Salad

For other uses, see Salad (disambiguation).

Salad platter

Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes including: green salads; vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They include a mixture of cold or hot foods, often including vegetables and/or fruits.

Green salads include leaf lettuce and vegetables with a dressing. Other salads are based on pasta, noodles, jelly, or even cool whip. Most salads are traditionally served cold, although some, such as German potato salad, are served hot.

The word "salad" comes from the French salade of the same meaning, which in turn is from the Latin salata, "salty", from sal, "salt", (See also sauce, salsa, sausage). Vegetables seasoned with brine was a popular Roman dish. The terminology Salad days meaning a "time of youthful inexperience" (on notion of "green") is first recorded by Shakespeare in 1606 while the use of salad bar first appeared in American English in 1976.

Green salads including leaf lettuces are generally served with a dressing, as well as various toppings such as nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains. Salad is often served as an appetizer before a larger meal, but can also be a side dish, or a main course.

History

The diarist John Evelyn wrote a book on salads, Acetaria: A Discourse on Sallets (1699), that describes the new salad greens like "sellery" (celery), coming out of Italy and the Netherlands. Recently, salads have been sold commercially in supermarkets for those who do not have time to prepare a home-made salad, at restaurants (restaurants will often have a "Salad Bar" laid out with salad-making ingredients which the customer will use to put together their salad) and at fast-food chains specialising in health food. Fast-food chains such as McDonalds and KFC, that typically sell "junk food" such as hamburgers, fries, and fried chicken, have begun selling packaged salads in order to appeal to the health-conscious.

Green salad

A Green Salad

The "green salad" or "garden salad" is most often composed of leafy vegetables such as lettuce varieties, spinach, or rocket (arugula). Due to their low calorie density, green salads are a common diet food. The salad leaves are cut or torn into bite-sized fragments and tossed together (called a tossed salad), or may be placed in a predetermined arrangement.

Other common vegetable additions in a green salad include cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, onions, spring onions, red onions, avocado, carrots, celery, and radishes. Other ingredients such as tomatoes, pasta, olive, hard boiled egg, artichoke hearts, heart of palm, roasted red bell peppers, cooked potatoes, rice, sweet corn, green beans, black beans, croutons, cheeses, meat (e.g. bacon, chicken), or fish (e.g. tuna, shrimp) are sometimes added to salads.

Dressings

The concept of salad dressing varies across cultures. There are many commonly used salad dressings in North America. Traditional dressings in southern Europe are vinaigrettes, while mayonnaise is predominant in eastern European countries and Russia. In Denmark dressings are often based on crème fraîche. In China, where Western salad is a recent adoption from Western cuisine, the term salad dressing refers to mayonnaise or mayonnaise-based dressings. Many light edible oils are used as salad dressings, including olive oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, etc.

• Balsamic vinegar
• Caesar dressing
• Blue cheese
• Louis dressing
• Ranch dressing
• Russian dressing
• Honey Dijon
• Thousand Island dressing
• French dressing
• Italian dressing
• Vinaigrette
• Wafu dressing
• Tahini
• Hummus

Toppings and garnishes

Popular salad garnishes are anchovies, bacon bits (real or imitation), beetroot bell peppers, shredded carrots, cress,croutons, parsley, sliced mushrooms, red onion, radish, sunflower seeds (shelled), real or artificial crab meat (surimi) and cherry tomatoes. Various cheeses, nuts, berries, seeds and other ingredients can also be added to green salads. Blue cheese, parmesan cheese, and feta cheese are often used. Color considerations are sometimes highlighted by using edible flowers, red radishes, and other colorful ingredients.

Entree salads

Entree salads or "dinner salads" may contain grilled or fried chicken pieces, seafood such as grilled or fried shrimp or a fish steak such as tuna, mahi-mahi, or salmon. Sliced steak, such as sirloin or skirt, can be placed upon the salad. Caesar salad, Chef salad, Cobb salad, Greek salad and Michigan salad are types of dinner salad.

Barbecue and picnic salads

American-style potato salad with egg and mayonnaise

Pasta salads, potato salads, and egg salads are often served at barbecues and picnics. These salads can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Fruit salads

Fruit salads are made of fruit and include the fruit cocktail that can be made fresh or from canned fruit.

Dessert salads

Dessert salads are made with jello and or cool whip and often include no leafy greens. These salads include jello salad, pistachio salad, and ambrosia. There are also regional versions such as snickers salad, glorified rice and cookie salad popular in parts the Midwestern United States and Minnesota.

Types of salad

Sesame noodle salad

Fruit salad

Salads that include ingredients other than fresh vegetables are:

• Bean salad
• Caprese salad
• Chef salad
• Chicken salad
• Chinese chicken salad
• Coleslaw
• Congealed salad
• Cookie salad
• Crab Louie salad
• Egg salad
• Eggplant salad
• Fattoush
• Fruit salad
• Greek salad
• Ham salad
• Israeli salad
• Larb
• Niçoise salad
• Panzanella
• Pasta salad
• Potato salad
• Russian salad
• Salmagundi
• Seven-layer salad
• Shopska salad
• Somen salad
• Som tam
• Gỏi ngó sen - a Vietnamese salad
• Tabouli
• Taco salad
• Tuna salad
• Waldorf salad
• Watergate salad

Salad records

On September 29, 2007, Pulpí, in Almería, Spain tossed the world's largest salad, with 6,700kg (14,740lb) of lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper and olives, supervised by 20 cooks over 3 hours. A Guinness World Records judge was present to confirm the new record. The salad was prepared in a container 18m (59ft) long and 4.8m (15.7ft) wide.

See also

• Antipasto

External links

Recipes

• Easy Salad Recipes from Cooking With Kimberly