12 BULLETIN 123, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



before preparing them for the table, to remove any hellebore, copper 

 salts, or other poison which may still adhere to them. 



During the cleaning process it is advisable to sort out the coarsest 

 portions to add to soup materials ; the next best may not be attractive 

 to serve by themselves, but can be cut or shredded for combination 

 ■with other materials, while the best of all — the heart of the cabbage, 

 celery, or lettuce — should be served in the least elaborate way with 

 salt or a simple dressing. 



No plan for serving salads should be encouraged which leads to a 

 waste of food material. For example, if the outer portion of a cab- 

 bage is to be used for a salad bowl, dig out the center after cutting 

 a layer from the top. Chop this fine, mix with dressing, and pack 

 in the case of larger leaves which were left in place ; later, any dress- 

 ing adhering to these larger leaves may be washed off and they may 

 be used for a scallop or soup. Many materials may be combined 

 with the cabbage, celery, and lettuce in salad making; for instance, 

 raw apples, pears, or radishes, or canned fruit, such as pears cut in 

 slices or cubes. 



Lettuce is the principal salad plant in this country both for use 

 alone and in combination with other foods. There are many varieties, 

 adapted to different conditions, but all may be classed under two 

 general heads — the cabbage lettuce, where the heads are solid and 

 compact, and the cos lettuce, where the leaves are long, loose, and 

 sometimes less delicate. Romaine is an example of cos lettuce. 

 There are also varieties with blanched centers and others with curly, 

 dark-tinged leaves. 



Other good salad plants are chicory and its near relative, endive, 

 both of which are improved by being blanched for a few days before 

 they are picked; corn salad or lamb's lettuce, a small plant often 

 found in city markets ; sorrel, wild and cultivated ; some young and 

 tender seaweeds; and many mild-flavored plants or weeds. Others 

 are better for partial cooking, even if served cold as salads. 



Celery in its wild state is an unpromising if not harmful vegetable ; 

 but by cultivation, and especially by blanching its leafstalks, it has 

 been made into an excellent salad plant, sometimes said to have cer- 

 tain medicinal virtues. The fibrous outer stalks and larger white 

 leaves of a bunch of celery should be reserved for soup making. 

 Some of the larger stalks, too stringy to serve whole, may be cut up 

 and used in salads, or if too tough for that, may be cut, cooked, and 

 added to soups or served with white sauce, perhaps on toast. The 

 tender inner stalks should be served plain to eat with salt. Some- 

 times the groove in the stalk is filled with prepared cheese. The 

 center of the root is a delicate morsel. Leaves and root may be dried 

 to flavor future soups. Celery exposed to contamination in unclean 

 cars, markets, and wagons, must be carefully washed before it is safe 



