Foods, their selection and preparation

Combining Salads. Salads should be combined just before serving to avoid loss of crispness. Even if kept chilled, the dressing wilts the crisp salad vegetables. A large bowl is the most satisfactory utensil for mixing a salad. A large wooden fork and spoon make it possible to handle the fragile materials of a salad with minimum damage. All vegetables should be crisp and cold. Fresh vegetables must be dry, and canned vegetables and fruits should be well drained to prevent diluting the dressing. The materials should be cut with a sharp knife into pieces of the desired size, and not broken, bruised, ground, or mashed. The pieces al¬ ways should be of sufficient size to retain their identity. [168] In dressing the salad, add just enough dressing so that all portions get their share. The seasoning of a salad comes from the dressing, but a thin film over the basic materials is all that is needed if the dressing has been properly seasoned. There are endless possible salad combina¬ tions, but usually the simpler the salad, the fresher and more attractive it is. Handle the materials as little as possible and avoid studied arrangements or geometric designs. Strips of pimiento or green pepper, a bit of parsley or minced herbs, or a dash of paprika can give life to an otherwise characterless salad. Molded salads are discussed under gelatin, on page 220. Salad Accompaniments. When salad is served as a separate course, or as a main dish, crisp crackers, sandwiches, cheese straws, nut bread, canapes, toast, or rolls are served with it. The lighter accompaniments should be used when the salad is served as a separate course of a heavy dinner. Farmer, Fannie M., Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Eighth Edition. Little Brown & Com¬ pany, 1948. Given, Meta. The Modern Family Cook Book, pp. 683-727. J. G. Ferguson and Associates, Chicago, 1942. Lowe, Belle. Experimental Cookery, 3d ed., pp. 291— 300. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1943. The Good Housekeeping Cook Book. Periodical Publishers Service Bureau, Inc., New York, [169] XIII Meat and Its Selection Meat is the flesh of any animal or any part of an animal used for food. In the broad sense this includes not only mammals but also poultry, fish and shellfish, and game. As the term is ordinarily used, however, it is restricted to the edible portions of mam¬ mals which are raised primarily for food. The kinds of meat are beef (cattle), veal (calves), pork (hogs), and lamb and mutton (sheep). Veal is young beef, just as lamb is young mutton. The characteristics of veal, however, are so different from those of beef that veal is classed as a different kind of meat. In this country, beef and pork are the meats produced and consumed in largest quantities. The shorter time required to produce pork as compared with beef makes its production very adaptable to market demand. The production and consumption of lamb in the United States are increasing. The dressed meat animals intended for food are spoken of as dressed carcasses. The carcasses are divided into cuts, which are typical for each kind of meat. First, whole¬ sale cuts are made for convenience in han¬ dling and for use by the wholesale trade; and finally, each wholesale cut is divided MEAT PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES, 1910-48 [170]