of any kind, mixed with endive or lettuce.
Three or four kinds are enough, of which one should be cold-boiled
potatoes. Add a little shredded ham or game, anchovies, olives,
&c. Dress with tartar sauce, and serve in an aspic border.
3. German Salads. — Celery, beetroot, white chicken meat,
and hard-boiled eggs, dressed with cream mayonnaise. Serve in a
vegetable border.
4. Russian Salads. — Beetroots, carrots, cucumber, lobster or
prawns, seasoned with mayonnaise. Serve in an aspic set with balls
of caviare, or fillets of preserved herrings or smoked haddock.
5. Spanish Salads. — Ripe tomatoes, boiled, sliced onions, French
beans sauced with vinegaret, or ordinary salad dressing. Arrange
round endive mayonnaise, dressed with anchovy and olives.
6. Vegetable Salads are endless. They can be dressed with
tartar, vinegaret, or mayonnaise, and served in aspics with prawns,
lob.sters, quenelles, &c. &c. They are always served as a second
course.
CHAPTER XXXII
GAME
The Indian cook does not in the least understand the treat-
ment of game. When it goes into the kitchen, it is either
left lying in a heap on the ground, or hung up in a bunch,
most likely by the legs. At the first moment of leisure the
cook-boy is set to work to pluck and disembowel the whole
game larder, which is then either put to dry in a strong
winter wind, or laid out carefully as a fly-trap. When
ordered to prepare any for the table, the cook invariably
chooses the freshest-looking, and thereafter comes to say,
with clasped hands and a smirk, “ The rest, by the blessino-
of God, has gone bad.” ^
Page 201
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Half-an-hour before they are to be eaten, the lettuces should be pulled to pieces with the hands, dirt removed with a damp cloth, and each leaf broken into three or four. A leaf that will not break is not worth eating. Next, rub a clove of garlic round the bowl, pour in 3 units of salad oil. Add the lettuce and shake well. Then add 1 unit of vinegar — tarragon if possible — salt, pepper, and sugar, about ^ unit each, 1 unit of chopped chervil, and 1 of the green part of young onions. Mix by putting a plate on the top of the bowl and shaking. Salads may be treated with mayonnaise sauces, but the plain dressing is more wholesome.
The following salad maxims were given to the writer by a pupil of Soyer ; Never let water touch the lettuce. Never
The Indian Housekeeper and Cook 291
let a knife touch it. Never touch it till half-an-hour before it is to be eaten. Never put mustard in a salad sauce. Never mix different kinds of salad stuffs. Never decorate your salads.
1. English Salads. — These are for the most part served as an accompaniment to cold meat, and the sauce, as a rule, seems compounded of mustard, vinegar, and the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Yet few, who have once tasted a really well-dressed salad, do not prefer it to the ordinary sort of pickle. Great care must be used ill the selection of the oil, as any suspicion of rancidity in it completely destroys a salad. Half the oil which comes out to India is in reality cotton-seed oil, which has been expressed in, and exported from Italy.
2. Italian Salads. — These are really cold macedonies of vegetables, and may be made of any kind, mixed with endive or lettuce. Three or four kinds are enough, of which one should be cold-boiled potatoes. Add a little shredded ham or game, anchovies, olives, &c. Dress with tartar sauce, and serve in an aspic border.
3. German Salads. — Celery, beetroot, white chicken meat, and hard-boiled eggs, dressed with cream mayonnaise. Serve in a vegetable border.
4. Russian Salads. — Beetroots, carrots, cucumber, lobster or prawns, seasoned with mayonnaise. Serve in an aspic set with balls of caviare, or fillets of preserved herrings or smoked haddock.
5. Spanish Salads. — Ripe tomatoes, boiled, sliced onions, French beans sauced with vinegaret, or ordinary salad dressing. Arrange round endive mayonnaise, dressed with anchovy and olives.
6. Vegetable Salads are endless. They can be dressed with tartar, vinegaret, or mayonnaise, and served in aspics with prawns, lob.sters, quenelles, &c. &c. They are always served as a second course.
CHAPTER XXXII
GAME
The Indian cook does not in the least understand the treatment of game. When it goes into the kitchen, it is either left lying in a heap on the ground, or hung up in a bunch, most likely by the legs. At the first moment of leisure the cook-boy is set to work to pluck and disembowel the whole game larder, which is then either put to dry in a strong winter wind, or laid out carefully as a fly-trap. When ordered to prepare any for the table, the cook invariably chooses the freshest-looking, and thereafter comes to say, with clasped hands and a smirk, “ The rest, by the blessinoof God, has gone bad.” ^