ABOUT SALAD
Food historians tell us salads (generally defined as mixed greens with dressing) were enjoyed by
ancient Romans and Greeks. As time progressed, salads became more complicated. Recipes
varied according to place and time. Dinner salads, as we know them today, were popular with
Renaissance folks. Composed salads assembled with layers of ingredients were enjoyed in the
18th century. They were called Salmagundi. Today they are called chef's salad.
Why do we call it salad?
"Salad, a term derived from the Latin sal (salt), which yielded the form salata, 'salted things' such as the raw vegetables eaen in classical times with a dressing of oil,
vinegar or salt. The word turns up in Old French as salade and then in late 14th century English as salad or sallet."
"Etymologically, the key ingredient of salad, and the reason for its getting its name, is the dressing. The Romans were enthusiastic eaters of salads, many of their
differing hardly at all from present-day ones--a simple selection of raw vegetables...--and they always used a dressing of some sort: oil, vinegar, and often brine. And hence
the name salad, which comes from Vulgar Latin Herba salata, literally 'salted herb'."
Etymological notes & historic uses, Oxford English Dictionary:
"Salad
"Although the ancient Greeks and Romans did not use the world "salad," they enjoyed a variety
of dishes with raw vegetables dressed with vinegar, oil, and herbs...The medical practitioners
Hippocrates and Galen belived that raw vegetables easily slipped through the system and did not
create obstructions for what followed, therefore they should be served first. Others reported that
the vinegar in the dressing destroyed the taste of the wine, therefore they should be served last.
This debate has continued ever since...With the fall of Rome, salads were less important in
western Europe, although raw vegetables and fruit were eaten on fast days and as medicinal
correctives...The term salade derived from the Vulgar Roman herba salata, literally 'salted herb'.
It remained a feature of Byzantine cookery and reentered the European menu via medieval Spain
and Renaissance Italy. At first "salad" referred to various kinds of greens pickled in vinegar or
salt. The word salade later referred to fresh-cooked greens of raw vegetables prepared in the
Roman manner."
Sallets, Dr. Alice
Ross
At the tail end of the 19th century (in the United States) the domestic science/home economics
movement took hold. Proponnents of this new science were obsessed with control. They
considered tossed plates of mixed greens "messy" and eschewed them in favor of "orderly
presentations." Salad items were painstakenly separated, organized, and presented. Molded
gelatin (Jell-O et al) salads proliferated because they offered maximum control.
"Salad greens, which did have to be served raw and crisp, demanded more complicated measures.
The object of scientific salad making was to subdue the raw greens until they bore as little
resemblance as possible to their natural state. If a plain green salad was called for, the experts
tried to avoid simply letting a disorganized pile of leaves drop messily onto the plate...This
arduous approach to salad making became an identifying feature of cooking-school cookery and
the signature of a refined household...American salads traditionally had been a matter of fresh
greens, chicken, or lobster, but during the decades at the turn of the century, when urban and
suburban middle class was beginning to define itself, salads proliferated magnificently in number
and variety until they incorporated nearly every kind of food except bread and pastry...Salads that
were nothing but a heap of raw ingredients in dissaray plainly lacked cultivation, and the cooking
experts developed a number of ingenious ways to wrap them up...The tidiest and most thorough
way to package a salad was to mold in in gelatin."
Culinary evidence confirms salads of all kinds were very popular in America in the 1920s. Entire
books were devoted to the topic. Some of the more popular were:
Eventually, the hold of domestic science relaxed and tossed salads once again found their way on
American tables. Tossed salads regained favor. Today, American
salads range from the uninspired classic" lettuce wedge, tomato & cucumber doused with bottled
dressing to tantalizing creations composed of interesting greens, asian fruits and vegetables, crisp
noodles lightly tossed with sesame seed soy sauce. Lettuce-free salads (tomato and fresh mozzerlla) and exotic fruit combinations
(kiwi, mango, strawberry) are found in upscale restaurants and suburban supermarket salad bars. Busy home cooks have the option of
assembling "salad in a bag" adorned with ready-cut veggies (broccoli, cauliflower), baby carrots, tiny tomatoes, and packaged crunchies
(flavored croutons, nuts, mini crackers, onion crisps). No cutting involved.
Food historians can't quite agree on the history and composition of chef's salad much less who
assembled the first one. Some trace this salad's roots to Salmagundi, a popular meat and salad
dish originating in 17th century England and popular in colonial America. Others contend chef's
salad is a product of early twentieth century, originating in either New York or California. The
person most often connected with the history of this salad is Louis Diat, chef of the Ritz Carleton
in New York City during the 1940s. While the food historians acknowledge his recipe they do not
appear to be convinced he originated the dish. Print evidence supports this theory.
Food historians can't quite agree on the history and composition of chef's salad much less who
assembled the first one. Some trace this salad's roots to Salmagundi, a popular meat and salad
dish originating in 17th century England and popular in colonial America. Others contend chef's
salad is a product of early twentieth century, originating in either New York or California. The
person most often connected with the history of this salad is Louis Diat, chef of the Ritz Carleton
in New York City during the 1940s. While the food historians acknowledge his recipe they do not
appear to be convinced he originated the dish. Here are some of the popular theories:
"The evolution of Chef's Salad
What chef dreamed up this salad? Food writer/historian John Mariani attributes Chef's salad to
California in general but to no one in particular. Evan Jones, on the other hand, says in his head
note to Chef's Salad recipe in American Food: The Gastronomic Story (1975): "The origin
of this salad is not, apparently, a matter of record, but it may have been made first in the kitchen
of the Ritz-Carleton where a recipe used by Louis Diat called for smoked ox tongue as one of the
meats and watercress as the only green leaf." Louis Diat includes this recipe in Cooking a la Ritz
(1941):
"The chef's salad is a familiar yet fading star in the salad world...this still-beloved salad may have
had a noble beginning. Though nobody has ever stepped forward to claim the title of the chef in
'chef's salad,' the dish has been attributed by some food historians to Louis Diat, the chef of the
Ritz-Carton in New York City in the early 1940s...The concept of the chef's salad dates still
earlier; one seventeenth-century English recipe for a 'grand sallet' calls for lettuce, roast meat, and
a slew of vegetables and fruits."
"Salmagundi
"Salmagundi. a term dating back from the 17th century...In writing about salads of the 17th
century, C. Anne Wilson (1973) explains the term thus: 'Sometimes an egg and herb salad was
further enhanced by the addition of cold roast capon, anchovies and other meat or fish delicacies.
Late in the 17th century the name of salmagundi was applied to mixtures of this type, and was
subsequently corrupted to Solomon Gundy.' Hannah Glasse (1747) has three recipes for
Salamongundy, but sums up the essence of this dish at the end of the third recipe: 'but you may
always make a Salamagundy of such things as you have, according to your Fancy.'"
Salmagundi, Food History
News
A SURVEY OF EARLY CHEF SALADS
[1937]
"Chef's Salad Dressing
[1939]
[1941]
The basis for the word salad is 'sal', meaning salt. This was chosen because in ancient times, salt was often an ingredient in the dressing. Notes here:
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford Univeristy Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 682)
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 294)
[a. OF. salade (14th c.), a. Pr. salada = OIt. salata, Pg. salada (cf. It. insalata, Sp. ensalada): ta, f. *sal and cf. quot. 1687 s.v. SALADING.
c1390 Forme of Cury (1780) 41 Salat. Take persel, sawge, garlec [etc.]..waische hem clene..and myng hem wel with rawe oile, lay on vyneger and salt, and serue it
forth."
---Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor and William Woys
Weaver, associate editor [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 2003, Volume 3 (p. 224-5)
[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your
librarian to help you find a copy.]
Salmagundi, Sandra Oliver
---Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century, Laura Shapiro
[North Point Press:New York] 1986 (p. 96-99)
[NOTE: If you are interested in the subject of American salad, this book is excellent. Your
librarian can help you find a copy.]
Chef's salad
'Chef's salad. Place separately in a salad bowl equal amonts of chopped lettuce (place
on the bottom of the bowl), boiled chicken, smoked ox tongue and smoked ham, all cut in julienne
style. Add 1/2 hard-cooked egg for each portion. Place some watercress in the center and serve
with French Dressing.'
A year earlier, Edith Barber, food editor of the New York Sun offered...[a recipe for]
Chef's Salad in Edith Barber's Cook Book (1940). Her recipe differs significantly from
Chef Louis's and like him, she doesn't say where she obtained the recipe. The original Chef's Salad
was..."diet fare," which lends credence to Mariani's theory that it comes from California...Over
time chef's salads became fancier, weightier..."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 270-271)
---One-Dish Dinners: A New Chef's Salad, Gourmet, August 1999 (p. 100).
A dish composed of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions with oil and condiments."
---Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Volume XIV (p. 399)
[1674: Blount...a dish of meat made of cold Turkey and other ingredients.]
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p.
684-5)
The famous 1926 Edgewater Beach Hotel Salad Book, Arnold Shircliffe (we have a 1955
12th printing copy) contains a salad recipe titled "Chef's Special." (p. 43) It is a far cry from what
we know today as chef's salad. It is composed of romaine, endive, grapefruit, pineapple, olives,
cream cheese, pimentoes. This book also contains a recipe for Salmagundi (p. 170). Ingredients
are lettuce, cabbage, anchovies, chicken, hard-boiled egg yolks, parlsey, green beans. The earliest
recipe we have titled "Chef's Salad" in an American cookbook was published in 1936.
[1936]
About French dressing
"Chef Salad.
Rub a salad bowl with:
Garlic
Place in it tender:
Lettuce leaves
Add to them:
Anchovies
Pitted ripe olives
Sliced radishes
Peeled and quartered tomatoes
Sliced hard-cooked eggs
Shredded Swiss cheese
Peel, slice and add:
3 hard-cooked eggs
Drain and chop:
6 or 8 anchovies
Peel, slice and add:
2 tomatoes
Moisten the salad with:
French dressing
Toss it in the bowl. Serve it at once."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Boggs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis IN]
1936 (p. 266)
[NOTE: This recipe is not included in the first edition of Joy, circa 1931.]
"Chef's Salad
1 bunches endive
2 small bunches water cress
1 head lettuce
2 small stalks celery
10 anchovies
3 tomatoes, peeled
3 hard-cooked eggs
Cut salad greens into pieces, and place in mixing bowl. Arrange anchovies and quarters of tomato
and egg over top. Serve with Chef's Salad Dressing."
---My New Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book, revised edition, [Meredith
Publishing:Des Moines IA] 1937 (p. 6)
1 small package Roquefort cheese
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/8 teaspoon A-1 sauce
Juice 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste.
Crumble cheese with fork. Add other ingredients and mix thoroly. Pour over salad of greens and
toss with a fork. Chill before serving. (Makes 3/4 cup)"
---ibid (p. 14)
"Cliff Edwards' Chef's Salad
You'd have to see Cliff Edwards ordering the ingredients for his Chef's Salad in his favorite
restaurants and combining them at the table to realize how easily and quickly it can be mixed.
2 lettuce hearts
2 celery hearts
1 small bunch watercress
1 small bunch chicory
1 cup baked diced ham
3 tomatoes, quartered.
