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What's A Salad

K

KYHeirloomer

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Made a lovely beet & orange salad last night, with a citrus vinaigrette. Served on a bed of arugala and sprinkled with crumbled Sago cheese. Delicious!

As I was enjoying it, however, I go to be thinking. I don't know what a salad is. I mean, how do you define it?

Well, of course I know what a salad is. It's......holy lettuce, Batman. I really don't know.

Well, as the poet said, google is your friend. Not much help there. Looked at about a half dozen definitions, and they weren't much help. They were wither too restrictive or too broad to be meaningful.

So, my friends, I'm tossing the ball into your court. Does anybody know what a salad is?
 
Hmm, I dunno. I guess it is one of those things that you just know when it is one, but cannot define is specifically. Kinda like beauty. As a guy, every once in a while you see a woman and are just like wow, that woman just does it for me, meanwhile, to everyone else, they see nothing special. How can you define beauty?

For those of you wanting an example of one of these women:

YouTube - Progressive.com Commercial - "Tricked Out Name Tag"

I dunno what it is, but this is the one commercial I stop and watch.. What is it with this girl and her "Tricked out name tag". :rolleyes:
 
Let's see - salad - served hot, cold or at room temp; eaten before or with a meal or as a meal; with or without dressing; can consist of anything from fruits, nuts, breads, cheeses, veggies, meats, fish & seafood, pasta, rice, jello/gelatin, barley, couscous, marshmallows, candies, chocolate, and just about anything that is dead and not crawling. If still crawling - give it a good whack and enjoy!

LOL
 
But doncha see, Mama. That would make everything a salad.

Look at what you wrote. Now tell me how it's different from, say, a stew? Or a side dish of okra & tomatoes? Or.....well, you see where I'm going.

I think Jaffo has it write. We all know what we mean by a salad. But nobody can define it the way we define other food categories.
 
whats salad to one person may not be to another...lol....like Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder...
 
KYHeirloomer said:
But doncha see, Mama. That would make everything a salad.

Look at what you wrote. Now tell me how it's different from, say, a stew? Or a side dish of okra & tomatoes? Or.....well, you see where I'm going.

I think Jaffo has it write. We all know what we mean by a salad. But nobody can define it the way we define other food categories.
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Sorry - not everything is a salad. My chocolate cakes are far from being called a salad; ditto with my homemade pasta and sauce. I would not enjoy room temp or cold stew.

Just like just about all other cooking terms - titles get s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d - so it's what you want it to be.

I don't place vinaigrettes/dressing in my stews, or sides.

Jello "salads" to me are not salads - it's my opinion -

What is a sandwich? Only classified as a sandwich when made with sliced bread? What about other breads, crackers, lettuce, tortillas, etc. Does my veggie sandwich using portobellos as the "bread" classify as a sandwich still or do I need to call them something else? what about all the other goodies I use as a "bread" to make a "sandwich?"

Speaking of vinaigrettes/dressings - if I marinate my chicken in a dressing of choice before cooking - would it be a salad?
 
I like the point Jafo makes... Beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder... whether it's a salad, a cookie- or a woman!

Personally, although I am a fan of traditional head-turning beauty too- the most deeply fullfilling satisfying beauty I have ever had the joy to experience, was beauty I did not see in one at first- that developed and ripened/blossomed over time.

There is nothing like finally awakening to the beauty of someone- and loving them deeper than one might think humanly possible. I've felt that joy of meeting somone who normally would never have even turned my head as far as physical prettiness- but then, after time, finding them so strinkinly beautiful that I could not take my eyes off them. WOW!~ That's the BEST ever!

(Now, let me try and relate this idea to an egg salad to better relate it to this thread! Hee-Hee!)
 
