Today's Case:
German Scalded Lettuce
Re: German Scalded Lettuce
From: Judy
Date: 1/13/2024, 10:01 AM
To: Phaedrus
On 1/13/2024 11:42 PM, Judy wrote:
Dear Uncle Phaedrus,
When I was a child, one of my favorite dishes was my grandmother's
scalded lettuce. Curious to see whether there were other family recipies
for scalded lettuce, I searched the internet and found your 2007 response
to a request from Janice for a recipe for scalded lettuce that included milk.
You didn't find many recipes titled "Scalded Lettuce", and only three of the
recipes included milk. The recipes you found were from the South.
My grandmother's recipe is named "Scalded Lettuce", and isn't from the
South. Her family were Dunkards, living in Ohio. The Dunkards are a
German Anabaptist tradition, similar to the Amish. Their cooking is similar
to Pennsylvania Dutch. This recipe comes down from that tradition.
It's close to the recipes you found for wilted lettuce that contain milk, but
is sweeter.
I thought you might enjoy seeing a recipe with a different provenance,
so I'm sending you my grandmother's recipe, exactly as I got it from her.
It's a bit imprecise regarding the number of eggs and amount of vinegar.
(I personally use 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 large egg.) I attribute her
imprecision regarding the number of eggs to the fact that the family
hens laid eggs which could be any size from small to jumbo.
- Judy
Scalded Lettuce
Wash and drain 1 pound leaf lettuce or 1 head lettuce broken apart.
Place in large bowl and set aside.
Mix level or slightly rounded tablepoon flour with enough sour milk to make
a smooth paste. (Add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 cup milk to make sour milk.)
Beat in 1 or 2 eggs and add small amount more of sour milk.
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 vinegar if desired and a
pint of sour milk (or milk and cream).
Pour this mixture into hot bacon drippings in skillet. Cook until thick,
stirring constantly (or long enough to cook egg and flour).
Pour over lettuce, folding dressing through gently but quickly to scald evenly.
Use about 4 strips bacon - crumble and add to sauce before tossing lettuce,
or sprinkle on top of lettuce.
Judy
Excellent! Thank you for sending this.
Phaed
You are welcome! - Judy
