Foods, their selection and preparation

Leaf or bunching types form no heads The Crisphead types usually designated "iceberg” have firm heads and crisp texture. The inner leaves are bleached white The Butterhead types (Big Boston) have soft heads and green buttery leaves Romaine type lettuce has stiff narrow leaves that form elongated heads Types of Lettuce Cooked meat, poultry, and fish, as well as hard-cooked eggs, cheese, nuts, and cooked potatoes may form the base of many heavy or main dish salads. NUTRITIVE VALUE While properly made salads contribute much in appetite appeal to a meal, they should not be looked upon as mere accessories. They are good appetizers and aids to digestion. Light salads are valuable sources of minerals and vitamins. Heavy salads may contribute considerable protein and energy, as well as other nutrients, and may furnish most of the essentials needed for a light meal, such as lunch or supper. SALAD DRESSINGS The essential ingredients of any salad dressing are acid, fat, and seasonings. The acid is usually lemon juice or vinegar, although it may be any acid fruit juice. The fat may be a vegetable oil — corn, cottonseed, peanut, or olive, or a combination of these — or any well-flavored animal fat, such as bacon drippings, rendered chicken fat, drippings from fresh pork, cured ham, or beef, or butter or margarine. The fat is selected for flavor, but only oils can be used for cer¬ tain types of dressings. Seasonings may vary with taste. Among those most fre¬ quently used are salt, pepper, paprika, red [163] pepper, onion, mustard, sugar, tabasco sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and herbs. [illustration: Fennel adds special flavor as well as crispness. It is used as one would use celery] Kinds of Salad Dressings. In making a salad dressing, the most difficult problem is to combine the high proportion of fat with the liquid acid without having them separate. In the uncooked dressings the fat is mixed with the acid by shaking or beating. When the fat is an oil an emulsion can be formed, but it is a temporary emulsion. When pro¬ tein, such as egg yolk, is added to the liquid Shredding Cabbage for a Salad portion before the oil is emulsified, under certain conditions each globule of oil may become coated with the protein, thus form¬ ing a permanent emulsion in the liquid, similar to that of the fat in milk. Fat in this form does not separate upon standing. In cooked dressings the fat is prevented from separating by thickening the liquid with egg, starch, or both. In this case the fat is held in suspension in the thickened liquid. Classification of Salad Dressings. The following is a simple classification of salad dressings based upon the way the fat is held in the dressing: 1. Uncooked Salad Dressings. 1. Simple mix¬ tures of bacon fat, acid (usually vinegar), and seasonings 2. French dressings or temporary emulsions: oil and acid (vinegar or lemon juice) with any desired seasonings 3. Permanent emulsions: Cream dressings: {a) Thick sour cream and seasonings. ( b ) Thick sweet cream, acid, and seasonings Mayonnaise1 : Egg, oil, acid, and seasonings.