Method:
1. Tear hearts of lettuce into good-sized pieces.
2. Chop together with hearts of celery, watercress, and chicory. Mix with ham.
3. Add tomatoes to this. Serve with the following French dressing:
1 clove garlic
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup Italian olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 hard-cooked eggs
Method:
1. Rub salad bowl with garlic. Add lemon juice and olive oil.
2. Beat for a few minutes with an egg beater. After the dressing has thickened slightly, add
vegetables and ham. Mix thoroughly.
3. Garnish with parlsey and eggs. Serve at table from bowl.
Serves 4 to 6.
Note: This will serve 6 persons with a dinner course; 4 persons, if served as main luncheon
course."
---Prudence Penny's Cookbook, Prudence Penny, Home Economics Editor of the Los
Angles Examiner [Prencie-Hall:New York] 1939 (p. 350)
"Chef's Salad
Place separately in a salad bowl equal amounts of chopped lettuce (placed on the bottom of the
bowl), boiled chicken, smoked ox tongue and smoked ham, cut in julienne style. Add 1/2
hard-boiled egg for each portion. Place some water cress in the center and serve with French
Dressing."
---Cooking a la Ritz, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott:New York] 1941 (p. 31)
Chinese chicken salad
According to American food historian Sylvia Lovegren, the genesis of Chinese salad/dressing, as we Americans know it today, originated in the 1930s. Our Chinese food hstory sources confirm raw salads were not tradtional fare in Asia:
"Salad made with uncooked vegetables was not consumed in traditional China, for raw salads were dangerous and had little appeal to most Chinese; isntead, Chinese salads were customarily made of parboiled or stir-fried vegetables and served with hot or cold."---Food in China: A Cultural and Historial Inquiry, Frederick J. Simoons [CEC Press:Boca Raton FL] 1991 (p. 148)
"There are many different types of cold chicken salad in China, although most of them seem to originate in Szechwan. One of the most popular is pong pong
(or bong bong) chicken, which is basically shredded chicken and bean sprouts dressed with a peanut butter, red pepper, and garlic sauce. But the Chinese chicken
salad that was being consumed in such quantities by the fashionable set--probably among rising young record and film producers on the West Coast--probably
orginated in California. This version is a cold mixture of shredded iceberg lettuce, crispy fried noodles, the strips of roasted chicken, all tossed with a slightly sweet
sesame oil--tinged dressing made sprightly with flecks of hot red peppers. There is a similar chicken salad, known as so see chicken, made popular at Johnny
Kan's restaurant in San Francisco, but Kan's version omits the fried noodles."
Who was Johnny Kan?
Predictably, our early 20th century salad cookbooks [1900-1950s] offer several recipes for various "Oriental" Salads. The surprise? None of these recipes are similar
to the menu items we expect today. Neither did these books offer anything close to contemporary Asian/Oriental-style (sesame soy ginger) salad dressing. One recipe circa 1923 consisted of diced prunes, dates, figs, chopped nuts, diced pineapple topped with "One cup salad dressing." These salads were generally topped with Vinaigrette or spiced mayonnaises. None of the examples we found included sesame, or ginger. Some did employ soy sauce.
Our survey of American newspapers confirms Chinese Chicken Salads were indeed popular in the 1930s. As one might expect, there were
several variations for both salad and dressing. Asian salads/dressings, as we know them today, first surfaced in the mid-1960s. Articles confirm the popularity and
diversity of this salad/dressing grew in subsequent decades. Asian-style salad dressings were promoted in the 1980s as healthier alternatives to traditional selections.
Thai flavors are introduced in the 1990s. Today there are many variations on this ubiquitious recipe:
"Chinese chicken salad, an umbrella organization of a dish liberally sprinkled on menus ranging
from Applebee's and Fresh Choice to the corner Sichuan restaurant...At the extreme Yankee end
of the spectrum, there's the Oriental chicken salad, a recipe so far removed from its country of
origin it never got the memo that we don't call it the Orient anymore. Heinous contributions to
this version that I've encountered include yogurt, pineapple chunks, ham, cheese, and even
cornflakes, draped with a dressing that throws together (in part or whole) honey, orange juice,
mayonnaise, cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Less egregiously Western (though still high on the
cultural embarrassment scale) is a rendition I recently had -- believe it or not -- at California
Crisp in Stonestown Mall. Here, romaine lettuce was combined with chunks of chicken and
tossed with crispy noodle bits, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and slivered almonds in a tangy-sweet vinaigrette. And at the opposite end of the spectrum is ...cold chicken noodle salad.
Blessedly, the menu simply lists this sublime dish as "cold noodle salad." ...To be fair, other than
being chilled, this dish is about as close to an Applebee's Chinese chicken salad as clam chowder
is to bouillabaisse. For one thing, it actually has origins in China, though it's no doubt been
dumbed down a bit for American tastes. For another, no actual lettuce is used in the making of
this salad. It begins with cold linguine-width rice-flour noodles, on which are piled hand-shredded roast chicken, scallions, and cucumber slivers sprinkled with crushed peanuts. The
whole thing is tossed in a dressing -- really more of a sauce -- that combines sesame oil, peanut
butter, chicken broth, ginger, garlic, red chili, and rice vinegar in a wonderfully light and tangy
blend that's spicy enough to make you sweat and cold enough to keep you from overheating."
A survey of Asian-American salad dressings:
[1963]
[1968]
[1977]
"Flavors from the Orient have been captured in Oriental-Chef salad dressing. Oriental-Chef's four new flavors--delicate sesame, tangy soy, snappy ginger and
creamy lemon--have been developed for American tastes. The dressing contain natural ingredients and about half the caloires of regular dressings. They are made
with safflower and corn oil, which are low in cholesterol. Oriental-Chef dressings are processed in Baldwin park by Q&B Foods, Inc., of Q.P. Corp."
Cole slaw
We know from Apicius that Ancient Roman cooks prepared shredded cabbage dressed with
vinegar, eggs and spices. Food historians generally agree the term "cole slaw" is of Dutch origin,
implying perhaps that the true progenitor of modern coleslaw is most likely a Medieval creation
with Roman roots. Mayonnaise is an 18th century invention, meaning the recipe (as we know it
today) is only about 200 years old.
The origin of the term "cole slaw' holds much interest for food historians. Notes here:
"Coleslaw means literally 'cabbage salad'. English borrowed and adapted the word from Dutch
koolsla at the end of the eighteenth century, probably from Dutch settlers in the USA, and the first
printed example of it shows its outlandishness tamed to cold slaw--a folk-etymological
modification often repeated in later years. English does however have its own equivalent to Dutch
kool, 'cabbage', namely cole. Like kool, this comes ultimately from Latin caulis, 'cabbage', whose
underlying etymological meaning is hollow stem'."
About cole slaw in America
"Coleslaw. Also, "cabbage salad," Shredded cabbage, mayonnaise, and seasonings, usually served
cold as a side dish. The words are from Dutch koolsla, a combination of kool, "cabbage," and sla,
"salad" a dish that was known in America in print by 1785. Because it is usually served cold, some
call the dish "cold slaw" in contrast to "hot slaw," but there is no relation to the temperature in the
etymology."
"The earliest European settlers on North America's eastern shores brought cabbage seeds with
them, and cabbage was a general favorite throughout the colonies. The Dutch who founded New
Netherland (New York State)...grew cabbage extensively along the Hudson River. They served it
in their old-country ways, often as koolsla (shredded cabbage salad). This dish became popular
throughout the colonies and survives as coleslaw...By the 1880s, cabbage and its cousins had
fallen from favor with the upper class because of the strong sulfurous odors these vegetables give
off when cooking...But this sturdy and versatile vegetable never disappeared from middle-class
kitchens."
"Cool sla, cabbage salad, has, of course become cole slaw; in the nineteenth cnetury housewives
who had
forgotten, or never known, that cool is Dutch fo "cabbage," were already miscalling the dish "cold
slaw,"
which gave illegitimate birth to "warm slaw.""
Peter G. Rose, New Netherlands foodways historian, states
Peter Kalm mentions coleslaw in his Travels in North America; The English Version of 1770 (p. 347):
"...he describes how his Dutch landlady served him "an unusual salad," which "tastes better than one can imagine...cabbage...
cut in long thin strips" dressed with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, well mixed to evenly distribute the oil." Soruce:
The Sensible Cook: Dutch Foodways in the Old and New World [Syracuse University Press:Syracuse NY] 1989 (p. 28). Her
modernized version of this 18th century salad (based on Mr. Kalm's description) here:
Coleslaw, 1839
"Warm slaugh.
About cabbage
If you want to learn more about cabbage we recommend:
Fruit salad
Where did fruit salad originate? The answer to this question depends upon what you mean by fruit
salad. Fruit salads (ie combinations of various fresh, dried, candied [with sugar], stewed and/or
fruits with vegetables) since ancient times. The ingredients and recipes depended upon what was
available (country, seasons) and socio-cultural attitudes toward the ingredients (was fruit
considered healthy or not?).
Fruit salad, as we know it today [a variety of fresh, often tropical, fruits], is a product of the
mid-19th century. Ambrosia is perhaps one of the most popular examples. Culinary evidence confirms sometimes fruit salad was mixed with sugar and
alcohol, thus the term "fruit cocktail." Non-alcoholic versions of
this
recipe were very popular in the 1920s. Also popular in the 1920s were jellied fruit salads. Think
Jell-O molds. During World War II fruit salads were promoted to ensure proper amount of
vitamin C were included in the American diet. Both canned and fresh fruits were recommended.
Fruit salads in northern Europe (Germany, for example) evolved differently. These recipes used
mayonnaise. Are you familiar with Waldorf Salad? Notes on this classic recipe to follow.
"Fruit salad, an item which has adorned millions of menus in the western world, was first
recognized as a dish in the mid-19th century....It is of course possible to have a salad' of dried
fruits and nuts, as in the Middle Eastern khoshab; and, further east, Indonesia offers the spicy fruit
salad rujak, which is patently different from anything in the western world."
A sampler of American fruit salad recipes:
[1863]
[1896]
[1913]
[1944]
ABOUT FRUIT COCKTAIL
"1913...Fruit cocktail is created by a California canner."(p. 79) "1927...Fruit canners agree upon a
single "recipe" for fruit cocktail." (p. 161)
"In these latter days many American cooks make a mixture of fruit, sugar and alcohol, and serve
them as "salad." These are not salads; are heavy, rather unwholesome, and will never take the
place of a salad. I much perfer to call them fruit cocktails, and serve them as first course at at
luncheon or a twelve o'clock breakfast; or a dessert, and serve them with the ices at the close of
the meal. Fruits mixed with mayonnaise dressing, and served as a salad are unsightly, unpalatable
and little nauseating. One cannot think of anything more out of keeping than white grapes in a
thick mayonnaise. The simple so called French dressing is delicate and most worthy of
recommendation. Over lettuce, cress or celery it certainly makes a palatable and wholesome
dinner salad, and one in which children can be freely indulged. Such fruits as apples, pears,
cherries, and pineapples, mixed with celery or lettuce, with French dressing, make an agreeable
dinner salad."
Period cookbooks, old newspapers (esp. New York Times historic), and culinary reference books confirm the
popularity of iceberg (also known as crisphead) lettuce in the 1920s. They do not, however, reveal claimants
(hotels, chefs, restaurants) to the invention of the classic American wedge-type salad served with creamy
dressing. The general concensus of current sources squarely places this salad as a ubiquitous menu entry
of the 1950s and 1960s. The lettuce wedge lost its place in the 1970s when consumers were intrigued by
more interesting salads. Recently, the iceberg wedge salad has resurfaced as a "reinvented" item on trendy
menus. The new accompaniments are blue cheese (Maytag, esp.) and nuts.
