There are numerous brands of salt which are freed from all impurity, ground to various degrees of fineness, and put up in barrels, sacks, bags and packets of all sizes; also in stone jars.
Celery salt is good common salt mingled with the finely ground seeds of celery.
Besides the finer qualities for table use, there are varieties specially adapted for salting and pickling meats, fish, etc.; lump rock salt for cattle, hay salt, etc. The bitter salts of lime, magnesia, etc., attract moisture more than common salt, hence dryness is a sign of purity.
Vinegar.
The sour principle is acetic acid, of which good vinegar contains about four per cent. Vinegar may be obtained by fermentation from the juice of any starchy or sweet fruit or vegetable, from beer, or even from sweetened water, to which “mother” or other vinegar is added. Cider vinegar is most used, as it retains the fruity flavor of the apple, but good vinegar is also made from wine, malt, oranges, raspberries, etc. There are many varieties in market, both domestic and foreign. Stringent laws regulate the purity and strength of vinegar for domestic uses, in New York and some other states.
Pickles.
These are fruits and vegetables preserved in vinegar, after first steeping them in brine. Certain articles require to be pickled in scalding hot vinegar, others with cold; salt, pepper and spices are added to suit the taste. Pickles were formerly extensively colored green with copper, but the ghastly practice has gone out of date. Intelligent people will prefer those which have the more natural and wholesome yellowish, olive green tint. There are all sorts of pickles in market, put up in glass or wood packages of various sizes, as follows:
Cucumbers and GHERKINS, CHOW CHOW, CAULIFLOWER, ONIONS, MANGOES, PICALILLI, WALNUTS, PEPPERS, HORSERADISH, MIXED PICKLES, and SWEET PICKLES. Among the best of imported pickles are the reliable Cross and Blackwell goods; some domestic brands are perhaps equally good. Olives are in brine, usually in wide-mouthed glass jars. They come from Italy, Spain, and France. The “Queen,” “Crescent,” etc., are favorite brands. There are also French CAPERS, so important as an accompaniment for boiled mutton, etc.
Salad oil.—The best is the oil of the OLIVE, which, when pure, is of pale, greenish yellow tint, with an agreeable odor and taste. Refined Cottonseed oil has naturally a more reddish tint. It is extensively sold as olive oil or mixed with it, although many grocers keep the genuine olive oil. Salad dressings are also in market, some of which are very fine and delicate.