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Salad Dressing
Beat the yolks of two eggs very light, add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one teaspoonful of mustard, a dash of cayenne; cook over boiling water, and beat constantly; when cool, add one-half cupful of good rich cream. This is nice with cabbage and celery.
A boiled dressing of the sort that preceded mayonnaise in most American kitchens: egg yolks thickened over water, sharpened with vinegar and mustard, then loosened with cream. It comes together in about ten minutes and the only real difficulty is heat control.
- The hinge: gentle, constant heatThe yolks must thicken over barely simmering water, with the bowl clear of the water itself, and the whisking never stops. At around 175F the mixture coats a spoon; much past that and the yolks scramble into grains that no amount of beating will smooth out.
- "Mustard" means dry mustard"Mustard" likely means dry mustard -- In American cookbooks of this period an unqualified teaspoonful of mustard usually meant dry powdered mustard rather than the prepared jarred kind. Prepared mustard will work but brings its own vinegar and salt, so cut the vinegar slightly if you use it.
- Salt is missingThe recipe gives none. Add a scant half teaspoon with the mustard, and taste again once the cream goes in, since cream dulls seasoning.
- Vinegar strengthHousehold vinegars of the period were less standardized than today's 5 percent bottles, and their strength varied. Two tablespoonfuls of modern vinegar in this quantity is assertive; start with one and a half and adjust at the end.
- "Good rich cream"This means heavy or whipping cream, not half-and-half. Add it only when the yolk base is properly cool, or the residual heat will thin the dressing and it may break.
- Yield and consistencyAbout three-quarters of a cup, enough for a medium head of shredded cabbage or a large bowl of chopped celery. It should pour thickly rather than hold a peak; thin with a spoonful more cream if it sets too firm on standing.
- KeepingEgg-and-cream dressings of this kind will hold three or four days refrigerated in a covered jar. Whisk before using, as it separates slightly in the cold.
Before commercial mayonnaise reached American grocery shelves, cooked or "boiled" dressings like this one were a common way to dress cabbage, celery and cold potato. They used less oil than a true mayonnaise, which demanded a good deal of oil and a steady hand. The Dutch koolsla is the source of the English word coleslaw. The specific suggestion to use it with cabbage and celery places it in the winter salad repertoire of the period, when those two vegetables were among the few crisp things a northern kitchen could count on from December to spring.