Dictionary of Meaning

<<Back
Please select a letter:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-9

Salad

*** Shopping-Tip: Salad
image:Salad.jpeg thumb|right| A '''salad''' is a food item generally served either before or after the main Recipe dish as a separate course, as a main course in itself, or as a side dish accompanying the main dish. The word "salad" comes from the French language French ''salade'' of the same meaning, from the Latin ''salata'', "salty", from ''sal'', "salt". (See also sauce, Salsa (sauce) salsa, sausage.) Salad also commonly refers to a blended food item— often meat, seafood or Egg (food) eggs blended with mayonnaise, finely chopped vegetables and seasonings— which can be served as part of a green salad, but is often used as a sandwich filling. Salads of this kind include egg, chicken, tuna, shrimp, and ham salad. In Denmark salad also refers to a blend of vegetables in a dressing used as a condiment on top of the famous Danish open sandwich, ''smørrebrød'', and with meats. Examples include cucumber salad, horseradish salad, Italian salad (a mixture of vegetables in a creme fraiche/mayonnaise dressing, served on ham (meat) ham), and Russian salad (a red beet salad).

The green salad
The "green salad" is most often composed of a mixture of uncooked or cold, cooked vegetables, built up on a base of leaf vegetables such as one or more lettuce varieties, spinach, or arugula. Other common vegetables in a green salad include tomato, cucumber, Bell pepper peppers, mushroom, onion, Scallion spring onion, carrot and radish. Other food items such as pasta, olives, cooked potato potatoes, rice, beans, croutons, meat (e.g. bacon, chicken), cheese, or fish (e.g. tuna) are sometimes added to salads.

Types of green salad
*Caesar salad *Chef salad *Cobb salad *Greek salad *Hawaiian salad *Italian salad *Mesclun salad *Niçoise salad *Tossed salad

Salad dressings
A green salad is often served with a dressing. Some examples include: * Mayonnaise ** Louis dressing ** Ranch dressing ** Russian dressing ** Thousand Island dressing ** Green goddess dressing ** Blue cheese dressing * Olive oil ** French dressing * Vinaigrette * Tahini * Italian dressing Conception of salad dressing vary across culture. Common salad dressings in North American tend to be very broad. Traditional dressings in southern Europe were vinaigrettes. In Chinese culture China, where Western salad is a recent adoption from Western cuisine, the term salad dressing (沙拉酱, ''shalajiang'') tends to refer predominantly to mayonnaise or mayonnaise-based dressings.

Salad garnishes
There are a variety of vegetables and other fare that is often used to enhance an indiviual's green salad. Some of them are: * shelled sunflower seeds * onions (mostly the red variety) * bacon bits (mostly, the bits are artificially flavored pieces of textured soybean protein, although real bacon bits are available) * radishes * grated carrots * tomatoes Again, indiviual taste usually governs the choice of salad garnishes.

Other types of salads
Image:Watergate salad.jpg right|thumbnail|250px|A [[Watergate salad]] Some salads are based on food items other than fresh vegetables: * Various Bean salads like green bean salad, seven bean salad * Chicken salad * Various Congealed salads * Egg salad * Fruit salad — sliced, peeled fruits served in their own juices or with a dressing. * Larb — the national dish of Laos, made from raw or cooked meat with herbs, spices and lime juice * Pasta salad * Potato salad * Shopska salad — named after Sofia, Bulgaria, made with vegetables and feta cheese * Somen salad — Japanese somen noodles, garnish, and a vinegar-based sauce; served cold * Som tam—Thailand Thai salad made with raw papaya and fish sauce * Tabouli (taboule, tabouleh) — wheat bulgur, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, oil, served cold * Tuna salad * Waldorf salad — apples, celery, walnuts, and a creamy dressing * Watergate salad — pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, marshmallows, mandarin oranges, diced cherries and whipped cream

History
In the Middle Ages, after a long winter of salted meats and pickled vegetables, people would be "salt-sick" and starving for spring greens. A pregnant wife's yearning for Corn salad rapunzel growing in the garden next door inspired the fairy tale of Rapunzel. Popular history asserts that peasants ate more salads than lords, and were the healthier for it, and in fact salads, cooked and raw, included many ingredients that would be "gourmet" today: lovage, Sanguisorba burnet, sorrel. The diary 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. There is also a Canadian rock/ska/regae band, called [http://www.thesalads.com The Salads], who are known for their hit songs 'Get Loose', 'The Roth Kung Fu', and 'Today Is Your Lucky Day'.

External links
{{cookbookpar|Salad Recipes}}
- Alice Roth, "Sallets"
- Complete Recipes - Salads
- Lettuces for the home gardener
- Salad Greens for the home gardener Category:Salads de:Salat (Speise) es:Ensalada eo:Salato fr:Salade (mets) he:סלט nl:Salade ja:サラダ pl:Sałatka pt:Salada fi:Salaatti sv:Sallad zh:沙律

*** Shopping-Tip: Salad