Touching salad-dressing a gi'eat deal might be written, for concerning its composition cookery books seem to possess " a thousand several tongues," and every tongue to bring in " a several tale." Let us try and be con- tented, however, with a few standard ones, remembering that salads may be clothed in simplicity, as well as in grandeur. True co7inoisseHre, I think, adhere, as a rule, to the very simplest : that is to say, the simplest as far as the compo- nent parts, and the process of mixing them, are concerned. The artist's hand and eye, and some little experience to boot are, of course, essential to acquire that nicety of judg- ment of quantity which a plain dressing demands. It is, therefore, the hardest to describe. Let me lead off with one general law for every salad, of which English people are, collectively speaking, ignorant. It is this : — Abstain from the vinegar bottle as much as possible. You do not want an acid dish at all. Vinegar is merely added to lend a peculiar flavour to the composition, and to assist it with an almost imperceptible pungency. That most pernicious advice : — " Four times the spoon with oil of Lncca crown, And twice with vinegar procured from town" SALADS. 205 should be shunned most studiously. The correct use of vinegar is, therefore, to my mind the feature which con- tains the main difficulty in mixing a salad. The following rules for plain salad-dressing may be trusted I think : — Pull the leaves of the lettuce from the stalk with your hand, rejecting all that are bruised and discoloured, turn those at all muddy into a basin, wash them well, and drain them thoroughly on a sieve, tossing them lightly in a cloth afterwards to get rid of every drop of water. Leaves that are quite clean ought not to be wetted at all. When dry, put the leaves into the bowl, and work them about with the wooden spoon and fork whilst an assistant sprinkles over them a libation of the finest oil you can buy. As soon as every leaf is thoroughly anointed, — glittering with a coating of moisture as it were, — shake over them a few drops of tarragon vinegar, and dust them with salt, and some coarse, freshly gTound black pepper✪ Plain Salad Dressing. The spoon and fork must be kept going during the addition of the vinegar drops, and also whilst ^he pepper and salt are being dusted into the bowl. The thing to avoid is a sediment of dressing. The leaves lying at the bottom of the bowl must, in that case, become sodden, and so the crispness you desire to maintain will be marred. A thorough lubrication is all that has to be accomplished. I picked this up several years ago from a French waiter at Yerrey's dining-rooms in London : it was surprising how much oil was caught up by the dry crisp leaves, and how Utile vinegar was put in as a finishing touch by this accomplished Garqon. Observe, pray, that it is quite out of the question to give fixed quantities with regard to the mixing of this kind of salad. The quantity of oil, and of the other in- gredients, must obviously depend on the quantity of green stuff. 18 206 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS. This is the only dressing possible in the ease of an endive (chicoree) salad ; for which it is essential that the bowl be rubbed with garlic.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Touching salad-dressing a great deal might be written, for concerning its composition cookery books seem to possess " a thousand several tongues," and every tongue to bring in " a several tale." Let us try and be contented, however, with a few standard ones, remembering that salads may be clothed in simplicity, as well as in grandeur. True connoisseur, I think, adhere, as a rule, to the very simplest : that is to say, the simplest as far as the component parts, and the process of mixing them, are concerned. The artist's hand and eye, and some little experience to boot are, of course, essential to acquire that nicety of judgment of quantity which a plain dressing demands. It is, therefore, the hardest to describe. Let me lead off with one general law for every salad, of which English people are, collectively speaking, ignorant. It is this : — Abstain from the vinegar bottle as much as possible. You do not want an acid dish at all. Vinegar is merely added to lend a peculiar flavour to the composition, and to assist it with an almost imperceptible pungency. That most pernicious advice : — " Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, And twice with vinegar procured from town" SALADS. 205 should be shunned most studiously. The correct use of vinegar is, therefore, to my mind the feature which contains the main difficulty in mixing a salad. The following rules for plain salad-dressing may be trusted I think : — Pull the leaves of the lettuce from the stalk with your hand, rejecting all that are bruised and discoloured, turn those at all muddy into a basin, wash them well, and drain them thoroughly on a sieve, tossing them lightly in a cloth afterwards to get rid of every drop of water. Leaves that are quite clean ought not to be wetted at all. When dry, put the leaves into the bowl, and work them about with the wooden spoon and fork whilst an assistant sprinkles over them a libation of the finest oil you can buy. As soon as every leaf is thoroughly anointed, — glittering with a coating of moisture as it were, — shake over them a few drops of tarragon vinegar, and dust them with salt, and some coarse, freshly ground black pepper. The spoon and fork must be kept going during the addition of the vinegar drops, and also whilst the pepper and salt are being dusted into the bowl. The thing to avoid is a sediment of dressing. The leaves lying at the bottom of the bowl must, in that case, become sodden, and so the crispness you desire to maintain will be marred. A thorough lubrication is all that has to be accomplished. I picked this up several years ago from a French waiter at Verrey's dining-rooms in London : it was surprising how much oil was caught up by the dry crisp leaves, and how little vinegar was put in as a finishing touch by this accomplished Garqon. Observe, pray, that it is quite out of the question to give fixed quantities with regard to the mixing of this kind of salad. The quantity of oil, and of the other ingredients, must obviously depend on the quantity of green stuff. This is the only dressing possible in the ease of an endive (chicoree) salad ; for which it is essential that the bowl be rubbed with garlic.

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Plain Salad Dressing

Culinary jottings