To be most
satisfactory, endive should be bought when it is fresh and unwithered
and kept until used in a cool, damp place. A good plan is to wrap such
vegetables in a damp cloth. If, upon using, endive appears to be
withered, it may be freshened by placing it in a pan of cold water and
allowing it to remain there for a short time.
When endive is used as a salad, it may be served merely with a salad
dressing of some kind or it may be combined with other vegetables before
applying the dressing. Escarole and chicory, which are much used as
greens, should be prepared and cooked according to the directions given
in Art. 3.
LETTUCES
9. Lettuce is a well-known herb that is much used as a salad vegetable.
There are numerous varieties of lettuce, but these may be reduced to the
two kinds shown in Fig. 2, _leaf lettuce_ on the right and _head
lettuce_ on the left. Leaf lettuce, which is more often used for
garnishing than for any other purpose, has firm, crisp, green, upright
leaves; on the other hand, head lettuce has round leaves forming a
compact head, like cabbage. The outside leaves of head lettuce are
green, but the inside ones are usually bleached by the exclusion of
light, as are those of cabbage and endive. These inside leaves are more
tender than the others, and hence more to be desired as a salad
vegetable than the unbleached variety. In food value, lettuce compares
closely with other varieties of greens and is high in the same mineral
salts that they are.
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