Foods and Household Management Part 38

13. In what way should nuts be used in the diet?

14. What are some of the practical ways of using nuts?

15. Price several kinds of nuts and several cuts of meat in the market, then look up the composition of each, remembering that the whole kernel of the nut is eaten, but often only the lean part of the meat. With this in mind calculate the food value actually obtained for a given expenditure in each case.

CHAPTER XV

SALADS AND DESSERTS

Salads and desserts are sometimes looked upon as luxuries, and something to be omitted where people must exercise strict economy, and as more or less indigestible forms of food to be avoided. As a matter of fact both of these types of dishes are extremely valuable in giving variety to the diet. They may be very inexpensive, and when they have the right relation to the rest of the meal, are not more indigestible than many other forms of food. A heavy salad or rich dessert eaten after a sufficient amount of other food will naturally cause digestive disturbance.

To disprove the theory of great cost of desserts, two friends once had an amusing contest to see which could serve the largest number of palatable desserts at the lowest price. It was interesting to see how many could be made for a cost of from six to ten cents for a family of five.

=Materials used for salad.=--The word "salad" is said to be derived from the Latin "salis" (salt) which implies that the salad has been looked upon more or less as a relish. We all a.s.sociate with a salad appetizing crispness and freshness. The materials used in the modern salad are so varied that a complete list would include nearly all our fruits and vegetables and meat foods.

_Green vegetables._--Celery, chicory or endive, corn salad, cress, cuc.u.mber, dandelion, lettuce, onions, peppers, romaine or cos lettuce, radishes, and tomatoes.

_Cooked vegetables._--Beans, string and whole, beets, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, and spinach.

_Fruits uncooked._--Any fresh fruit, possibly with the exception of some of the berries.

_Meat and poultry._--The white meats like veal, chicken, and turkey are more attractive in salad, but any kind of cold meat may be used.

_Fish and sh.e.l.lfish._--Lobsters, crabs, scallops, and cold fish.

_Nuts._--Several kinds may be used in combination with fruit.

_Jellies._--Tomato jelly, meat, chicken, and fish molded in jelly, may be served as a salad.

_Eggs._--Hard-boiled eggs are used as a garnish.

_Cream cheese._--May be served with lettuce.

=Salad dressings.=--Plain lettuce or celery served with salt is in a sense a salad, but it is our custom to dress the lettuce with a mixture which contains an acid and usually an oil. A very simple, old-fas.h.i.+oned form of dressing used in this country is vinegar and sugar. Subst.i.tute lemon juice or fresh lime juice for the vinegar and you will have a very refres.h.i.+ng and simple salad for a summer day.

The ordinary dressing consists of vinegar or lemon juice, and oil; another form is mayonnaise, where the yolk and sometimes the white of egg are used to hold the oil and vinegar together.

Another form is a cooked dressing which may be bottled and kept for a longer time than the French dressing or the mayonnaise.

_Olive oil._--This is the most delicious oil for salad dressing when the flavor is liked and when it can be afforded.

_Cottonseed and corn oil._--There are now in the market clarified cottonseed oil and corn oil that may be used in mayonnaise dressing, and the flavor is not unacceptable, and certainly superior to the poorer grades of olive oil which quite likely contain one of these oils as an adulterant. Cottonseed oil makes a better subst.i.tute for olive oil then does corn oil as it is at present refined.

_b.u.t.ter._--b.u.t.ter may be used in boiled salad dressing for those who dislike the flavor of the oils.

_The acids in dressing._--These may be either vinegar or lemon juice, and many people with whom the vinegar disagrees can eat a salad made with lemon juice. The acid should not be used in excess in any case; the best dressings do not give a distinctively acid taste.

_Adjuncts._--Salt, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 67.--A cuc.u.mber salad. _Courtesy of Dept. of Foods and Cookery, Teachers College._]

GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES

=General directions.=--The two important points in the preparation of the material for salad are, first, that _everything_ should be thoroughly dry, and, second, thoroughly chilled. The importance of these two points cannot be overemphasized, and they are of equal value in salad making. Many a salad is unpalatable because it is watery and wilted. For the preparation of green vegetables see Chapter VII. Vegetables should be cut in cubes or sometimes in slices. Meat, poultry, and sh.e.l.lfish should be cut in small pieces or chopped. The prepared meat should be mixed with some of the oil and acid and allowed to stand in an ice box for some time before it is dressed and arranged for serving. This process is called marinating in the cookbooks, and gives a flavor to the salad that it cannot have if a dressing is poured over the meat just before serving.

=Combinations in salad.=--Several well-known combinations will at once occur to you. Meat salads usually have a mixture of celery. Several vegetables may be used together, as beans and carrots, or carrots, peas, and string beans with lettuce. Apples, nuts, and celery make a pleasing combination. Indeed there would seem to be no end to the possibilities here.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 68.--A salad with salmon molded in gelatin. _Courtesy of Dept. of Foods and Cookery, Teachers College._]

=Serving and garnis.h.i.+ng.=--The principle here is to make the dish attractive with as little labor as possible. Everything served as a garnish should be eatable. A bed of crisp dry lettuce leaves is the most attractive setting for any salad. When this is not procurable, cress makes an attractive border to a salad. Figure 68 shows you a salmon jelly molded in a ring and attractively served in lettuce. Figure 67 shows a cuc.u.mber placed on lettuce leaves, dressed with a French dressing and sprinkled with chopped peppers. The cuc.u.mber is sliced ready to serve; the slices being cut not entirely through the cuc.u.mber. This is rapidly prepared and is most attractive. When the salad is arranged in its dish, it should be put in the ice box and allowed to remain until it is time to take it to the table. The salad is sometimes served on individual plates.

=1. French dressing.=

_Ingredients._

Salt 1/2 teaspoonful Pepper 1/4 teaspoonful Vinegar 2 tablespoonfuls Olive oil 4 tablespoonfuls

_Method._

Mix the salt, pepper, and vinegar and stir in the olive oil slowly. A few drops of onion juice may be added.

=2. Mayonnaise dressing.=

_Ingredients._

Mustard 1 teaspoonful Salt 1 teaspoonful Powdered sugar 1 teaspoonful A few grains of cayenne Eggs Yolks of 2 Lemon juice 2 tablespoonfuls Vinegar 2 tablespoonfuls Olive oil 1-1/2 cups

_Method._

Stir together the eggs, mustard, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add the oil, a drop at a time, stirring and beating constantly. The back of a silver fork is a good thing for mixing mayonnaise, though some people prefer a Dover beater. As the dressing becomes very thick it should be thinned occasionally with vinegar and lemon, alternately, but never let it lose its consistency. After the first, the oil may be added more rapidly. All ingredients and utensils must be cold. If the weather is warm, the bowl should be surrounded with ice water. If the dressing should separate, begin with another yolk of egg and stir the separated mixture into it slowly, as before. Set the bowl in a cold place and it should keep for many days.

=3. Boiled dressing.=

_Ingredients._

Eggs 2 Mustard 1/2 teaspoonful Salt 1/2 tablespoonful Sugar 1/2 tablespoonful Vinegar 3 tablespoonfuls Hot water 1/2 cup b.u.t.ter 1 tablespoonful A few grains of cayenne

_Method._

Mix the dry ingredients and beat with the eggs until light. Add the vinegar and water and cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Remove from the fire, stir in the b.u.t.ter and set away to cool. A little cream added after the dressing cools is a great addition. Sour cream may be used instead of the water, in which case less vinegar and b.u.t.ter should be used.

=4. Potato salad.=