Page:Hill - Salads, Sandwiches, and Chafing-Dish Dainties.djvu/31

 fortune,—is entirely a matter of individual taste, or, more properly speaking, of cultivation. On this account, particularly for a French dressing, no set rules can be given. By experience and judgment one must decide upon the proportions of the different ingredients, or, more specifically, upon the proportions of the oil and acid to be used. Often four spoonfuls of oil are used to one of vinegar. Four spoonfuls of oil to two, three or four of vinegar may be the proportion preferred by others, and the quantity may vary for different salads.

Though in many of the recipes explicit quantities of oil, vinegar and condiments are given, it is with the understanding that these quantities are indicated simply as an approximate rule; sometimes less and sometimes more will be required, according to the tendency of the article dressed to absorb oil and acid, or the taste of the salad dresser.

Use of Dressings.

The dressings in most common use are the French and the mayonnaise. A French dressing is used for green vegetables, for fruit and nuts, and to marinate cooked vegetables, or the meat or fish for a meat or fish salad. Mayonnaise dressing is used for meat, fish, some varieties of fruit, as banana, apple and pineapple, and for some vegetables, as cauliflower, asparagus and tomatoes. Any article to be served with mayonnaise, after standing an hour or more in a marinade,—i. e., French dressing,—should be carefully drained, as, 7