After opening a bottle of vegetable oil, it should be kept in a cold place. If it is rancid, it should not be used in salad dressing.
If Mayonnaise Dressing is made successfully, it is thick and smooth. If the dressing is thin and curdled, the oil has been added too quickly, i.e. it has not been emulsified.
To remedy Mayonnaise that has curdled, beat the yolk of an egg slightly, then add the dressing to it gradually, beating constantly.
Mayonnaise Dressing may be varied by the addition of chili or celery sauce, chopped hard-cooked eggs, chopped parsley, pimentos, and green peppers.
QUICK MAYONNAISE DRESSING [Footnote 67: Adding the entire quantity of oil at one time and mixing it with hot paste may seem an unusual procedure for making an oil dressing. The fact that the method is successful may be explained as follows: Mixing the acid with the egg forms a salt which hydrates the mixture, and thus aids in making favorable conditions for emulsifying the oil as explained in the footnote of a previous page. The starch paste also takes up water from the mixture. This makes it possible to emulsify the oil easily, and also to make a stable emulsion.]
2 egg yolks or 1 whole egg 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar 2 tablespoonfuls lemon juice 1 1/4 teaspoonfuls salt 1 teaspoonful sugar 1/2 teaspoonful mustard Cayenne 1 cupful vegetable oil
Into a mixing bowl put the eggs and vinegar. Mix well. Add the other ingredients. (It is not necessary to stir them.)
Prepare a thick paste as follows:
In the top part of a double boiler put
1/3 cupful flour 1 cupful cold water 1 tablespoonful butter
Mix thoroughly. Then stir and cook over boiling water at least 10 minutes. At once (while it is hot) turn this paste into the egg and oil mixture. Beat all the ingredients with a Dover egg beater until a thick, uniform dressing results.
(Adapted from a recipe by Mrs. Hill.)
SEASONABLE VEGETABLE SALADS
Use seasonable vegetables in salads. Cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, and cooked cauliflower may be used in the fall. Cooked beets, cabbage, carrots, and olives may be used in the winter, and head lettuce, radishes, and cooked asparagus in the spring. Vegetables should be chilled, cut into desirable shapes, and served on lettuce with salad dressing. Beets are greatly improved by cutting into pieces, after cooking, and soaking for one hour in vinegar to which salt has been added. They may also be soaked in French Dressing.
A combination of vegetables and fruits makes a pleasing salad. Cucumbers and pineapple, celery and apples, olives and cooked cranberries are successful salad mixtures. The use of cheese, nuts, and peanuts with vegetables and fruits adds to the flavor and food value of salads. Uncooked carrots, cabbage, and peanuts dressed with French Dressing make a tasty salad.
Canned vegetables, "left over" cold vegetables, meat, and fish have a better flavor in salads if they are mixed with French Dressing and allowed to stand in a cold place for one hour before serving. This process is called marinating. If several meats or vegetables are used in the same salad, they should be marinated separately. Just before serving, Cream Salad Dressing or Mayonnaise Dressing may be added to marinated salad materials.
A salad consisting of lettuce or other uncooked leafy vegetables should not be dressed until it is ready to be served. The acid in salad dressing wilts the leaves.
QUESTIONS
Explain why it is necessary to add the oil to the egg mixture in small quantities.
Explain why it is that a curdled dressing can be remedied by adding it gradually to an egg.
What is the price per quart of olive oil? Of peanut oil? Of cottonseed oil? Of corn oil?
Find the difference in cost between a Mayonnaise Dressing made with corn, cottonseed, or peanut oil and one made with olive oil.
From the standpoint of composition, explain why fresh vegetables and Mayonnaise Dressing make a suitable combination (see Figures 62 and 63).
How much Mayonnaise Dressing is generally used for one serving? How many will the above recipe serve?
Make a list of combinations of materials which make tasty salads.