The Secret to Making a Good Salad
The secret to making a really good salad is not only in the combining of the ingredients-and a really good salad dressing-but also in the size and shape of the ingredients.
For instance, in a chopped salad, everything is pretty much the same size and shape and the flavors all blend together.
In a garden salad, there are larger pieces and different types of lettuce.
In a chef's salad there are pieces of meat and cheese and larger pieces of greens and vegetables.
In an aspic salad there are pretty layers of ingredients in gelatin.
The garden salad is the most common one, so let's think about that for a minute.
If you have ever eaten out at a restaurant and ordered a garden salad only to get some wilted lettuce with one lonely cherry tomato and some watery dressing, you know the kind of disappointment I have faced upon receiving such an atrocity.
The garden salad should be a celebration of the bounty of the garden; a veritable plethora of fresh garden goodies.
While there might be only one type of lettuce (usually iceberg or romaine), there are generally loads of other colors and flavors to be found.
Tomatoes, onions, sprouts, nuts or seeds, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots...
these are just a few of the items common to a garden salad.
One might also find more exotic fare such as edible flowers like nasturtiums, pansies, roses or carnations.
Then there are raisins or currants, dates, candied ginger or papaya that can spice it up.
Standard dressings are used for a garden salad, such as blue cheese, ranch, honey mustard, thousand island, French, Italian, or oil and vinegar.
A field greens salad is an assortment of lettuces and herbs but might also contain one or more of the ingredients found in a garden salad.
The dressing used for a field greens salad is usually lighter and more exotic than the standard salad dressings: raspberry vinaigrette, pecan oil and vinegar, rosemary oil and vinegar or the like.
A chopped salad has its secret in the blending of ingredients; they are all chopped to the same size and laid out on chopped lettuce or cabbage, in rows of stripes.
Usually chopped salad includes a meat of some kind, like ham, chicken or salmon.
The dressings for a chopped salad are usually creamy or heavier than for the garden salad, although the same dressings may be used if desired.
The secret is to mix everything together well so that every bite is an explosion of tastes but every bite is the same.
Go ahead and experiment with your salads.
If you find one you like when you eat out, ask the server for the recipe; most places are happy to share.
Then take that recipe and experiment a bit...
create something new and interesting...
and have fun with it.
©2010Dr.
Valerie OlmstedAll Rights Reserved
For instance, in a chopped salad, everything is pretty much the same size and shape and the flavors all blend together.
In a garden salad, there are larger pieces and different types of lettuce.
In a chef's salad there are pieces of meat and cheese and larger pieces of greens and vegetables.
In an aspic salad there are pretty layers of ingredients in gelatin.
The garden salad is the most common one, so let's think about that for a minute.
If you have ever eaten out at a restaurant and ordered a garden salad only to get some wilted lettuce with one lonely cherry tomato and some watery dressing, you know the kind of disappointment I have faced upon receiving such an atrocity.
The garden salad should be a celebration of the bounty of the garden; a veritable plethora of fresh garden goodies.
While there might be only one type of lettuce (usually iceberg or romaine), there are generally loads of other colors and flavors to be found.
Tomatoes, onions, sprouts, nuts or seeds, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots...
these are just a few of the items common to a garden salad.
One might also find more exotic fare such as edible flowers like nasturtiums, pansies, roses or carnations.
Then there are raisins or currants, dates, candied ginger or papaya that can spice it up.
Standard dressings are used for a garden salad, such as blue cheese, ranch, honey mustard, thousand island, French, Italian, or oil and vinegar.
A field greens salad is an assortment of lettuces and herbs but might also contain one or more of the ingredients found in a garden salad.
The dressing used for a field greens salad is usually lighter and more exotic than the standard salad dressings: raspberry vinaigrette, pecan oil and vinegar, rosemary oil and vinegar or the like.
A chopped salad has its secret in the blending of ingredients; they are all chopped to the same size and laid out on chopped lettuce or cabbage, in rows of stripes.
Usually chopped salad includes a meat of some kind, like ham, chicken or salmon.
The dressings for a chopped salad are usually creamy or heavier than for the garden salad, although the same dressings may be used if desired.
The secret is to mix everything together well so that every bite is an explosion of tastes but every bite is the same.
Go ahead and experiment with your salads.
If you find one you like when you eat out, ask the server for the recipe; most places are happy to share.
Then take that recipe and experiment a bit...
create something new and interesting...
and have fun with it.
©2010Dr.
Valerie OlmstedAll Rights Reserved
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