About Iceberg wedge salad
"There once was a time--before the arrival of mesclun, frisee, endive, spring mix, packaged salads, radicchio and arugula--when iceberg lettuce dominated the produce aisle. Quartered, shredded, its leaves pulled off and transformed into cups
for canned pears, it knew no rival until the 1970s when Caesar Chavez called for a boycott to protest the working
conditions of California lettuce pickers. Tastes changed, too. The wedge of iceberg drowning in a thick dressing was
replaced with vinaigrette-tossed leaf lettuces (especially romaine) and smaller, more exotic "designer" greens, all more
nutritional and more flavorful than the "neutral" iceberg. Iceberg--a head lettuce, as opposed to a leaf lettuce--is also
known as "crisphead" lettuce since one of its chief virtues (some say its only virtue) is that it stays fresher longer than
leaf lettuces."
"Take one wedge of iceberg lettuce. Open a bottle of dressing and pour. Garnish with a tomato slice. You've got salad,
1960s-style."
"Short of heating up a TV dinner, there are few more blatantly retro gestures than ordering a wedge of iceberg lettuce
covered in a thick, creamy salad dressing. The lettuce itself remains popular in the United States. It still accounts for 70
percent of the lettuce raised in California, but that share is declining (in the mid-1970's it was as high as 80 percent), and
anyone dining at fancier restaurants around the United States might wonder if it hadn't disappeared entirely, displaced
by frisee, dandelion greens, oak leaf, lollo rosso, exotic cresses, microgreens, sprouts -- anything, in short, that's green,
has a leaf, and is not iceberg. But iceberg somehow manages to hang on. Steakhouses refuse to give it up. And in some
very unlikely places, it has earned a strange kind of cachet..."It's one of those things that's synonymous with growing up
in America," Mr. Otsuka said. "Everybody has a comfort level with it. Served cold, it's very nice on the palate, with a
good crunch." Marc Meyer, at Five Points, anoints a wedge of the stuff with a modernized, Europeanized blue cheese
dressing made with picon cheese from Spain, toasted almond slices and radishes...Despite its shortcomings, iceberg has
always had its fans. James Beard was one. "Many people damn it," he once wrote, "but when broken up, not cut, it adds
good flavor and a wonderfully crisp texture to a salad with other greens." It also keeps longer than other lettuces, he
pointed out. Flavor? Surely the iceberg stands supreme as the blandest of all greens. Little pieces? Most Americans side
with the prim instructions given in the first "Joy of Cooking." "Heads of iceberg lettuce are not separated," the directions
read. "They are cut into wedge-shaped pieces, or into crosswise slices." The lettuce is a relative newcomer, and
confusingly named. A lettuce that went by the name of iceberg was developed in the 1890's, and somehow the name
resurfaced when new varieties of durable, easily shippable crisphead lettuce began emerging in California in the mid-1920's. In 1948, the iceberg we know today was born. Why iceberg? No one seems to know, although one popular theory
holds that the name refers to the tons of ice that chilled it in the days before refrigerated rail cars. The big, cold wedge
is a cornerstone of American cuisine. It survives, and so do the sludgelike dressings that drape it like heavy velvet
curtains -- the great, goopy family that includes blue cheese, green goddess, ranch and Thousand Island. I went for the
wedge the other day at Del Frisco Double Eagle Steak House. It arrived under a lavalike green ooze, a creamily high-caloric green goddess dressing lumpy with tender bits of avocado....Michael Jordan's The Steak House...the wedge wore
a blue cheese dressing...John Schenk, the chef at Clementine, tuned in to this particular frequency years before tony
restaurants began playing with iceberg..."
While icberg lettuce was employed for a variety of salads, the "classic" American restaurant wedge topped with
a generous dollop of creamy dressing was sometimes called "Heart of Lettuce."
[1949]
"Heart of Lettuce Salad
[1950]
[1958]
[1963]
"Ethnic/Cultural Info:
This type of lettuce is an excellent choice for making a classic Greek salad with tomatoes, radishes and cucumbers. In
1894, a Burpee & Co. seed catalog stated this about iceberg lettuce: "There is no handsomer or more solid Cabbage
Lettuce in cultivation." Unfortunately, this lettuce variety has been the bane of true gourmet cooks and the butt of many
culinary jokes. It has been claimed that a "cold pack" made from chilled iceberg lettuce leaves aids in the relief of bumps
and bruises. Chill whole leaves in freezer for at least one hour; crumple and secure with tape on the injury. Works every
time.
Geography/History:
They say this lettuce came to be when a different looking and sweeter tasting head of lettuce somehow appeared in a
grower's field over one hundred years ago. Noticing it was quite different from the lettuces surrounding it and liking its
flavor and superior crispness, the growers teamed with other lettuce producers to make it even better. This variety became
a top seller and remains very popular still today. More accurately called crisphead, there are actually many varieties of
this type of lettuce. Some varieties produce reddish leaves tinged with green and some have plain and scalloped edges.
Iceberg lettuce was called "crisphead", its true name, until the 1920s. It acquired the name iceberg because of its ability
to be an excellent long distance traveler when packed on ice. Depending on the time of year, crisphead lettuce develops
a firm head in 60 to 120 days and is harvested by hand. It has been claimed that a "cold pack" made from chilled iceberg
lettuce leaves aids in the relief of bumps and bruises. Chill whole leaves in freezer for at least one hour; crumple and
secure with tape on the injury. Works every time."
Pasta salad, as we Americans know it today, descends from a long line of purposely dressed
macaroni dishes, both hot and cold. Dressings (oil/vinegar, mayonnaise, cream sauces) and
additions (vegetables, herbs, spices) varied according to culture and cuisine. In early 20th century
we begin to find recipes for macaroni salad in American cookbooks. These were typically
dressed with mayonnaise and served in cold molded presentations. Think: perfect domes of chilled macaroni salad served as "sides" in diners & delis. Alternatives? A side of
cottage cheese or coleslaw.
According to a survey of articles published in the New York Times, recipes titled "pasta salad"
were published in the early 1960s. They proliferated in the 1980s, when Nouvelle Cuisine
delighted in creating dishes with gourmet pastas of various shapes, sizes, and colors. Pasta salad
was a trendy way to carbo-load back in the Yuppie era. This simple, economical dish was
promoted on two fronts: upscale, affordable cuisine and practical way to use leftovers. Before
long? Mainstream American food companies began promoting "pasta salad" box kits. These
can still be found in our grocery stores today.
[1962]
[1982]
Chinese Shrimp And Pasta Salad 1 cup mung bean sprouts 3/4 pound raw
medium shrimp 1 cup peeled, seeded, sliced cucumber 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 2
scallions, minced 2 teaspoons minced fresh coriander leaves 1 tablespoon dry sherry 2
tablespoons rice vinegar 1/3 cup sesame oil, Asian style 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon hot
chili oil 1/2 pound Asian buckwheat noodles (soba), cooked, drained and rinsed in cold water.
Cold Pasta, With Fresh Tomatoes 3 cups peeled, seeded, chopped ripe tomatoes 1
teaspoon finely minced garlic 2 tablespoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 1/3
cup olive oil 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 2 tablespoons
drained capers 2 tablespoons chopped pitted Greek olives 1 pound thin spaghetti or linguine salt
and freshly ground black pepper.
The concept is ancient, the practice is contemporary. Food historians confirm salads and breads of all sorts
were enjoyed by Ancient mediterranean peoples. Bread dried quickly in the hot southern European climate.
Thrifty people were not inclined to discard old bread; they cooked with it. Both salads and breads were often
combined with tangy oil-based dressings. The marriage of all three was inevitable. Panzanella!
Modern recipes for panzanella (there are dozens of variations) can't be older than the 16th century. Why?
Tomatoes are a new world food. The general concensus of the food experts is that panzanella, as we know
it today, originated in the middle regions of Italy. The recipe was promoted to mainstream America in the late 1970s.
The oldest reference to panzanella in the New York Times
is a restaurant review for Da Silvano, January 14, 1977 (p. 56). A survey of magazine and newspaper
articles reveals this salad became popular with gourmet diners in the United States sometime during the
1980s. Today? We find panzanella salad made with all sorts of interesting ingredients such as French bread,
commercially-made salad dressings, artichoke hearts, and seafood.
"Panzanella...Summer salad of central Italy consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil, vinegar, and olive
oil. Also pan molle (soft bread) and panbagnato (soaked bread). From the Latin panis (bread)."
"Panzanella (Tuscan bread salad). This simple country salad surfaced on this side of the Atlantic in the 1980s
with the proliferation of high-end Italian restaurants. There are dozens of variations on the theme."
"Waverly Root speaks none too fondly of panzanella: "A poor man's lunch," he calls it, "salad dressing on
bread, producing a sogginess which accounts for its name (litlle swamp)." Mr. Root and his palate
notwithstanding, panzanella is one terrific lunch. Basically a Tuscan bread salad with oil and vinegar, what else
it contains depends upon who is doing the cooking. Tuscans call panzanella a cold picnic dish, with the
ingredients put together at the last minute, the bread soaked in water at home, the tomatoes and cucumbers
simply picked from the vines as needed. But one Roman source describes it as a first course served in large
families to fill everyone up before the more expensive second-course dishes are put on the table. Tony May,
the owner of Sandro's, Pailio and La Camelia, three Italian restaurants in Manhattan, says the dish is also
called pane molle, which means "soft bread."...Earthy and satisfying, panzanella is, at the same time, cool and
refreshing. In "The Food of the Western World," Theodora FitzGibbon talks about the anchovies, chilies, basil,
garlic and capers it contains by never mentions tomatoes, except as a garnish. Other recipes call for onion,
cucumber and celery. On calls for spring onions rather than yellow of red onions. Mr. Fiorti uses both green
and red peppers...The proportions vary from cook to cook. Some use vast quantities of olive oil--six ounces
to a half pound of bread--while others use only two ounces for a pound of bread. In fact, panzanella is a salad
designed to be made with leftover, stale bread and whatever of the other ingredients are available. Italia
bread--purists insist it must be Tuscan bread--is also indispensible, though there have been recipes
suggesting the substitution of whole-wheat bread or rye bread for those who are not fortunate enough to have
easy access to the comactly textured Italian, or even French, country loaves."
"Q: I am trying to recreate a tomato and bread salad that I had when I was in Italy - and I never seem
to be able to get it just right. Something is missing. Hopefully you have some advice. Thanks. _ Jay
.J.
A: So you want to make a Panzanella Salad. Panzanella ... doesn't it sound like some sort of military
attack, using old-fashioned cannons? Actually it's what a tomato and bread salad is called....Tuscan
bread, some seasonal tomatoes, some fresh basil, a little bit of really good local olive oil, and some
balsamic vinegar. Toss it all in a bowl... Panzanella was probably invented for three reasons. One
of them was because Italy was a very poor country for many years and bread was inexpensive. Also,
nothing was wasted, and with this recipe, they could use stale bread. The last reason it probably came
about was in the warm, dry Italian summers it was useless trying to keep the bread fresh. When it
became dry they figured out a way to revive it with some simple ingredients. Today we think of
Panzanella as a bread and tomato salad, but it's interesting to note that the salad actually dates to
before the 1500s when tomatoes, a product from the New World, were unknown in Europe. So the
original Panzanella salad did not have tomatoes, but probably included whatever was on hand in the
garden _ like peppers, cucumbers, onions, and garlic, along with some capers, black olives, possibly
anchovies, olive oil and a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice. I'm going to assume that you had the
Panzanella in Tuscany, because it is considered a Tuscan dish (however, there are distinctive
Panzanella salads from other regions, such as Sicily.)"
