Boiled dressing

Boiled dressing is a type of creamy salad dressing of English and German origin that was especially popular in the 19th century and early 20th century as an alternative to mayonnaise, which is of French origin.^[1] Boiled dressing is easier for less skilled cooks to make from scratch, and liquid food oils needed to make mayonnaise were not readily available in Northern Europe and the United States in the 19th century.^[2] Mayonnaise was not available for retail purchase until 1912.^[3]

Preparation

There are many variations of boiled dressing, and common ingredients include vinegar, sugar or honey, milk or cream, eggs or egg yolks, salt, mustard, cayenne and flour. Sometimes, the dressing is actually boiled but more often, it is gently cooked over boiling water in a double boiler.^[4][5][6] It was used in salads like cole slaw, chicken salad, potato salad and egg salad.

Types

Salad cream, a product popular in the United Kingdom, is a type of boiled dressing developed by Heinz in 1914.^[2] Miracle Whip is a variant of boiled dressing popular in the United States since 1933, marketed by Kraft Foods, Inc. as a product that "combines the best qualities of fine mayonnaise and good old-fashioned boiled dressing by a secret recipe".^[7]

History

A 1915 presentation of an elaborate Christmas dinner published in the New York Times was created by a home economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The article included a recipe for a boiled dressing recommended for use in chicken salad or fruit salad.^[6]

Culinary writer M.F.K. Fisher preferred mayonnaise to boiled dressing, because she associated boiled dressing with her grandmother's old fashioned insistence on using it on lettuce.^[1] Another food writer, James Beard, loved cole slaw made with boiled dressing, because of pleasant childhood memories of the dish made by his family's beloved Chinese cook, Jue-Let,^[1] who was a major culinary influence on Beard.^[8]

References

1. Fussell, Betty; Kennedy, Mary Frances (2005). Masters of American Cookery: M.F.K. Fisher, James Andrew Beard, Raymond Craig Claiborne, Julia McWilliams Child. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 125, 155.
2. "Boiled Dressing". Cookinfo.com. February 25, 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
3. Randal W. Oulton. "Biography of Richard C. Hellmann". Cooksinfo.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
4. Smedley, Emma (1924). Institution Recipes: Standardized in Large Quantities for use in Cafeterias, Schools, Colleges, Hospitals and Other Institutions (Fourth ed.). Media, Pennsylvania: Emma Smedley Publisher. pp. 200–201.
5. Elder, Lillian S. The Young Woman's Journal. Vol. 32. Salt Lake City: Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association. p. 300.
6. "U.S. Expert Suggests Ideal Christmas Dinner; Miss Caroline L. Hunt, of Bureau of Home Economics of Department of Agriculture, Also Gives Reason Why She Has Selected Items on Her Menu". New York Times. December 19, 1915. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
7. Meyers, Cynthia B. (2013). A Word from Our Sponsor: Admen, Advertising, and the Golden Age of Radio. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823253760.
8. Dao, Dan Q. (May 19, 2017). "Who Was Jue-Let, the Unknown Chinese Chef Who Raised James Beard?: The family private chef and Beard's surrogate father was a fiery, influential personality in the kitchen. So why do we know so little about him?". Saveur. Retrieved June 1, 2021.