Salad is a cold or hot or jelled side dish, or can be served as a main dish, and is served with a salad dressing and also with croutons, but some salads have no dressing at all. And croutons would certianly be a strange thing in some salads and some old fashioned salads were nothing more than a wedge of lettuce served with a dressing nothing more nothing less YUCK! I am glad salads are diverse and innumerable!:) And I love carrot salad an old fashioned salad you seldom hear of these days! And I love a good waldorf salad occassionally! These salads both have raisins we-e-e-e! Also some salads have chopped nuts in them.:p Chicken salad and egg salad sre sooooo goood!!!!
 
Sister Cath- the "WEDGE" salad you describe is one of my all-time FAVS! I love a big, wet, crisp wedge of iceberg drowned in thick, creamy, tangy BLUE BHEESE with spilt grape tomatoes & crumbled crisp bacon- and maybe if I'm feeling "ALASKAN" a scattering of smoked salmon. YUM!

Also- I too love the carrot-raisin salad you longingly mention. Try whisking a tablespoon or two of PEANUT BUTTER into your MAYO for a nutty, satisfying dressing for it. YUM!
 
When Emeril reopened Delmonicos he made a big deal about bringing back the wedge of iceburg salad.

Until then I hadn't consciously been aware that it had disappeared from menus. When all did that happen?
 
I've always been under the impression that wedge salads were from way back during the cheeseball days of the 60's. No, Brook? Just right after the chicken ala king and jello mold heeyday of the 50's...
 
A salad is cool because you can make it any-thing you want it to be, especially if your at a salad bar. You can make it any way you wish. It holds no judgements on what items you choose to fill your dish or appetite. It is your creation what you were attracted to texture, color, shape, taste. Salads are crisp, light, crunchy, you can eat them as a appetiser or as a whole meal. I Love a Good Salad, nothing quit like it. Cookie :)
 
See, Cookie? You can tell us how to make one (well, one type). And why the concept appeals to you. And how to eat one.

But, if I were that mythical man from mars, could you tell me what one is? That's the question.

For the record, I've started this thread at three different sites, and so far nobody has been able to do it. Next stop is ChefTalk, where the pros can take a shot.
 
cookie said:
A salad is cool because you can make it any-thing you want it to be, especially if your at a salad bar. You can make it any way you wish. It holds no judgements on what items you choose to fill your dish or appetite. It is your creation what you were attracted to texture, color, shape, taste. Salads are crisp, light, crunchy, you can eat them as a appetiser or as a whole meal. I Love a Good Salad, nothing quit like it. Cookie :)
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:)Cookie I couldn't have said it better myself!


Kev at least you dress your wedge up:)
 
Salads

[ And I love a good waldorf salad occassionally! These salads both have raisins we-e-e-e! Also some salads have chopped nuts in them.:p

Cathy, I Love Waldorf salad to maybe because it's sweet & good looking. :eek:
Dressings are a whole different subject. How do you Dress your Salad? :rolleyes: Cookie :)
 
Cookie, I would have to say that most people overdress their salads.

The dressing, IMO, should lend a flavor note, not drown the ingredients. Most of the time there should be just enough dressing so the ingredients glisten with it, but no heavier than that.

The exceptions are those salads in which the dressing is a binding agent. Tuna salad, chicken salad, things like that, where the dressing (mayo, Miracle Whip, whatever) is the mortar that binds the building blocks together.
 
This is truly a troublesome thing to try and figger out! So maybe we should do a bit of thinking outside the box?

Let's explore this room by entering the BACK door...

Instead of what a salad IS... let's try answer what a salad ISN'T.

Is there anything- anything at all that is not/cannot be found in a salad?

Let's see, I'm aware of salads that are comprised of everything from raisins to chicken livers... radishes to fish eggs... nuts to frog's legs...

I'm daring myself to come up with just ONE single ingredient that cannot be found in a salad, somewhere... Would that then mean that a salad is ANYTHING?

What about you? Wanna accept the challenge of trying?
 
I don't put a lot of dressing on my salad just enough for some flavor. I think all salads need something don't you? Salads usually blend into other foods quite well. Now they are doing all kinds of lettuce wraps that are very Healthy for you. Less bread is a great idea.

Don't Underestimate the Power of A Good Salad! Cookie :)
 
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