Potatoes (a new world food) were introduced to Europe by Spanish explorers in the 16th century.
By the end of the century many countries had adopted this new vegetable and integrated it into
their cuisines. Preparation methods and recipes were developed according to local culinary
traditions. About potato history.
Arnold Shircliffe, executive chef of Chicago's legendary Edgewater Beach Hotel, traced the origin
of the potato salad to the 16th century. These are his notes:
Potato salad-type recipes were introduced to America by European settlers, who again adapted
traditional foods to local ingredients. This accounts for regional potato salad variations in the
United States. Potato salad, as we know it today, became popular in the second half of the 19th
century. Cold potato salads evolved from British and French recipes. Warm potato salads
followed the German preference for hot vinegar and bacon dressings served over vegetables.
Print evidence confirms recipes for potato salads were often included in 19th century
American cooking texts. These recipes had many different names. The Cassells Dictionary of
Cookery [London:1875?] contains three recipes for potato salad, one without notes
[presumably British or American], a French recipe and a German recipe.The French recipe is very
similar to the first and is also served cold. The German recipe required bacon. Early cold potato
salad recipes often called for "French dressing" (Our notes on French dressing here ). Some recipes specifically indicate this is an
economy dish, "a good way to dispose of leftover potatoes." During the
1940s mayonnaise began to supplant French dressing as the congealer of choice. It is interesting
to
note that during both World Wars recipes for German-style potato salad did not bear that
country's moniker. They were simply listed as "hot potato salad."
This is what the food writers have to say:
"Potato salad. A cold or hot side dish made with potatoes, mayonnaise, and seasonings. It became
very popular in the second half of the nineteenth century and is a staple of both home and
food-store kitchens. Hot potato salad, usually made with bacon, onion, and vinegar dressing, was
associated with German immigrants and therefore often called "German potato salad."
"There seems to be no dogma concerning the origins of potato salad, but Germany is a good place
to
begin. As a country with lots of potatoes and lots of recipes for potatoes, Germany almost
certainly was
among the first to look at cooked small new potatoes or cut chunks of larger spuds and imagine
them
blanketed with dressing. The dressing they came up with was a classic. Kin to the heated dressing
used to
wilt spinach salad, this one thrilled German taste buds, raised as they were on sauerkraut and
sauerbraten
with vinegar bite. Some versions featured a little coarse mustard, others cut the sour with a little
sugar, and
most added bacon and even its flavorful drippings. By the time the notion of potato salad reached
France,
vinegar wasn't quite good enough. The French demanded full-scale vinaigrette, and it was no
sweat to
satisfy their demands. Whenever you see something called "French potato salad," it's a safe bet
you're in
for potatoes (and probably other vegetables, too) in a light vinaigrette, with Dijon mustard and
sweet
tarragon.
When potato salad caught on in the United States, in the second half of the 19th century, it
was probably
by way of German immigrants. To this day, most people who know how to cook, or at least know
how to
eat, understand that "German potato salad" will be served warm, will feature no mayonnaise, and
will be
pleasantly tart with vinegar.The American idea of making potato salad with mayonnaise has no
recorded
history - but then again, neither does the idea of mayonnaise itself. Clearly a sauce created in
France using
egg yolks, oil and either lemon juice or vinegar, little is clear after that. Virtually every French
bible of cuisine
explains the name differently, ranging from a link to "Magon," the Carthaginian general who
helped his
brother Hannibal battle the Romans," to a possible misspelling of "Bayonnaise," hailing from the
town of
Bayonne in France - and later, less romantically, New Jersey.
However it got the name, mayonnaise became the favored dressing for American potato salad
for more
"There seems to be no dogma concerning the origins of potato salad, but Germany is a good place
to
begin. As a country with lots of potatoes and lots of recipes for potatoes, Germany almost
certainly was
among the first to look at cooked small new potatoes or cut chunks of larger spuds and imagine
them
blanketed with dressing. The dressing they came up with was a classic. Kin to the heated dressing
used to
wilt spinach salad, this one thrilled German taste buds, raised as they were on sauerkraut and
sauerbraten
with vinegar bite. Some versions featured a little coarse mustard, others cut the sour with a little
sugar, and
most added bacon and even its flavorful drippings. By the time the notion of potato salad reached
France,
vinegar wasn't quite good enough. The French demanded full-scale vinaigrette, and it was no
sweat to
satisfy their demands. Whenever you see something called "French potato salad," it's a safe bet
you're in
for potatoes (and probably other vegetables, too) in a light vinaigrette, with Dijon mustard and
sweet
tarragon.
When potato salad caught on in the United States, in the second half of the 19th century, it
was probably
by way of German immigrants. To this day, most people who know how to cook, or at least know
how to
eat, understand that "German potato salad" will be served warm, will feature no mayonnaise, and
will be
pleasantly tart with vinegar.The American idea of making potato salad with mayonnaise has no
recorded
history - but then again, neither does the idea of mayonnaise itself. Clearly a sauce created in
France using
egg yolks, oil and either lemon juice or vinegar, little is clear after that. Virtually every French
bible of cuisine
explains the name differently, ranging from a link to "Magon," the Carthaginian general who
helped his
brother Hannibal battle the Romans," to a possible misspelling of "Bayonnaise," hailing from the
town of
Bayonne in France - and later, less romantically, New Jersey.
However it got the name, mayonnaise became the favored dressing for American potato salad
for more
than a century. Its sweet, creamy mouthfeel served up just the right delight when wrapped around
solid,
dependable American potatoes."
"Despite its popularity in this country, potato salad is not an all-American creation. Potato salad is
said to be
of Teutonic origin, prepared when boiled potatoes were tossed with oil, vinegar and seasonings, a
dish
known now as German potato salad. The French, Norwegians, Swedes, Russians and Italians all
have their
own versions. Germans make a marvelous warm potato salad to which they add tiny bits of fresh
tomato
and red and green bell peppers, then toss the whole concoction with a warm bacon and onion
dressing.
The Greeks also prefer warm potato salad, with garlic, olive oil and lemon. Italian potato salad is
apt to
have ample amounts of fresh parsley, often chunks of salami and is dressed with an olive oil and
vinegar
dressing. American potato salad is heavier and heartier than European versions. Some people like
lots of
additions such as onion, sweet pickles, celery, hard-cooked eggs, pimento, chives, olives and
parsley."
Sample recipes:
[1863] "The same [potatoes], in salad
[1878]
[1884] "
Potato salad (cold)
[1908] "Potato salad
[1946] "Potato Salad with Mayonnaise
Recommended reading: The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World,
Larry Zukerman [North Point Press:New York] 1998.
Taco salad
Taco salad is a modern variation on the traditional Tex-Mex dish. These recipes begin to show up
in American cookbooks/magazines in the 1960s.
"Taco Salad. This salad arrived with the Tex-Mex fast-food franchises, which began to pepper the
country in the 60s...The man who whetted our appetite for "hot and spicy" was Glen Bell, who
opened the first "Taco Bell" in Downey, California. That was 1962. Did Taco Bell originate the
Taco Salad? I've been unable to proved it did. Or didn't. The first recipe I could find for Taco
Salad appeared in the May 1968 issue of Sunset."
Here is the recipe from Sunset Magazine, May 1968, p. 167
Fry meat and onion over medium-high heat; stir until the meat is crumbly and has lost its pinkness
and the onion is tender. about 7 minutes. Stir in the salt, chili powder and tomato sauce; keep hot.
Shred the lettuce and arrange on individual salad plates. Top each with the meat mixture and
sprinkle with cheese. Arrange on each salad tomato wedges and avocado slices, if used. Place
corn chips around edges of salads and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Tossed salad
When and where did tossed or mixed salad begin? The answer depends (in part) on how you define tossed greens/mixed salad. Food historians tell us
rudimentary mixed (several types of greens) salads were known to neolithic peoples.
Salads composed of fresh mixed greens dressed in vinegar and spices were enjoyed by Ancient Romans.
This culinary tradition survived from European Medieval times to the very end of the 19th century. Some
cuisines prefered warm salads, others, cold. Dr. Alice Ross
sums this up nicely
Composed salads (minced greens with vegetables, meat and eggs presented in layers) were favored by 17th
& 18th century English and American cooks. Recipes at that time were called Salmagundi. Now they are
called Chef's salad.
At the closing decades of the 19th century (in the United States) the domestic science/home economics movement
took hold. Proponnents of this new science were obsessed with control. They considered tossed plates of
mixed greens "messy" and eschewed them in favor of "orderly presentations." Salad items were painstakenly
separated, organized, and presented. Molded gelatin (Jell-O et al) salads proliferated because they offered
maximum control.
"Salad greens, which did have to be served raw and crisp, demanded more complicated measures. The object
of scientific salad making was to subdue the raw greens until they bore as little resemblance as possible to
their natural state. If a plain green salad was called for, the experts tried to avoid simply letting a disorganzied
pile of leaves drop messily onto the plate...This arduous approach to salad making became an ideintifying
feature of cooking-school cookery and the signature of a refined household...American salads traditionally had
been a matter of fresh greens, chicken, or lobster, but during the decades at the turn of the century, when
urban and suburban middle class was beginning to define itself, salads proliferated magnificently in number
and variety until they incorporated nearly every kind of food except bread and pastry...Salads that were nothing
but a heap of raw ingredients in dissaray plainly lacked cultivation, and the cooking experts developed a
number of ingenious ways to wrap them up...The tidiest and most thorough way to package a salad was to
mold in in gelatin."
Eventually, the control of domestic science relaxed and tossed salads once again found their way on American
tables. A survey of selected American cookbooks confirms mixed salads regained
popularity in the early 1930s. The Good Houskeeping Cook Book [1933] provides instructions for
a "Salad Bowl Salad" (see below) that even suggests the hostess prepare a tossed, mixed salad with all the "fixins"
right at the dinner table.
Tuna salad
Culinary evidence (old cookbooks, menus etc.) confirms meat (ham) and mayonnaise-type salads were popular in America
from colonial times present. These were culinary traditions brought to our shores by European (esp. German)
settlers. Lobster and chicken salads were most common and extremely popular in the mid-late 19th century. Tuna
salad is an early twentieth century recipe. Why? Because canned tuna was first introduced and mass marketed to the
American public in 1903. American cookbooks in the 1930s and 1940s offer tuna salad recipes as alternatives to
salads made from chicken and turkey. One might conclude this fishy substitution was not immediately embraced on
its own merits.
"Tuna Salad Popular. In California the tuna is beign introduced generallly in the best restaurants, not only because it is new, but
becuase people are beginning to value it for what it is. Tuna salads are getting to be popular. The housekeeper can prepare teh fish
in a dozen different ways."
