Add sparkle to salads with extra-good dressings and garnishes. Try for contrast in texture, flavor and color when choosing salad dressings and garnishes. Serve salad dressing with the salad or pass it at the table.

What type of dressing to choose - sweet or tart, thick or thin - may be determined by your family's taste. Maindish salads made with meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, cheese, or potatoes usually call for a mayonnaise-type or cooked salad dressing. But some of these more substantial salads are good with tart French dressing - salad oil combined with lemon juice or vinegar plus seasonings.

Tart French dressing is the most likely choice for vegetable salads and vegetable-fruit combinations. But some vegetable salads may well take a mayonnaise or cooked dressing.

Reserve the sweet clear French dressings for fruit salads. Mayonnaise made milder with whipped cream or thinned and sweetened with fruit juice is good for fruit salads too.

There are 3 basic types of vinegars: cider vinegar, white vinegar, and wine vinegar. Herb vinegars may be made from any of them. Do not keep herb vinegars in the refrigerator. If they become too strong after standing, simply dilute with the same type of vinegar from which they were made.