The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-08
A DISCOURSE ON SALADS.
They Can he Made In Greater Varie-
~ Thnn Is Suspected.


blest meal would not be considered COM
plete in Paris without the salad. 1t is
an institution alike in the most fashion
able restaurant and in the cheap "bouil-
lon" and curious proof of its universal
popularity is the fact that, In the large
magasins de neuVeauteS in Paris where
all the hands-men and women-number-
ing hundreds, sometimes over thousand
lunch and dine on the premises in special
retectories, one salad is regularly pro-
weed for each person at each meal oil
the year round 1t being considered as
the manager of one of these shops told
me- that otherwise the employees could
not Keep in health. II must. by the way.
De observed that, as all diners at French
restaurants have noted, when the Partisan
mas "une salade" he does not eat two or
three small bits of lettuce leaf off a plate.
out consumes one entire plant out of a
gigantic bowls. When 1 asked a great Pa
rlsian chef what he found fault with in
the average British salad, he said, "Ev-
erytnlhg' except the plant itself. Ma
lures handiwork in your salads is ex-
cellent; mans is atrocious." According to
his Judgment, the British cook misses the
irst golden rule of the art--smplicity.
Ihere are, of course, salads which require
an afternoons work, the exercise of the
highest intellectual faculties OF great
COOK, and innumerable ingredients But
they are not comprised In the term Ia
salade. distinguished by the definite ar
ticle. This, is. an institution universal,
TRADITIONAL. almost classical THE salad"
is simplicity itself, but It is the acme of
art. and to- make it we'll is as high an
achievement as the highest to which the
salad artist can attain. For the beauty
OF la salade" Is that, while its elements
do not number half-a-dozen, the ways of
making 1t are infinite. Sooth to say, ev-
cry Frenchman makes his own salad to
his liking, and dislikes everybody else's S.
Given an unprepared salad, "a small. in
formal dinner. and more than one French
man, and the result is a discussion. The
debate Is perennial. and is renewed on
every possible occasion at family parties,
as all who have been admitted to the lat
ter in France will testify.
The lettuces, 'barbe-de-capucin," "chic-
Gree" "chicoree frisco" "mache," and
beetroot, dandelion leaves. celery, or en-
dives, etc. as the case may be, having
been brought up in a large bowl. the mas
ter of the house faVors the plate method
for dressing. This motion is usually car
ried men, con-. and the plate is laid on
the bowl, exactly covering the orifice.
Dexteriously, then the manipulation re-
verses the system and lays the plate con-
tanning the salad on the table. Into the
empty bowl he pours one tablespoonful of
OIL II he Is Parisian he takes clear,
colorless, end almost favorless and odor-
less oil. II there is a Southerner at the
table he will probably clamof for rich
fruity olive OIL The point being settled
one way or the other one tablespoonful
of vinegar-or half, for both methods
are advocated-follows, containing the due
proportions of salt and pepper, only to be
| measured according to the niceties of in
dividual taste. Then come the second and
third spoonfuls of OIL A discussion en-
sues as 10 whether or not fourth should
be added. Usually three are voted suffi-
Client. The dressing thus prepared, with
the aid of advice from all the diners, it
is thoroughly mixed for upward of
minute, after which the plate containing
the green stuff is reversed on to the bowl
The second and more important mixing
operation follows.
Here critical point arises. Should the
salad be "fatigued," or should 1t be eat
EN- while still springy and fresh? AdVo-
Gates of the former method will tire"
| the salad for a quarter of an hour, cease
| lessly turning 1t over and over in differ
ent directions all the time. AT the close
of the operation the salad is in a state
of melancholy and forlorn limpness The
true "fatigued" condition, however, is
only obtained by leaving the salad over
night and eating II the next morning at
early lunch. Strange as it may seem, the
''salade fatlguee" or "confits" has charms
for those used to 1t. When made on the
table the salad is usually eaten while
still crisp but always thoroughly mixed
and never, as often as on the British
board, In a state resembling freshly
mown grass stepped in strong vinegar.
ElIP6 Is the GAVaFPlV classical qa1a a
homely dish, but work of art. Additions
are, however, often made and among
them one is almost obligatory-that OF
herbs. Parsley, chevril, and tarragon are
practically considered to be necessities.
Another, perhaps less usual, but still very
commonly met with, is eschalot But
chevril is never. so I am solemnly as
sured. allied with eschalot. Sliced onions
are used also. but less frequently FL
nally. an addition, which Is not 40 habit
ua as might be supposed is garlic. This
is hardly ever. except in the South, put
into the salad, but the bowl, when empty,
is rubbed around with the herb or with a
piece OF bread which itself has been rub
bed with It. Cold hard-boiled eggs are,
of course, often combined with lettuce
salad.
True salad eplcures will not eat one
which has not been made before their
eyes at table There are two preliminary
kitchen operations, however. which are
essential: washing and cutting. Yet we
find conflicting theories on the latter sub
ject as regards one kind of salad-that
made with cabbage lettuce. Some au-
thorities say that the leaves OF the lat
ter should never, undsy any circumstan-
ces, be cut but must always be broken.
Other authorities. howevr hold the con-
trary view. But in any case, the French
fashion-and an excellent one-is to divide
the salad into large pieces only, each leaf
being broken or cut once or twice and not
into shreds, or at all events, small
squares. a practice often followed in Eng
land. which destroys the crispness OF the
salad Regarding cos lettuce. there Is one
rule which must invariably be observed.
The leaves are to be cut lengthways
down the rib. the two halves then being
broken each into two parts. Cutting,
however, follows the equally important
operation OF cleansing. Cabbage lettuce
must always be, and cos never washed,
the latter being carefully wiped. In the
case OF cabbage lettuce the washing oper-
alton entails another equally indespen-
sible, drying. This should be done In the
French instrument called "panier sal
ade," sphere in wire with an opening
and hooped handle over the latter
While the various species OF lettuce
form the real traditional French salad, es-
peciaily now that the plants are grown
all the year round and sold very cheaply
lid to 2ikd. per head for cabbage let
tuce and from Sd. In season 20 Cd or 1O1