Here is an early recipe:
Waldorf salad
"Waldorf Salad...The dish was supposedly created by maitre d'hotel Oscar Tschirky of the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, which opened in 1893. By 1896, when Tschirky
compiled The Cook Book by 'Oscar of the Waldorf,' the recipe--given without
comment--called for only apples, celery, and mayonnaise, and the salad later became a staple item
in most hotel dining rooms and other restaurants. At some point in the next two decades chopped
walnuts were added, for they are listed by George Rector in the ingredients for the salad in
The Rector Cook Book, which appeared in 1928, after which walnuts became standard in
the recipe, including the one give in the Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook [1981], by Ted James
and Rosalind Cole."
"Waldorf salad...Oscar Tschirky...created this salad for a 'society supper' to which 1,500 persons
came from Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia...For Sheila Hibben, food editor of The New
Yorker, his creation was a mixed blessing. She thought his combination of apples and mayonnaise
headed American housewives in the wrong direction 'and bred the sorry mixture of sweet salads'
that remain very much on the gastronomical scene..."
"This American classic first was introduced at the old Waldorf Hotel in New York. Oddly, it was
an off-the-cuff creation by the maitre d'hotel, Oscar Tschirky, rather than an inspiration of the
chef."
The original recipe
Waldorf salad
Pistachios have been enjoyed since the beginning of time. They have generally considered luxury
items. In the 20th century, technological advances made them more accessible to home cooks.
Culinary evidence confirms these nuts were most often used to flavor ice
creams and parfaits. They were also sometimes used in pates, salads (toppings, molded in
combination with other ingredients gelatine), baked goods, and candy. Notes on pistachios and
their use in cookery here.
Although salads and cakes made flavored with pistachios date back to the early 20th century,
culinary
evidence connects the recipes we know today as Watergate Salad and Watergate Cake to the
Kraft Company, dating from the mid 1970s. Why the Kraft connection? Both recipes use pistachio
instant pudding mix, which was introduced by Kraft Foods in 1975.
Why Watergate?
We do know that in 1973 two tongue-in-cheek "Watergate" cookbooks were published: The
Watergate Cookbook, N.Y. Alplaus [Emporium Publications:Charlestown MA] and The
Watergate Cookbook (Or, Who's in the Soup?), The Commitee to Write the Cookbook [New
Lone Star Press:Cambridge MA]. These were apparently inpired by Tom Donnelly's article
"Serve Hot, The County the Silver," published earlier that year in the Washington Post. Neither of
these books, nor Donnelley's article, contain recipes for Watergate Salad or Watergate Cake.
"We developed the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight," says Pat Risso of Kraft Corporate
Affairs. "It was in 1975, the same year that pistachio pudding mix came out."The company,
however, didn't suggest serving the dessert as a salad or change the name. As a matter of fact, the
company didn't refer to it at all as Watergate Salad until consumers started requesting a recipe for
Watergate Salad. The answer from an e-mail query to http://www.kraftfoods.com got a little
warmer. "According to Kraft Kitchens, when the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight was sent
out, a Chicago food editor renamed it Watergate Salad to promote interest in the
recipe when she printed it in her column," the response came back. A call to Carol Haddix, food
editor of the Chicago Tribune, got a quick response. "Never heard of it," she said.
A half dozen calls to former Chicago food editors, publicists and retired Kraft Kitchens personnel
also hit dead ends."
Watergate Salad was reportedly named by a Chicago food editor for an
article, but neither the article nor editor has been tracked down. The
full name of the cake is Watergate cake with coverup icing."
"New flavors in 1976 were Americana Rice pudding and Pistachio instant pudding. Popular
recipes were Pudding in a Cloud and, in 1981, Watergate Salad (Pistachio and Pineapple)."
The history of Jell-O, Kraft Food Company."
WATERGATE SALAD
"Pistachio nut--A native of central Asia and member of the cashew family, the pistachio nut...has
been cultivated for some 3,000 years and has a long history of popularity in the Mediterranean
world. But it was not until the 1930s with the advent of vending machines, that pistachio nuts
(also called pistache) imported from Italy became something of a rage in the United States as a
snack food."
"It was in 1929 that American plant scientist William E. Whitehouse spent a lonely six months in
Persia (modern day Iran), collecting seed and sifting through piles of produce to find the most
distinctive pistachios. He returned carrying a burlap sack 20 pounds heavy with seed."
"[1901] Dole's company becomes Hawaiian Pineapple Company and is incorporated in this year.
James Dole becomes known as "The Pineapple King," because he was able to successfully grow
and harvest this crop that had failed so many others. His company puts canned pineapple in every
grocery store in the country and makes the name "Hawaiian" almost synonymous with
"pineapple."
Molded salads combining all sorts of ingredients (especially mini-marshmallows) were all
the rage in the 1920s.
The history of
Jell-0
Jell-O
instant puddings were test marketed in 1950.
The oldest recipe we found specifically titled "Watergate Salad" is this:
WATERGATE CAKE
"A new Watergate crisis is sweeping the Washington area, but this time only homemakers and a few business men seem to care...
The crisis stems from the growing popularity of a recipe for a concoction called "Watergate Cake," which demands large quantities
of powdered pistachio pudding mix, both in the layer cake and in its light green icing. Apparently, only one firm, Royal Pudding, a division
of Standard Brands, Inc., distributes pistachio pudding in the Washington area. Supermarkets haven't been able to get engouh to cope
with the demands, which began around Thanksgiving time and was very heavy at Christmas. Store shelves have been regularly stripped
of the mix the same day it is displayed...If the sales spurt is not directly attributable to the popularity of Watergate Cake...
"The we don't knoe why this product has suddenly taken off. It's been just phenomenal..." Barry Scher, a spokesman for Giant
Foods, placed the blame not only on the recipe, but also on a coincidental shortage of pistachio nuts. "That was about five months
abo, the spokesman said, "And as it ended, this recipe began circulating around. We were bombarded. We hate to admit it, but we
just can't keep the mix on the shelf. The onset of Watergate cake mania--and the resulting effort to close the supply-demand gap
--has tested old friendships and challenged the ingenuity and competitive instincts of many a Washington-area homemaking...
No one, meanwhile, seems able to pinpoint the origin of this Watergate, the recipe for which has appeared in a number of
newspapers, including the Washington Post. Nor can anyone explain how the cake got its name or why pistachio is the main
flavoring. One current explanation leans on the presence of crushed walnuts in the cake--"bugs" in the parlance of kids. Like the
Giant spokesman, Harold Giesinger, proprietor of the Watergate Pastry shop, had no thoughts on where the recipe originated--
except that it was not with his bakery. "We haven't invented anything to which we'd attach a name like that," he said. Nor,
he added, does his shop rely on pistachio as a key ingredient in any of its products. "A private source may have put it together, "
he said of the recipe.
Wherever Watergate Cake started, the pudding firm would like more more problems like it. Gagan suspects some people have been buying more
pistachio pudding mix than they'll ever use, simply becuase it's hard to get...Further relief is in sight. Another manufacturer,
General Foods, scanning the Watergate-assisted pistachio market, has decided to jump in. Its version is expected to hit the
supermarket shelves in March..."
"According to my sister-in-law who lives in Waynesboro, Virginia, the name of the cake became prominent in that part of the country
because--Nixon liked Pistachio Nuts, hence (and a rather far-fetched reasoning) the name for the Watergate Cake, because synonymous
with--Pistachio Nuts, Mrs. Nixon and Watergate. I had neither heard of Pistachio Pudding or the Watergate Cake until last fall we
stopped to visit them, and she had the cake all ready for us to eat. However, her recipe is much different than the one printed in the
Washington Post Thursday in your column. Sincerely yours, Virginia K. Wiszneauckas, Wheaton, Md."
---"That Cake," Washington Post, March 11, 1976 (p. VA2)
The earliest recipe we find for pistachio cake also employs a packaged cake mix. Note! This is
"mock pistachio"!
Compare with these:
[1975]
Topping for Cake
[1976]
Icing
[1976]
Cover-Up Icing
ABOUT PISTACHIOS
"Pistachio, Pistacia vera, a small tree native to parts of West Asia and the Levant between Turkey
and Afghanistan, bears nuts which have for long been highly prized. The earliest traces of
pistachios being eaten in Turkey and the Middle East date back to about 7000BC; and the species
has been cultivated and improved during serveral millenia...Pistachio trees were introduced from
Asia to Europe in the 1st century AD, by the Romans."
"Pistachio...The word originated in Persian as pistah, and reached the West via Greek
pistakion. English originally borrowed if from French as pistace."
"Pistachio nut. A native of central Asia and member of the cashew family, the pistachio nut has
been cultivated for some 3,000 years and has a long history of popularity in the Mediterranean
world. But it was not until the 1930s, with the advent of vending machines, that pistachio nuts
(also called pistache) imported from Italy became something of a rage in the United States as a
snack food...Following World War II, the evergreen trees that bear pistachios were imported to
California, and although the imported nuts are still dyed, most American-grown pistachios are
sold without dye, in naturally tan shells."
"The dying of pistachios is not a Middle Eastern tradition but is said to have originated with a
Brooklyn street vendor named Zaloom who colored his pistachios red to distinguish them from
his competitors. The idea caught on--especially in the East--that most pistachios used to be dyed
red. This is no longer true, with only about 15 percent of those sold today so colored."
Pistachio history, California
Pistachio Commission
ABOUT PISTACHIOS IN COOKERY
"This pistachio, with its unique color and mild but distinctive flavour, has always been a luxury,
costing three or four times as much as other nuts. It is generally eaten roasted and salted as a
dessert nut. In cooking it is often used as a garnish or decoration, both in sweet and savory
dishes. For example, it figures in in some of the finest pilaf dishes and in European pates and
brawns which are served in slices, so that the nuts appear as attractive green specs or
slivers."
"In Mediterranean and Oriental cooking, pistachios are used in poultry sauces and stuffings and
also in hash. In classic cuisine they garnish galantines, brawn (head cheese) and mortadella. In
India pistachio puree is used to season rice and vegetables. Pistachios go best with veal, pork and
poultry. Their green color (often accentuated artificially) makes them popular for creams
(especially for filling cakes, such as the galacien) and for ice creams and ice-cream desserts. In
confectionery it is especially associated with nougat."
Caesar salad dressing
While Ancient Romans certainly enjoyed dressed raw salads, the invention of
Caesar salad belongs to Caesar Cardini,
Tijuana Mexico, circa 1924.
Commercial production notes
When the legendary Caesar Salad was *invented* by Mr. Cardini in his Tijuana eatery in the 1920s, he made the dressing
from scratch. According to his obituary, Mr. Cardini actively promoted commercial manufacture of his famous salad dressing:
"Mr. Cardini devised the salad while operating the restaurant and hotel which still bears his name in Tijuana. Since 1935 he
had lived in Los Angeles and was active in the marketing of the salad dressing he concocted." SOURCE: Los Angeles Times,
November 5, 1956 (p. 31).
According to the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Cardini's brand Caesar Salad dressing was introduced to the American public Feburary 6, 1950:
Word Mark CARDINI'S Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 029. US 046. G & S: SALAD DRESSING AND SALAD DRESSING MIX. FIRST USE:
19500206. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19780915 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 73426710 Filing Date May 19,
1983 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Owner (APPLICANT) CARDINI, ROSA SINAN DBA, CAESAR CARDINI FOODS
INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 4020 SEPULVEDA BLVD. CULVER CITY CALIFORNIA 90230 Attorney of Record R. WELTON WHANN Type of Mark
TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Live/Dead Indicator DEAD Abandonment Date July 5, 1984 [NOTE: Cardini's brand name dressing
is still being made. The current trademark owner is T. Marzetti company.]
