Description of Salad

Description of Salad

A salad is a dish consisting of a mixture of small pieces of food, usually featuring vegetables. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, with notable exceptions such as south German potato salad which is served warm. Salads may contain virtually any type of ready-to-eat food.

Garden salads use a base of leafy greens like lettuce, arugula, kale or spinach; they are common enough that the word salad alone often refers specifically to garden salads. Other types include bean salad, tuna salad, fattoush, Greek salad, and Japanese sōmen salad (a noodle-based salad). The sauce used to flavor a salad is commonly called a salad dressing; well-known types include ranch, Thousand Island, and vinaigrette.

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History of Salad

History of Salad

The Romans and ancient Greeks ate mixed greens with dressing. In his 1699 book, Acetaria: A Discourse on Sallets, John Evelynattempted with little success to encourage his fellow Britons to eat fresh salad greens. Mary, Queen of Scots, ate boiled celery root over greens covered with creamy mustard dressing, truffles, chervil, and slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Oil used on salads can be found in the 17th century colony of New Netherland (Later called New York, New Jersey and Delaware). A list of common items arriving on ships and their designated price when appraising cargo, "a can of salad oil at 1.10 florins" and "an anger of wine vinegar at 16 florins".  In a 1665 letter to the Director of New Netherland from the Island of Curaçao there is a request to send greens, "I request most amicably that your honors be pleased to send me seed of every sort, such as cabbage, carrots, lettuce, parsley, etc. for none can be acquired here and I know that your honor has plenty,...".

The United States popularized mixed greens salads in the late 19th century. Salads, including layered and dressed salads, were popular in Europe since the Greek and Roman imperial expansions. Salads are sold in supermarkets, at restaurants and at fast food chains. In the US market, restaurants will often have a "Salad Bar" laid out with salad-making ingredients, which the customers will use to put together their salad.^{[citation needed]} Salad restaurants were earning more than $300 million in 2014.

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Type of Salad

Type of Salad 

You can break salads down into 3 types of salad. Each of these categories have their benefits and strengths.

Tossed Salads

Tossed salads is the most common salad and is prepared by tossing the greens and garnishes (Such as tomatoes, onions, or cucumber) in a dressing. A tossed salad uses leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach or watercress. It is important to remember that the greens be well dried before tossing. If the leaves are wet, the dressing won’t properly adhere to the greens causing the dressing to become watered down and generally unenjoyable. They can be garnished with many different ingredients such as nuts, cheese, fruits and vegetables. All kinds of dressings can be used including a light oil and vinegar dressing to a hearty hot bacon dressing. Always remember to combine the dressing with the greens at the last possible second. Acid causes most greens to wilt and become soggy. 

Bound Salads

Bound types of salad are one that is made by combining cooked meats, fish, shellfish and/or legumes with a dressing and garnishes. A bound salad literally means each of the ingredients are bound together in one mass. The binding agent is usually mayonnaise based, but can include thicker vinaigrettes as well. Trying to standardize the proportions of a bound salad is difficult due to the many different types of bound salads out there, each with their own varying amounts. Bound salads can also be used as the body for composed salads (For example, salmon salad on a bed of sorrel)

Farinaceous Salads

You probably haven’t heard of these types of salad but no doubt you have seen them before. A farinaceous salad is a salad that is made with potatoes, pasta or grains. A farinaceous salad differs from a bound salad in that many farinaceous salads are not bound. Many pasta salads use combinations of light dressing and flavorful ingredients to bring it together. A farinaceous salad is almost always tossed, but can be used as the body for a composed salad. A famous and popular farinaceous salad include potato salad.

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