The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-12-15
THE SQUIRTING OF SALAD.
How to Prepare II So This will Not
Soon Occur - Hints for
the Novice.

4 novice in cooking would consider
the ''souring of salad" misnomer, but
it is thing easily accomplished, even
when the salad is as fresh and sound as
it is possible to have it. The foolish old
Spanish philosopher whose much vaunt-
ed directions for perfect salad are
still held up in familiar proverb would
certainly have soured his salad "A
spendthrift in vinegar" would spoil any
salad, as certainly as would "a miser in
OIL" There need be no misery use of
oil if the oil is sound and sweet. The
best French dressing for salad calls
for three times as much oil as vinegar.
The secret of success in salad lies in
carefully measuring and as carefully
mixing the salad; the dressing should
be a perfect cream and cling to the
green leaves, never sinking to the bot
tom of the bowl, as it does if the leaves
are not properly drained, or if there is
too much vinegar, or if the. vinegar is
added before the oil. Careful salad
makers season the oil they use. This is
not strictly necessary, as experts can
dredge on the leaves just the proper
amount of seasoning the moment after
pouring over the oil, and by dextrously
tossing the leaves mix the seasoning of
salt and pepper in the oil that should
thoroughly coat them. A novice in
salad making should mix in every salad
a spoonful of oil, a half saltspoonful of
pepper and about half the amount OF
white pepper. It takes about three
salad spoonfuls of oil for two heads of
lettuce, or quart of any other green
leaves. A saladspoon is larger than a
tablespoon. It takes five scant table,
spoonfuls to equal three saladspoonfuls.
After the oil and seasoning have been
thoroughly and evenly mixed, SO that
no surplus is to be seen in the bottom
of the bowl, the vinegar can be added.
Sprinkle it in, and toss so as to have it
all absorbed by the oil, which coats the
leaves. About two-thirds of a salad
spoonful of vinegar is the proper
amount. If the vinegar is not acid
enough it will require more to give the
proper flavor, but it is almost impossi-
BILE if more is used to make proper dress
ing. The surplus vinegar used, instead
of uniting with the oil on the leaves,
will fall to the bottom of the bowl, and
give the salad crude, sour taste, diff
ferent from the smooth, perfect flavor
of a perfect salad. tits positively neces-
sary to have good vinegar. The best
vinegar the writer has ever used was
made of the juice of grapes prepared in
vinegar in the same way the juice of ap-
pies is made into cider vinegar. The
best salad vinegar is favored with tar
ragon. This may be done by leaving
bunch of tarragon leaves in a quart bot
tie of vinegar for two or three weeks,
and then straining the vinegar into ap-
other bottle. Tarragon vinegar may be
purchased already prepared, but the
best imported vinegar of this kind is ex-
pensive. There are other favored vine
gars-those favored with chives, or
eschalots, or burnet are the best for
salads, but none are so generally used
as tarragon vinegar. Burnet is an herb,
with small, pretty fern leaf, having
the favor of cucumber, which it i'm
parts to the vinegar or salad in which it
ais used. This herb is found growing
wild in some parts of the country,
though it is not so often used here as it
is in France and on the continent, and
it is rarely seen in our markets, though
tarragon is now common herb. The
few French dealers in green herbs in
New York markets sell burnet under its
French name, pimprenelle.-N. Y. Trib-
une.