Perhaps the convincing push Mr. Cardini needed to capitalize on his name was a reaction to another company which already
started making Caesar Dressing in the late 1940s. The earliest print evidence we find for manufactured Caesar Salad
dressing is this advertisment published in 1949; "Milani's Caesar Dressing for Caesar Salads, 45 cents/6 oz bottle."
SOURCE: Chicago Daily Tribune, September 29, 1949 (p. 9)
Green Goddess dressing
Food historians generally credit Philip Roemer, chef of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, for the
creation of Green Goddess Salad dressing. It was allegedly made in honor of George Arliss, an
actor starring in a play by that same name. The year is fuzzy because the play ran in the 1920s
followed by a popular film version in the 1930s.
Our survey of historic American cookbooks confirms mayonnaise-based salad dressing recipes
proliferated during the early decades of the 20th century. In fact? Entire books were devoted to
salads at that time. We examined several books and found several recipes for mayonnaise-tarragon-anchovy dressings-onion dressings. Given the noteriety of Green Goddess, it seems
surprising to find recipes named such first surfacing in the late 1930s-early 1940s. Sometimes
they are called "Green dressing."
"In the mid-1920s, actor George Arliss starred in a William Archer play called The Green
Goddess. During the San Francisco run, he stayed at the Palace Hotel and dined often at its Palm
Court Restaurant. To honor Arliss, chef Philip Roemer created a new mixed green salad with a
creamy herb dressing. "Green Goddess," he called it."
"Green Goddess. A salad or salad dressing made from anchovies, mayonnaise, tarragon vinegar,
and other seasonings, The salad was created at San Francisco's Palace Hotel (now the Sheraton-Palace) in the mid-1920s at the request of actor George Arliss (1868-1946), who was appearing
in town in William Archer's play The Green Goddess (which opened in New York in 1921 ans as
twice made into a motion picture [1923 and 1930] starring Arliss)."
A SURVEY OF GREEN GODDESS RECIPES
[1937]
[1949]
Green Goddess Salad,br>
1 clove garlic, minced
[1949]
[1949]
[1952]
"Mince 8 to 10 fillets of anchovies with 1 green onion, add minced parsley (1/4 cup) and minced
tarragon (2 tablespoons), 3 cups of mayonnaise, a little (1/4 cup) of tarragon vinegar, and finely
cut chives (1/4 cup). Mix in a bowl that had been rubbed with garlic."
8-10 fillets of anchovies
[1953]
[1961]
Russian
There is some controversy regarding the origin of Russian Salad and Russian Salad Dressing.
Primary evidence confirms these recipes were known in Russia in the 19th century. They were
introduced by the French and known as "Vinaigrette" or "Salad Olivier." American food historians
generally believe that Russian Salad/Dressing are American inventions based on selected ingredients
associated with Russian cuisine.
Russian dressing, as we know it today, it is a creamy vinaigrette concoction. These dressing were popular in the 19th century.
This is also the base for French Dressing.
"Russian dressing. A salad dressing made form mayonnaise, pimiento, chile sauce, green pepper, and
chives. It is so called possible because the mixture was thought to resemble those found in Russian
salads, but it is American in origin, first found in print in 1922."
"I rather doubt that you sill find a recipe for Russian dressing in any Russian cookbook, and it seems
quite definately of American origin. To the best of my knowledge you won't find it in the French
repertory of cooking under sauce Russe or otherwise. It is my belief that the original recipe for the
dressing contained caviar, in addition to mayonnaise, chili sauce, horeseradish, and grated onion, and
that this is the source of the name."
"Like strawberries Romanoff, other dishes that Americans associate with Russia carry Russian names
but are not part of the traditional cusine. These include russian dressing, a mixture of mayonnaise and
chili sauce...Some food writers claim that russian dressing got its name because it once contained
caviar, but that is unlikely. The name probably refers to the Russian love of pickles, as pickles or
relish are often added to the dressing."
The earliest print reference we find for Russian Dressing is a menu from the Gridiron Club: "Endive Salad, Russian Dressing..."
Washington Post, October 10, 1911 (p. 1). According to the article below, Russian salads and their dressings were
fashionable in the years immediately preceding The Great War. Predictably, every cook offered a unique interpretation of this particular salad.
Early recipes
[1914]
Russian salad?
"Salad Olivier. This salad is a creation of a French chef, M. Olivier, who in the 1860s opened a
fashionable Moscow restaurant, The Ermitage, where the salad became so popualr that ever dinner in
the restaurant included it. The original recipe involved grouse meat, crayfish tails, and truffles. The
most respected chefs in town tried to re-create the dish, but it never came out as well as at The
Ermitage, possible because of the unique compound flavoring of the mayonnaise, whose secret M.
Olivier never divulged."
"As for 'Russian salad', as interpereted in western countries (i.e. diced cooked vegetables in or with
mayonnaise), it was essentiallly a French-Russian creation called Vinegrety which had a dressing of
oil and vinegar."
Compare these recipes:
[1861:Russia]
[1903:USA]
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia] 1902 (p.
470-1)
"A request for "Russian Salad Dressing" arouses my curiousity as to what some cook has, quite independent of tradition, given that
name. As far as my experience in a number of countries goes, the salad dressing served with Russian salad is the mayonnaise alone, or for
more exquisite salads a mayonnaise mixed with a bit of gelatin or highly seasoned meat jelly (aspic) melted. In some cases if a fine
salad is wanted each of the ingredients is mixed with a French dressing (marinated), and allowed to stand for an hour or more before
they are put together, and served with a mayonnaise...As to how a Russian salad is different from a French macedoine or jardiniere...
it might be hard to decide, in some countries, but there is probably no doubt but that in Russia smoked salmon and other rfish are used in it.
As it became popular in other countries only the mixture of cooked vegetables has been used, peas and carrots being essential.
Russian sald in Italy is defined as "all kinds of cooked vegetables cut up together and served with mayonnaise."...Artusi says that the
thing called Russian salad (Insalata Russa), "now the mode for dinners," has the fundamental characteristic that cooks slop
together what they please. He states that he makes it simply of lettuce, beet root, green beans, potatoes, carrots, capers,
little cucumber pickles, salt anchovies, and a hard boiled egg. He cuts up and arranges these, according to his own fancy, then
makes a mayonnaise. He prepares a gelatin, puts a layer of it into a mold, and arranges on a layer of it different colored vegetables
et cetera...The following recipe is a famous Belgian cook's recipe: Salad Russe...Add at the moment of serving three or
four tablespoons of 'mayonnaise a la gelee,' (with gelatin) well seasoned which you have beat to a cream on ice. Press in a dom
form and cover with mayonniase. Decorate with details of pickles, of beet root cut in rounds and crescents, with capers and filets of
anchovy."
Thousand Island dressing
Many food historians credit Sophia LaLonde, of Clayton NY, with the invention of Thousand Island dressing. Her
recipe, as legend has it, was popular with vacationers summering in the Thousand Island region between New York and
Canada. LaLonde's hotel, now renamed the Thousand Island Inn, stills serves the "original product." We've been there and it is
delicious! Historians also credit two other originators for this dressing: Oscar Tschirky, of the Waldorf Astoria [NYC] and Chef Theo
Rooms [Chicago]
"National Culinary Progress, official organ of Progressive Culinary Association, published at Chicago, give the origin of Thousand Isalnd Dressing. Chef
Theo Rooms of the Drake Hotel, Chicago, is credited as being the originator of this famous dressing. It was first produced in
The Blackstone of Chicago, when this hotel was first opened, and Mr. Rooms was the chef de garde manger. The magazine quotes
Mr. Rooms to the effect that it was first called Blackstone Dressing. Later, Mr. Rooms, in collaboration with Albert Awater,
maitre d'hotel of the Blackstone, gave to it the name Thousand Island Dressing. Another story of its creation is that it origainted
in the home of George C. Boldt, in the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River, and that it was served under the name of
Thousand Island Dressing in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, before served in The Blackstone."
---Author's note, The Edgewater Beach Hotel Salad Book, Arnold Shircliffe [Hotel Monthly Press:Evanston IL] 1926 (p. 261-262)
The Blacktone connection
What were the original Thousand Island dressing ingredients? If the owners of the hotel (now holders of the trademark) won't divulge, it is
unlikely we will ever know. There is no recipe for Thousand Island Dressing in Oscar Tschirky's famous Cookbook by
"Oscar" of the Waldorf, circa 1908. Our survey of historic American newspapers offers the earliest references to Thousand
Island dressing in 1912. Recipes begin to show up in American cookbooks about as 1916. As one might expect, there were several variations!
Surprisingly? The oldest print reference we found to Thousand Island Dressing came from a Texas newspaper:
Sample early recipes:
[1914]
[1916]
---"Exotic Interlude I," Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New York] 1995 (p. 109-110)
---"Doing Chicken Right:How to avoid glorified Americanese dressed up as ethnic kweezeen,"
Bonnie Wach, SF Weekly (California), March 24, 2004 section: Dining/Food
[1962]
"Chicken and Bean Sprout Salad. Serves 4 to 6. Ingredients: 1 lb bean sprouts, 1/4 lb cooked chicken, cut in strips, Condiments: Salad dressing, 2 Tbs soy
sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/8 tsp MSG. Method: 1. pour boiling water over beansprouts, Rinse with cold water. 2. Drain and cool for 5 minutes. Add chicken. 3.
Add dressing. Chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. 4. Serve cold."
Ads for commerically prepared dressings targeting home cooks appear in the mid-1980s:
---The Fine Art of Chinese Cooking, Dr. Lee Su Jan, [Grammercy Publishing:New York] 1962 (p. 191)
"Chinese Chicken Salad [dressing]
2 tablespoon chopped toasted sesame seeds, 2 tablepoons sugar; 1 level teaspoon of salt; 1 level teaspoon of monosodium glutamate; 1/2 teaspoon of black
pepper; 1/4 cup of salad oil, and 3 tablespoons of vinegar. Combine the ingredients and mix."
---"Round About," Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1963 (p. B28)
"Sesame Seed Oil Dressing.
1/2 tsp. sesame seed oil, 2 tbsp. Chinese plum suace, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp. dry msutard. Combine oil, plum sauce, sugar, vinegar and
mustard, mixing thorougly."
---"Menu Variety in Chinese Dishes," Los Angeles Times, October 17, 1968 (p. G33A)
"Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing.
2 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. Sesame Oil, 1 tsp. salt, 3 tbsp. vinegar, 1/4 cup salad oil, 1/2 tsp. cracked pepper. Put all in bowl and beat with egg beater. Pour over salad
and mix lightly. makes 6 generous servings."
---"International Treats, Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1977 (p. CS_A3)
---"New dressings from the Orient," Los Angeles Times, Feburary 28, 1985 (p. K42)
---An A to Z or Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
85)
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 92)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 147)
---Eating in America: A History, Waverley Rood & Richard de Rochemont [William
Morrow and
Company:New York] 1976 (p. 302-3)
"Cabbage Salad.
2 cups green cabbage, cut into thin strips
2 cups red cabbage, cut into thin strips
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil or 1/4 cup melted butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Mix the above ingredients well ahead of dinner time so that the flavors can marry."
---ibid (p. 116)
Cold Slaugh.
Additional 19th century American recipes,
search recipe name: slaw (retrieves cold slaw, cole-slaw, hot slaw, etc.)
