Honey Salad

A two-ingredient camp salad that lives or dies on restraint: the honey is a dressing, not a sauce.

• "Saturate" is overstatedTaken literally the lettuce drowns and collapses. Two to three tablespoons of honey for one head, drizzled and tossed at once, is the practical reading.
• Strained honeyThis simply means honey filtered clear of comb, wax and bee parts — any ordinary liquid honey on a shelf today qualifies. Creamed or set honey will not coat shredded leaves; warm it briefly in a jar standing in hot water until it pours.
• Head lettuceThe term generally indicated a lettuce that formed a firm head, such as a crisphead or butterhead, rather than loose-leaf. Iceberg or a tight romaine heart holds up to the weight of honey; tender leaf lettuce goes limp in minutes.
• Dress at the last momentHoney draws water out of cut lettuce, so the bowl fills with sweet liquid if it stands. Shred, then dress immediately before serving.
• Cutting the sweetnessSome honey dressings of the period were loosened with a spoonful of lemon juice or mild vinegar and a pinch of salt. The original omits it, but without acid the dish reads as dessert.
• YieldThe recipe gives none; one head will stretch to about four as a side. Shred fine -- roughly the thickness of a coin -- so the honey distributes rather than pooling.
• Honey and infantsHoney is not given to children under one year of age because of the risk of infant botulism. This is uncooked honey, so the caution applies directly.