SALAD BASICS

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• The first salads were made of edible herbs and leaves sprinkled with salt. They've come a long way! Today, salads are still an array of greens, but they also include seafood, meat, cheese, pasta, fruit and veggies, all accented by dressings from tangy to sweet. Because of this versatility, salads are easy to enjoy in many different ways.Appetizer salads are usually light and tangy to stimulate your appetite for the meal ahead. Tossed green salad and marinated vegetables are two typical varieties of appetizer salads.Side-dish salads complement the main dish. They're usually heartier than appetizer salads, with dressings ranging from vinaigrette to creamy. Creamy Potato Salad and Three-Bean Salad are often enjoyed as side-dish salads.Main-dish salads don't accompany the meal-they are the meal. They're usually larger and include more filling ingredients such as pasta, meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheese and beans. Taco Salad and Cobb Salad are hearty enough for a meal by themselves.Dessert salads are a light, refreshing way to end a meal. They're usually a combo of fruits, nuts and/or cheese and are often held together with a sweet dressing of whipped cream or sour cream. Try 24-Hour Fruit Salad for dessert sometime!Storing and Handling Salad GreensWhen you say "salad," people usually think about greens. Today there are so many varieties available, you can eat a week's worth and never have the same green twice. To ensure your greens are at their best, here are some great tips to follow.- Store greens in their original wrap or in perforated vegetable or regular plastic bags in the crisper section of your refrigerator. Wait to wash them until you're ready to use them.- When ready to use, wash greens in several changes of cold water, then shake off the excess moisture. Some greens such as spinach may be sandy be sure to separate the leaves with your fingers to get all the grit out.- You'll want your salad greens to be as dry as possible to allow the dressing to cling to the leaves. To dry greens, use a salad spinner, toss them in a cloth towel or blot with paper towels.- Romaine and iceberg are longer-lasting lettuces they'll stay fresh in the refrigerator up to one week. Most other greens will wilt after a few days.- Iceberg lettuce should be cleaned before storing. Remove the core by striking the core end of the head against a flat surface, then twisting and lifting it out. Rinse by holding the head, cored end up, under cold running water to wash and refresh the leaves. Turn right side up and let the water run out. Store lettuce in plastic bag or airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.Selecting Salad GreensThe best salads start with the best ingredients, and that means fresh, fresh, fresh. No matter what kind of greens you choose, be sure they aren't wilted, bruised or discolored. Then pick the varieties that suit your salad best: large firm leaves to cup a main-dish salad or line a salad bowl, or tender, colorful greens to toss with your favorite dressing.Know your greens! A stroll through your supermarket's produce section or a farmers' market where you may find even more exotic greens favored by other cultures can help. If you have the chance, try a taste, too.Salad Greens GlossaryArugula (or rocket): Has small, slender, dark green leaves similar to radish leaves and a slightly bitter, peppery mustard flavor. Choose smaller leaves for a less-distinctive flavor.Belgian endive (or French): Has narrow, cupped, cream-colored leaves tinged with green and a slightly bitter flavor.Bibb lettuce: Has tender, pliable leaves similar to Boston lettuce. Bibb is smaller than Boston but has the same delicate, mild flavor. Boston lettuce (or butterhead): Has small rounded heads of soft, buttery leaves and a delicate flavor.Cabbage: Comes in several varieties, each with its own distinct flavor. Green and red cabbage are the most familiar and readily available look for compact heads of waxy, tightly wrapped leaves. Savoy cabbage has crinkled leaves, and Chinese (or napa) cabbage has long, crisp leaves.Curly endive: Has frilly, narrow, somewhat prickly leaves with a slightly bitter taste.Escarole: Another member of the endive family has broad, wavy, medium green leaves and a slightly bitter flavor, although it's milder than Belgian or curly endive.Frisée: A member of the chicory family has slender, curly leaves ranging in color from yellow-white to yellow-green and a slightly bitter flavor.Greens (beet, collard, chard, dandelion, mustard): All have a strong, biting flavor. Young greens are milder and more tender and can be tossed in salads older greens are too bitter for salads and should be cooked for the best flavor.Iceberg lettuce (or crisphead): Has a bland, mild flavor that makes it the most popular salad green. Look for solid, compact heads with tight leaves that range in color from medium green outer leaves to pale green inner ones.Kale: Recognized by its sturdy but frilly leaves that usually are dark green and tinged with shades of blue and purple. A member of the cabbage family, it doesn't form a head, but it does have a mild cabbage taste. Choose young small leaves for the best flavor.Leaf lettuce (red, green, oak leaf, salad bowl): Has tender but crisp leaves that don't form tight heads. These leafy bunches have a mild, bland flavor that's more full-bodied than iceberg lettuce.Mesclun (field or wild greens): A mixture of young, delicate greens often including arugula, chervil, chickweed, dandelion, frisée, mizuma and oak leaf lettuce.Mixed salad greens (prepackaged): Already cleaned and ready to use, you'll find these in the produce section of your supermarket. Choose from a variety of mixes, each with its own combination of colors, flavors and textures.Radicchio: A type of endive, looks like a small, loose-leaf cabbage with smooth, tender leaves. The two most common radicchios in the U.S. are a ruby-red variety with broad, white veins and one with leaves speckled in shades of pink, red and green.Romaine (or cos): Has narrow, elongated, dark green, crisp leaves sometimes tinged with red on the tips. The broad white center rib is especially crunchy. Romaine is the favored lettuce for Caesar Salad.Sorrel (or sourgrass): Looks much like spinach, but the leaves are smaller. Sorrel has a sharp, lemony flavor.Spinach: Has smooth, tapered, dark green leaves, sometimes with crumpling at the edges, and a slightly bitter flavor.Watercress: Has small, crisp, dark green, coin-size leaves and a strong peppery flavor.Tips for Tossed Salads- Choose a variety of greens to create a medley of complementary textures, flavors and colors. For little dashes of flavor, add fresh herbs.- Mix dark greens with light, crisp greens with tender, and straight greens with curly. Combine pale iceberg with dark green spinach, romaine with curly endive. For color accents, add red leaf lettuce, red cabbage or radicchio.- Dressing clings much better to dry leaves, so use a salad spinner or paper towel to blot any leftover moisture that may be in the crevices.- Greens go limp and the edges darken if you cut them with a knife instead of cutting, tear them into bite-size pieces with your fingers. If you do use a knife, cut up the greens just before serving or use a serrated plastic salad knife (sold in the utensils/gadgets section in large department or discount stores).- Serve salads family style from a large bowl or in small bowls or on plates for each person. If you're making individual servings, give your artistic flair the go-ahead and arrange the salad attractively on the plate. Try grouping the ingredients or layering them on a bed of greens.- Tomatoes are watery, so wait until just before tossing to add slices or wedges to a salad so they won't dilute the dressing or cause the greens to go limp. Seeding the tomatoes first will also help.- Pour dressing over greens just before serving, using only enough to lightly coat the leaves, then toss. Or serve the dressing on the side so each person can add as much or as little as desired. Salads that have been tossed with dressing don't make good leftovers because the salad will become soggy and limp.- Put the finishing touch on your salad with onion or green bell pepper rings, a sprig of herbs, sliced green or ripe olives, halved cherry tomatoes or a sprinkling of nuts or cheese.From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.