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Apple-and-Pineapple Salad
Use 1/2 of finely cut, tart apples, and 1/2 of shredded pineapple; as fast as the apples are cut, they should be added to the salad dressing, to keep them from becoming dark. Apples should never be chopped, as chopping draws out the juice and discolors them.
A two-ingredient salad written as a ratio rather than a quantity, with the whole point of the entry being the handling of the apple rather than any dressing.
- The proportion"1/2 of" is a ratio, not a quantity: equal parts cut apple and shredded pineapple. The original gives no total and no indication of yield, so scale it to the number you are feeding.
- The hingeApple goes into the dressing as it is cut, not after all the cutting is done. Cut apple browns quickly on contact with air, and an acidic dressing slows that browning, so have the bowl of dressing ready before you pick up the knife.
- Cut, never chopThe instruction against chopping is sound. Crushing cells releases juice that both waters down the salad and speeds discoloration; use a sharp knife and cut clean dice or thin batons.
- Choosing applesThe recipe asks only for "tart." Firm, acid varieties are what is wanted: older ones such as Baldwin or Greening, or Granny Smith, Braeburn or Winesap today, all hold their shape; avoid soft mealy apples, which collapse in dressing.
- Shredded pineappleCoarse threads rather than chunks; the recipe gives no method. Fresh fruit gives the best texture; canned crushed pineapple works but must be drained hard or the dressing turns to syrup.
- The dressingNo dressing is specified. Boiled dressing, or a plain mayonnaise thinned with a little cream, is period-appropriate; both supply the acid the apples need.
- ServingChill no more than an hour before serving, on lettuce leaves if you want the presentation of the era. Held longer, juice draws out of the fruit and the dressing thins.