Select firm, fragile heads of cabbage, (no other sort being for for slaugh); having stripped off the
outer
leaves, cleave the top part of the head into four equal parts, leaving the lower part whole, so that
they many
note be separated till shaved or cut fine from the stalk. Take a very sharp knife, shave off the
cabbage
roundwise, cutting it very smoothly and evenly, and at no rate more than a quarter of an inch in
width. Put
the shavings or slaugh in a deep china dish, pile it high, and make it smooth; mix with enough
good vinegar
to nearly fill the dish, a suffient quantity of salt and pepper to season the slaugh; add a spoonful of
whole
white mustard seeds, and pour it over the slaugh, garnish it round on the edge of the dish with
pickled eggs,
cut in ringlets. Never put butter on cabbage that is to be eaten cold, as it is by no means pleasant
to the
taste or sight."
Cut them as for cold slaugh; having put in a skippet enough butter, salt, pepper, and vinegar to
season the
slaugh very well, put it into the seasonings; stir it fast, that it all may warm equally, and as soon as
it gets
hot, serve it in a deep china dish; make it smooth, and disseminate over it hard boiled yolks of
eggs, that are
minced fine."
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile reprint 1839 edition stereotyped by
Shepard &
Stearns:Cincinnati [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 192-3)
About mayonnaise
(and its ancient egg, vinegar & spice precursors)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p.
323)
"Apricots, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Currants, and Like
Berries in Salad. Dust the bottom of a dish with white sugar, put a layer of slices of apricots,
oranges, peaches, or pears, or a layer of the others entire, and dust again; repeat the same till the
whole is in, then add over the whole a pinch of grated nutmeg, and French brandy or rum to suit
your taste, and serve."
---What to Cook and How to Eat It, Peirre Blot [New York:1863] (p. 202)
Fannie
Farmer's recipes
"Fruit Salad. Equal quantities of grape fruit or oranges, apples and celery. Peel the grape fruit or
oranges, carefully removing all the bitter white skin; cut the pulp with bananas and apples into
small dice, and cut the celery fine as for other salads; put the orange and apple together; the latter
will absorb the juice of the orange. Set all on ice--these fruit salads must be ice-cold. Whgen it is
time to serve mix the fruit and celery together, put into a salad bowl, cover with cream dressing
into which has been stirred a third as much cream as there is dressing, and add a little more salt to
it in mixing. Serve in a bed of tender lettuce leaves."
---The American Home Cook Book, Grace E. Denison [Barse & Hopkins:New York]
1913 (p. 378)
"Plenty of fruit is a daily must in meals, so don't overlook fruit salad as an appetizer, main dish,
salad course, or dessert, in keeping up your family's fruit and vitamin quota. Of course, oranges
and grapefruit, lemons, tangerines, and strawberries are especially good vitamin C sources. But
bananas, apples, canned pineapple, peaches, and pears, prunes, apricots--in fact, all fresh, canned,
and dried fruits--lend a helping hand, too."
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, new edition, completely revised [Farrar &
Rinehart:New York] 1944 (p. 564)
[NOTE: This book contains recipes for apple and cottage cheese slad, banana and pineapple
surprise salad, frozen ginger ale salad, frozen pear and cream cheese salad, frozen pineapple and
cheese salad, frozen pisachio cheese salad, fruit salad plate, jellied fruit dessert salad, jellied grape
salad, jellied grapefruit and lime salad, jellied strawberry cheese dessert salad, and several [fresh]
fruit salad bowls.]
"Fruit cocktail. A cup of various fruits served as an appetizer, usually containing pineapple slices,
grapefruit slices, and, if canned, a sweetened liquid. In the 1850s recipe books called the item a
"fruit salad." The term "fruit cocktail" was first used in print in the New York Hotel Review for
1922; "fruit cup" followed in print in 1931."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 135)
---American Century Cookbook, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia]
1902 (p. 439)
Related food?
Ambrosia!
Iceberg wedge (aka Heart of Lettuce)
---"MARKET WATCH 6/23: Iceberg Lettuce," Jeanne McManus, The Washington Post, June 23, 1999, Pg. F04
---"SALADS WITH SIZZLE; HOW DO YOU DRESS UP A SALAD INTO A MEAL? CHEFS OFFER THEIR
SUGGESTIONS," Leslie Kelly, Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA), June 18, 1997, D1
---"CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; An Offering to the Green Goddess," William Grimes,The New York Times, June 14, 2000,
(p. F1)
[1916]
About Iceberg Lettuce
"Lettuce Salad and Roquefort Dressing
Lettuce hearts
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoonful dry mustard
1 saltspoonful salt
1 saltspoonful paprika
3 tablespoonfuls vinegar
Olive oil
3 tablespoonfuls Roquefort cheese
2 hard-cooked eggs
Place the lettuce hearts in a salad bowl which has been rubbed over with the cut clove of garlic. Mix together the mustard, salt,
paprika, vinegar, and beat in olive oil until thick; then gradually add the cheeese and the hard-cooked yolks of eggs rubbed through
a sieve. Pour over the lettuce and serve garnished with the whites of eggs."
---Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Recipes, Marion Harris Neil [David McKay:Philadelphia] 1916 (p. 214)
Form cups from better outer leaves of iceberg lettuce. Cut head into 4 to 6 wedge shaped pieces, then arrange a wedge in each cup
of lettuce. Make one to two lengthwise, then cross-wise cuts almost through the wedge to make cutting of salad with fork easier.
Garnish with strip of pimento, celery curl and carrot strips. Top with favorite dressing."
---"Salads," Chicago Defender, December 10, 1949 (p. 20)
"Lettuce Salad with Roquefort Dressing
1 head lettuce
1 tablespoon chopped chirves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Roquefort French Dressing
Remove outside leaves and core from lettuce; wash and drain. Cut lengthwise into quarters; arrange each on a salad plate; sprinkle
with chives and parsley, and serve with dressing. Serves 4. Instead of Roquefort French Dressing use: Avocado Dressing, Cottage
Cheese Dressing, Frozen Tomato Mayonnaise."
---Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, Ruth Berolzheimer editor [Culinary Arts Institute:Chicago] 1950 (p. 537)
"Salade Subversive
ingredients: lettuce, tomato, Russian Dressing
procedure:
1. cut [lettuce] into wedges
2. cut [tomato] into quarters
3. arrange thusly [wedge in the middle of the plate, tomato quarter on each side]
4. pour over [Russian dressing]--serve."
---The New Wolf in Chef's Clothing: The picture cook and drink book for men, Robert H. Loeb, Jr. [Follett Publishing Company:Chicago]
1950, 1958 (p. 53)
"Head lettuce, or iceberg lettuce, or Simpson lettuce is the most familiar of lettuces. It is the firm, tight, compace head of
light-green leaves. Separated, the leaves make a lettuce cup as a container for potato salad, fruit salad, and so on. Cut in wedges,
it is a favorite of men, particularly those who like to pour blue-cheese dressing over it."
---McCall's Cook Book [Random House:New York] 1963 (p. 490)
Source: Specialty Produce
Macaroni (pasta) salad
[1916]
"Macaroni Salad
1/2 pound (58 sticks) macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoonfuls fresh grated horseradish
1 teaspoonful sugar
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1 pint (2 cups) whipped cream
Crisp lettuce leaves
Break the macaroni into small pieces, boil in plenty of boiling salted water until tender, then
drain and cool. Mix the horseradish with the sugar, salt, and whipped cream; fold in the macaroni
and serve heaped on lettuce leaves.
Another Method.--Boil one package of macaroni, then rinse it with cold water and drain. Cut it
into short lengths, place one-half of it in a jar of vinegar in which boiled beets have been pickled,
and let it remain until colored a pretty pink. Line a salad dish with crisp lettuce leaves and
arrange the pink and white macaroni in alternate rings. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and tiny
leaves of lettuce. Serve with boiled salad dressing. Spaghetti may be used in the same way."
---Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Recipes, Marion Harris Neil [David
McKay:Philadephia] 1916 (p. 216)
"Macaroni salad.
Cook 1 pound of elbow macaroni according to the directions on the package. Drain thoroughly
and prepare as you do Potato Salad 3."
---James Beard Cookbook, in collaboration with Isabel E. Callvert [E.P. Dutton:New York] 1961
(p. 385)
[NOTE: Potato Salad 3 is dressed with mayonnaise and garnished with pimiento strips, slices
hard-cooked egg, sliced olives and capers.]
"THE pasta salad, that darling of the carry-out shop, is here to stay. Especially in warm weather,
the idea of tossing vegetables or seafood or poultry or meat or just herbs with a dressing,
anchoring the mixture with cooked and cooled macaroni, tortellini or spaghetti to make it filling
enough to be dinner is especially appealing.
Pasta salads can be strictly improvisational, relying more on a pass through the leftover
department of the refrigerator than on a planned shopping list. The inspiration can be Italian,
French, Asian or a combination of these influences assembled with a kind of artful freedom that
only a contemporary American kitchen can provide. Thus, Asian sesame oil and wine vinegar
imported from France that coexist on the pantry shelves can be called upon to dress the salad.
When preparing a pasta salad, it is important to bear in mind that pasta is high in starch. The
salad should be well-lubricated to prevent the mixture from becoming sticky and gummy, which
it often does as it waits to be served, especially if it has been refrigerated. The one problem with
a great many of the pasta salads prepared by catering shops is that they are too stiff. There are
two ways of alleviating this problem.
First, when preparing pasta, especially for a salad - and even when using leftover pasta that has
been in the refrigerator - the pasta should be well-rinsed in cold water. Don't worry if some of the
water still clings to the pasta after it has been drained, because the little that does will dilute the
sauce and may actually enhance the texture of the salad, keeping the dressing smooth and satiny.
Second, the dressing should be thick enough to cling to the pasta and the other ingredients but
should not be so stiff that it will not drop from a spoon. A heavy mayonnaise should be diluted
with some lemon juice, milk, vinegar and oil, well-stirred yogurt or other liquid. And after a
pasta salad has been refrigerated, it should be mixed to make sure that the dressing still coats the
ingredients and has not been absorbed by the pasta.
Adding cucumbers or tomatoes with their high moisture content to pasta salads helps maintain
the pleasing, smooth balance of pasta and dressing. If a salad has been refrigerated, always check
the seasonings before serving, because cold temperatures tend to diminish flavors.
The following salads can be served as appetizers, main dishes or side dishes for lunches, suppers
or picnics. Chicken and Ziti Salad 1 pound ziti Salt 1/2 cup chicken consomme 1 1/2 cups fresh
green beans, in
1/2-inch length (about 1/2 pound) 2 small zucchinis, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch
thick slices 1 cup peeled, diced cucumber 4 cups diced cooked chicken 1/2 cup minced red onion
freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise, preferably home-made 3 tablespoons minced
fresh dill 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts.
1. Drop ziti into boiling, salted water and cook until tender, about eight minutes. Drain, rinse in
cold water and drain again thoroughly. Mix with consomme and set aside.
2. Drop beans into boiling salted water and cook for one minute. Add the zucchini and cook two
minutes longer, until the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy. Drain, allow to cool and mix
with ziti.
3. Add cucumber, chicken and onion. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Fold in the
mayonnaise and two tablespoons of the dill.
