Deprived of the cucumber, the list of salads were equally shorn of one of its most useful and appreciated members. And whether, as Gerarde affirms, that "of the divers sorts—some greater, some lesser, some of the garden, some wilde, some of one fashion, and some of another—all of the cucumbers are of temperature cold and moist of the second degree, and yield unto the body a cold nourishment, and that very little and the same not good"—who would consent for a moment to have the cucumber eliminated from the list of edibles! Think of its hidden "Vertues"! "It openeth and clenseth, openeth the stoppings of the liver, helpeth the chest and lungs that are inflamed; and being stamped and outwardly applied instead of a denser, it maketh the skin smooth and faire." No wonder it was such a favourite with Tiberius, who was never without it, and had frames made upon wheels, by means of which the growing fruit might be moved and exposed to the full heat of the sun; while in winter they were withdrawn and placed under the protection of frames glazed with mirror-stone. No wonder that Isaiah, in speaking of the desolation of Judah, declared: "The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." The main point with the cucumber is to eliminate the prussic acid it contains, by slicing it and soaking it in ice-water and salt for a short time before using. Then, the Hock!—the shad, the whitefish, the pompano, the turbot, the sole!
And when endive is nicely blanched, and the first dark-blue double violets appear in the greenhouse—though skies lower and the storm frown without—what in the varied round of the seasons presents itself more delicious than a blue-violet salad, with a flask of some noble vintage worthy to bear it company! The recipe, which cannot be too widely known, has been presented at length in a previous volume:[60]
"There was a great bunch of double violets on the table, the lovely dark variety (Viola odoratissima flore pleno) with their short stems, freshly plucked from the garden, and the room was scented by their delicious breath.
"A bowl of broad-leaved Batavian endive, blanched to a nicety and alluring as a siren's smile, was placed upon the table. I almost fancied it was smiling at the violets. A blue-violet salad, by all means! there are violets and to spare.
"On a separate dish there was a little minced celery, parsley, and chives. Four heaped salad-spoonfuls of olive-oil were poured upon the herbs, with a dessertspoonful of white wine vinegar, the necessary salt and white pepper, and a tablespoonful of Bordeaux. The petals of two dozen violets were detached from their stems, and two thirds of them were incorporated with the dressing. The dressing being thoroughly mixed with the endive, the remaining flower petals were sprinkled over the salad and a half-dozen whole violets placed in the centre.
"The lovely blue sapphires glowed upon the white bosom of the endive.
"A white-labelled bottle, capsuled Yquem, and the cork branded 'Lur Saluces,' was served with the salad. You note the subtle aroma of pineapple and fragrance of flower ottos with the detonation of the cork—the grand vintages of Yquem have a pronounced Ananassa flavour and bouquet that steeps the palate with its richness and scents the surrounding atmosphere.
"Now try your blue-violet salad.
"Is it fragrant? is it cool? is it delicious? is it divine?"
The deep-golden, marrowy Yquem, crême, of 1861 and 1864 is now alas! unobtainable; and even were it to be procured, it must ere this have parted with much of its marvellous bouquet and sève. But the violet yet sheds its colour and distils its perfume for the gathering. Other vintages, too, have been pressed and have mellowed along the classic banks of the Ciron and the Rhein, that may worthily accentuate the violet and endive as the crown of the repast.
