The cooked, thickened dressings traditionally favored by the Pennsylvania Germans are eaten widely today, especially on potato and macaroni salads. It is likely that these dishes, especially potato salad, filled the vegetable gap that developed near the end of the winter and before the garden was producing. All necessary ingredients were present, even at that time of the year. If the chickens weren’t laying well, eggs could be eliminated from the salad itself; flour could be used in their place in the dressing.