Lettuce, of the cabbage or cos variety, prepared correctly and dressed with a French dressing or Vinaigrette sauce, provides the finest of all salads.

To prepare lettuce:

1. Cut off the stump of the lettuce and discard the coarse outer leaves only.
2. Separate all the leaves and wash them leaf by leaf under running water if possible, otherwise in several waters in a basin.
3. Put into a salad shaker or a clean tea-towel and swing them to shake out the water.
4. Leave to drain.
5. If possible put into a covered box or into a casserole with a lid in the refrigerator for at least ½ hr. before dressing them for table.
6. The salads in which lettuce is used as a foundation are so numerous that it is unnecessary to name them all here.