Potato salad

Potato salad is very appetizing, and deservedly popular. It should be served with cooked Mayonnaise dressing, to which has been added finely minced onion and parsley, in the proportion of one tablespoonful of each to a pint of dressing.

The dressing for potato salad forms an exception to the general rule applicable to salad dressing, and should have a predominating flavor, for the reason that cold boiled potatoes have no especial flavor that can be developed, or which it is desirable to preserve; and a piquant flavor, like that of onions or cresses, added to the dressing, renders the salad much more delicious. Potatoes for salad should be boiled until perfectly tender, but not until they break and fall to pieces. When cold they should be sliced very thin, and put with the dressing in alternate layers, in the salad bowl.

In the preparation of potato salad, as in most dishes of the class, stirring is objectionable, and should be avoided. A cream dressing may be used for potato salad, in place of a cooked Mayonnaise, if preferred; but French dressing, although much used, is inappropriate, on account of the potato absorbing the vinegar; and because the potato is a great absorbent, the dressing used should be comparatively thin, and a greater quantity should be provided than for lettuce or cabbage salad. Potatoes may be mixed with cooked vegetables of any and every sort, in a compound salad.

Title: Salad and salad making. Author: Emma Pike Ewing. Publisher: Fairbanks, Palmer & Co., 1884. Original from: the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Digitized: Aug 21, 2007. Length: 40 pages. Subjects: Cooking › Courses & Dishes › Salads Cookery Cooking Cooking / Courses & Dishes / Salads Cooking / General Salads.