How Salads Complement Meals

The following is from "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4", and contains vintage advice still very relevant today on how to balance a meal and a salad.

Because of the large variety of ingredients that may be used in the making of salads, it is usually possible to make the salad correspond properly with the other dishes in the meal. This is a little more difficult to accomplish when left-over materials are used in salads, but, even in this event, the addition of ingredients that will make the salad more nearly approach what must be supplied is usually possible. If the meal is to be a light one and the salad is to serve as the principal dish, it should be sufficiently heavy and contain enough food value to serve the purpose for which it is intended. It should be decided on first, and then the rest of the dishes should be planned to correspond with the salad.

On the other hand, when the meal is a heavy one and the salad is to be one of the lighter dishes, the main dishes should be decided on first and the salad planned so that it will correspond properly with the other dishes. For instance, with meat or fish as the main course of the meal, a fish, egg, or cheese salad would obviously be the wrong thing to serve. Instead, a light salad of vegetables or fruits should be selected for such a meal. It should be remembered, also, that if the other dishes of a meal contain sufficient food value to make the meal properly nourishing, a salad containing a rich dressing will provide more than a sufficient supply of calories and consequently should be avoided.

Another point that should not be neglected in selecting a salad is that it should be a contrast to the rest of the meal as far as flavor is concerned. While several foods acid in flavor do not necessarily unbalance a meal so far as food substances and food value are concerned, they provide too much of the same flavor to be agreeable to most persons. For instance, if the meal contains an acid soup, such as tomato, and a vegetable with a sour dressing, such as beets, then a salad that is also acid will be likely to add more of a sour flavor than the majority of persons desire.

Then, too, it is not a good plan to serve in the salad the same vegetable that is served in the soup or the dinner course. Thus, creamed celery and a salad containing celery, and tomato soup and tomato salad are bad combinations and should, like others similar to them, be carefully avoided. Even though such vegetables may be on hand in quantity, they can usually be kept for another meal.

Chicken Salad

The average cook book contains a good deal of nonsense about this salad. Nothing can be more simple than to mix a little nicely cut cold boiled chicken and celery together, with a tablespoonful or two of mayonnaise. Put this mixture into a salad-bowl, arrange it neatly, and over all add a mayonnaise. Garnish with celery tops, hard-boiled eggs, strips of beets, etc. Use a little more celery than chicken. Or, tear a few leaves of lettuce, put them in a salad-bowl, and add half a cold, boiled, tender chicken that has been cut into neat pieces; pour over it a mayonnaise; garnish neatly, and serve.

For large parties, and when the chicken is apt to become dry, from having been cut up long before it is wanted, it is best to keep it moist by adding a plain dressing. Drain it before using. Put on a flat side-dish a liberal bed of crisp lettuce. Add the chicken, garnish neatly, and, just before sending to table, pour over it a mayonnaise.

If in hot weather, arrange the salad on a dish that will stand in a small tub or kid. Fill this with ice, place the dish on top, pin a napkin or towel around the tub to hide it from view. Flowers, smilax, etc., may be pinned on this, which produce a very pretty effect.

From "50 Salads", by Thomas Murray, 1885

Salad Recipes: Southern-Style Cold Slaw

Shave very fine half a medium sized head of tender cabbage, put in a bowl, and cover with this dressing. Melt over hot water a heaping tablespoonful of butter, with two tablespoonfuls sugar, a saltspoon of pepper, a teaspoonful of salt, dash of red pepper, and scant teaspoonful dry mustard. Mix smooth, then add gradually four tablespoonfuls vinegar, mix well, then put in the yolk of a raw egg, beating it in hard. Cook till creamy, but not too thick. Take from fire, and add if you like, two tablespoonfuls cream, but it is not essential—the dressing is good without it.

From "Dishes & Beverages of the Old South", by Martha McCulloch Williams, 1913

Tomato Baskets

Tomato baskets are charming accessories for holding vegetable salad, chicken, shrimps, cold beans, asparagus tips, shredded celery, cucumbers cut in cubes and minced peppers. Choose firm, smooth tomatoes, not too large and as nearly one size as possible. Dip for half a minute in boiling water, skin and set in ice box to chill. Cut out pulp and seeds, dress the cavity with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar, then fill with the salad, seasoned with French dressing or mayonnaise. Handles of watercress may be attached to these baskets. Set on lettuce or cress, as desired.

From "Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus -- A Collection of Practical Recipes for Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc.", by Rufus Estes, Chicago, 1911.

Waldorf Salad Made with Crisco Shortening

1 quart chopped apples
2 cups diced celery
1-1/2 cups blanched and shredded almonds
2/3 cup rolled pecan nut meats

Dress with following dressing, adding little more sugar and lemon juice to taste, just before serving. Mix 1 tablespoon melted Crisco, 1 teaspoon each mustard and white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add 2 well beaten egg yolks and then beat in slowly 4 tablespoons lemon juice. Cook in double boiler till it thickens. Then add whites 2 eggs beaten stiff. Keep on ice till wanted. Stir in 1 cup whipped cream just before serving. This is very good made with 5 egg yolks and 1/2 cup thin cream if whipping cream is unobtainable.

From "The Story of Crisco", by the Procter and Gamble Corporation, Eleventh Edition, 1916.

Salad Recipes: Pineapple Salad

Pare and core a very ripe, sweet pineapple, cut in slices crosswise, lay the slices in a bowl, with a sprinkle of sugar, half a cup rum or sherry, all the juice shed in cutting up, and a grate of nutmeg. Let stand till morning, cool, but not on ice. Make rosettes of small lettuce leaves in the plates, lay a slice of pineapple on each, fill the hole in the center with pink pimento cheese. Make the cheese into a ball the size of a marble, and stick in it a tiny sprig of celery top. Put a little of the syrup from the bowl in each plate, then finish with very sharp French dressing.

Make the pimento cheese by grinding fine half a can of pimento, and mixing it through two cakes of cream cheese, softening the cheese with French dressing, and seasoning it to taste.

From "Dishes and Beverages of the Old South", by Martha McCulloch Williams, 1913

Sweet French Dressing

Mix well a scant teaspoonful of granulated sugar, the same of dry mustard, half a teaspoonful salt, as much black pepper and paprika mixed, put in the bottom of a deep small bowl, and stir for two minutes. Wet with claret vinegar, adding it gradually, and stirring smooth. Make as thick as cream.

Add twenty drops tabasco, twenty drops onion juice, the strained juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of brandy, rum or whiskey. Mix well, then add, tablespoonful at a time, a gill of salad oil, stirring hard between spoonfuls. Put in more vinegar, more oil—the seasoning suffices for half a pint of dressing. Stir till it thickens—it should be like an emulsion when poured upon the salad. Keep on ice.

The oil and vinegar will separate, but the dressing can be brought back by stirring hard.

Ham Salad

Soak half a tablespoonful of granulated gelatine in one tablespoonful and a half of cold water, and dissolve in three-fourths a cup of hot chicken liquor. Strain over one cup of chopped ham and stir until the mixture begins to thicken, then fold in one cup of thick cream beaten stiff; add, also, a few grains of paprica and salt, if needed.

Mould in a ring mould, and, when set and cold, turn from the mould; fill in the centre with lettuce arranged like a cup, and fill the cup with mayonnaise. Or, serve with French dressing.