To be in perfection, salads should be fresh gathered, and kept in cold water for an hour before they are put on the table. The water should be drained from them, and if you have not any salad oil, melt a little butter and put it in a separate dish—if turned over the salad, it will not be crispy.
To be healthy they should not be picked longer than a day before they are to be eaten. They should be kept in cold water, and fifteen or twenty minutes before they are to be eaten, pare and slice them into fresh cold water, to take out the slimy matter. Just before they are put on the table, drain off the water. Put them in a deep dish; sprinkle on a good deal of salt and pepper—cover them with vinegar. Cucumbers are thought by many people to be very unhealthy, but if properly prepared, they will not be found to be any more unwholesome than most other summer vegetables.
Cut off the lower part of the stem, as it is apt to have an earthy taste. Peel and put them in a saucepan, with just water enough at the bottom, to prevent their burning to the pan. Put in a little salt, and shake them occasionally while stewing, to prevent their burning. When they have stewed quite tender, put in a little butter and pepper—add spices and wine if you like. They should stew very slowly till tender, and not be seasoned till just before they are taken up. Serve them up on buttered toast.
Boil them a few moments to extract the bitter taste—then cut them in thick slices; sprinkle a little salt between each slice. Let them lie half an hour—then fry them till brown in lard.
This is an excellent vegetable, but is little known. The stalks of it can hardly be distinguished from celery, and it is much easier cultivated. The roots are nice boiled tender, cut in thin slices, and put in soup or meat pies; or cooked in the following manner, and eaten with meat. Scrape and cut them in slices. Boil them till very tender—then drain off the water. Sprinkle a little salt over them—turn in milk enough to cover them. When they have stewed about four or five minutes, turn them into a dish, and add a little butter.