4. Salad should be refrigerated if not used immediately. If the dressing has become too stiff, mix
in a little more consomme. Check salad for seasoning and garnish the top with remaining
tablespoon of dill and the walnuts before serving.
Yield: 8 servings.
1. Bring a quart of water to a boil. Drop in the bean sprouts. When the water returns to the boil,
remove the sprouts with a slotted spoon and drain.
2. Add the shrimp to the boiling water. When the water returns to a full boil the shrimp will have
turned pink. Remove shrimp and drain. As soon as the shrimp are cool enough to handle, shell,
de-vein and slice them in half lengthwise. Combine shrimp, bean sprouts and cucumbers and mix
with ginger, scallions, coriander, sherry, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and hot chili oil.
3. Place cooled, drained noodles in a bowl, toss with the shrimp mixture and serve. Yield: 2 to 4
servings.
1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, wine vinegar, olive oil, one tablespoon each of basil
and parsley, the capers and olives in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
You should need very little salt.
2. Bring at least four quarts of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti or linguine and cook until al
dente, six to eight minutes. Drain well and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. The
rinsing will cool the pasta and also remove enough starch so it is less likely to become sticky.
3. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Taste and reseason with salt and pepper if desired. Sprinkle with
remaining basil and parsley and serve. Yield: 4 to 6 servings."
---"FOOD; MANY FACES OF PASTA FOR SUMMER DINING," Florence Fabricant, New
York Times, Jun 20, 1982, pg. A.16
Panzanella
---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1997 (p. 178)
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New
York] 1997 (p. 304)
---"Panzanella, a Salad Perfect for Summer," Marian Burros, De Gustibus column, The New York Times, June
21, 1986 (p. 52)
---"The Chef's Table: Panzanella done just right," Jim Coleman and Candace Hagan, Philadelphia
Daily News, July 26, 2004, SECTION: FOOD NEWS
Potato salad
"Early potato salad: John Gerrard in 1597 writes about potatoes and their virtues and said that
"they are sometimes boiled and sopped in wine, by others boiled with prunes, and likewise others
dress them (after roasting them in the ashes) in oil, vinegar and salt, every man according to his
own taste. However they be dressed, they comfort, nourish and strengthen the body." This is one
of the first potato salads mentioned in any book."
---Edgewater Beach Hotel Salad Book, Arnold Shircliffe [Hotel Monthly Press:Evanston
IL] 1928 (p. 231)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 253)
---"A world of potato salads; Labor Day tradition gets global makeover," John DeMers, The
Houston
Chronicle, August 29, 2001 (Food: p. 1)
---"Potato salad revisited," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 28, 1989 (Food p. 1)
[1633] Potato
New York style (aka deli style) potato salad
---Herball or General Historie of Plants, John Gerard [London]
Cook them [potatoes] without water in an oven, or hot cinders, if handy; then peel and cut them
in thin slices; place them in a salad dish, season with chopped parsley, sweet oil, vinegar, salt, and
pepper, and serve. You may used butter instead of pil if you serve warm; you may also add slices
of beets, and of pickled cucumbers, according to taste."
---What to Eat and How to Cook It, Pierre Blot [Appleton and Company:New York] (p.
194)
"Potato Salad.
When materials for a salad are scarce, this is a good way of disposing of cold potatoes. Slice
them, and dress them with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, precisely like any other salad; adding a
littel chives, or an onion, and parsley chopped fine. If oil is not agreeable, sue cream or a little
melted butter."
---Jennie June's American Cookery Book, Mrs. J. S. Croly [Excelcior Publishing:New
York] 1878 (p. 122)
French &
boiled dressings
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln [page through site for
complete
recipes]
The best potato salad is made from waxy yellow potatoes, cooked with their jackets on, the
peeled, cut up while still warm and dressed before they become cold. Put the potatoes into a salad
bowl, then pour over them a little hot water, or, better still, a little hot broth from the soup
kettle. Season it at once with salt, pepper, and for every teaspoonful vinegar use four spoonfuls
olive oil. Add as you like chopped onion, parsley, chives or celery, toss without breaking the
potatoes, then set in the ice box to chill. When ready to serve put into individual lettuce leaves or
a salad bowl lined with lettuce, and on top put a spoonful of boiled dressing as a garnish."
---New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford (p. 98)
[NOTE: This book does not contain a recipe for titled "boiled dressing." It includes a recipe for
cooked salad dressing which is boiled (p. 93). Indgredients are: egg yolks, dry mustard, salt,
butter, hot vinegar, and cream. This dressing is to be stored in a cool place. No suggestions
regarding serving temperature. A separate recipe for mayonnaise appears on page 94.
Boil in their jackets in a covered saucepan until they are tender:
Potatoes
Chill them for several hours, peel and slice them. Marinate them well with:
French dressing
Soup stock or canned boullion.
Chop or slice and add:
Hard-cooked eggs
Onions
Olives
Pickles
Celery
Cucumbers
Capers
Season the salad well with:
Salt
Paprika
A few grains of cayenne
Horseradish (optional)
After 1 hour or more add:
Mayonnaise dressing, boiled salad dressing or sour cream or cream."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs Merrill:Indianapolis] 1946 (p. 407)
The general concensus of online recipes is
that New York Style potato salad is served cold and has a mayo/vinegar dressing. Culinary
evidence suggests this recipe has British or French roots. The Brooklyn Cookbook, Lyn
Stallworth and Rod Kennedy, Jr. [Knopf:New York] 1994 notes Kosher deli potato salad never
contains milk (p. 175). A recipe for Deli potato salad is also found on this page.
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 305)
"Taco Salad
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili pepper
1 can (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 medium head iceberg lettuce
1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
2 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and cut in wedges
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 and 1/2 c. corn chips or tortilla chips
AR, Alhambra, CA
If you like more hotly seasoned Mexican foods, you might add chopped canned green chilis or
liquid hot pepper seasoning to taste; stir into the meat mixture with the tomato sauce."
About tacos.
---Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century, Laura Shapiro [North Point Press:New
York] 1986 (p. 96-99)
[NOTE: If you are interested in the subject of American salad, this book is excellent. Your librarian can help
you find a copy.]
[1934]
"A Salad Bowl Salad
Don't always hide the secrets of your salad making within the four walls of your kitchen. Sometimes carry all the "fixins" right
to the table in a big roomy wooden or china bowl or even a gay kitchen mixing bowl and toss and serve there. To the greens in teh
salad bowl--a mixture of them is always nice--you may add rosy red radishes, whole or in slices; crisp cucumber, thinly sliced;
tender young scallions; asparagus, cooked, chilled and cut in suitable pieces; thin green pepper rings; crisp celery; ripe,
green or stuffed olives; or tomatoes, cubed or sliced. A lone strip of cold bacon may be cut in small pieces and added. And toss in
that one cold potato, cut in cubes, or the spoonful of peas or string beans, or the one remaining stalk of asparagus. Slices of hard-cooked
egg or pieces of cold meat, chicken or fish, contribute to a hearty salad too. And cheese either cubed, sliced or broken in pieces
is always a welcome addition to the salad bowl. The mellow flavor of avocado adds much to the fruit salad look especially when
raw strawberries, halves of cooked prunes, sections of orange, pineapple or grapefruit, fresh or canned are combined with it! And don't
froget the grapes. Such combinations as the above tossed and turned in a well-seasoned French or Mayonnaise dressing make a salad fit for
the gods. And don't forget to cut a peeled bud of garlic rubbed on the inside of your salad bowl or dropped into your French
dressing for a short time is a favorite seasoning to many."
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Dorothy B. Marsh et al [Good Housekeeping:New York 2nd edition, 1934 (p. 60)
---"Tuna Now Popular Fish Food," Christian Science Monitor, Februrary 19, 1913 (p. 11)
[1916]
Tuna fish salad
1 can Tuna fish
shredded lettuce
salt and red pepper to taste
1 tablespoonful vinegar
2 tablespoonfuls lemon-juice
Mayonnaise dressing
1 tablespoonful capers
1 hard-cooked egg
2 or 3 stuffed olives.
Line a salad dish with shredded lettuce. Break the fish into pieces and place it on top of the lettuce. Mix the salt, red
pepper, lemon-juice, and vinegar toghether and pour over the fish. Chill, and when ready to serve, decorate with the
capers, slices of hard-cooked egg, and the stuffed olives. Service with mayonnaise dressing.
Another method.--Flake one can of Tuna fish with a silver fork, add one and one-half cupful of diced celery and one-half
cupful of broken English walnut meats, mix with mayonnaise--or boiled dressing. Serve on crisp lettuce leaves."
---Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Recipes, Marion H. Neil [1916] (p. 245-6)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 343)
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones [Vintage:New York] 1981, 2nd
ed. (p. 398)
---"Apples fill a variety of culinary needs and are available all year long," Peter Kump, Chicago
Tribune, February 15, 1990, 11A
Peel two raw apples and cut them into small pieces, say about half and inch square, also cut some
celery the same way, and mix it with the apple. Be very careful not to let any seeds of the apples
be mixed with it. The salad must be dressed with a good mayonnaise.
---The Cookbook by "Oscar" of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [Saafield Publishing
Company:Chicago] 1908 , copyright 1896 (p. 433)
Watergate salad & cake
The answer seems obvious to everyone who knows a little about American political events during
that time period. Interestingly enough, it has yet to be confirmed. The Kraft does not take credit
for the name. In fact? No one does.
---THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING; CRASHING WATERGATE, Louis Mahoney; The
Richmond Times Dispatch, August 4, 1999 (p. F-1)
---TRIVIA, ROGERS CADENHEAD, Knight Ridder Newspapers, The Record (Bergen
County, NJ) March 15, 2000
---from Kraft's old Web site (not included in current pages)
Of course, very few recipes are *invented* overnight. They are usually variations on popular food
that have beens served for years.
---The Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee
Ornelas, Volume 2, (p.1835)
California Pistachio Commission
Dole Company
[1975]
"Watergate Salad
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple (undrained)
1 box instant pistachio pudding mix
1 1/2 cups small marshmallows
1 (9-ounce) box whipped topping mix
1 cup or less walnuts or pecans
Mix undrained pineapple with pudding by pouring pudding into pineapple. Stir. Add rest of ingredients. Stir by hand. Chill before
serving. C.K."
---"Anne's Reader Exchange," Washington Post, November 13, 1975 (p. C17)
---"A Watergate Cake Mania," Alexander Sullivan, Washington Post, February 26, 1976 (p. B2) [Recipe included, see below 1976]
[1962]
Pistachio-Almond
Into [angel food mix] cake batter, fold a few drops green food color, 1/4 teasp. Almond extract,
3/4 minced, blanched almonds."
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Dorothy B. Marsh [Good Housekeeping:New York]
1962 (p. 457)
"Watergate Cake
1 box white cake mix
1 box pistachio instant pudding
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup club soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Mix all ingredients well (4 to 4 minutes). Bake in 12-by-9-inch greased pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
1 box pistachio instant pudding
1/4 cup cold milk
1 (9-ounce) box whipped topping mix
Nut meats and maraschino cherries
Beat milk into instant pudding mix. Prepare topping mix according to instructions on box. Fold into pudding mixture.
Spread oncake and top with nuts and cherries. C.S.R. Arlington."
---"Anne's Reader Exchange," Washington Post, November 13, 1975 (p. C17)
Watergate Cake
1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant pistachio pudding
1 box white cake mix (any brand)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup ginger ale
3 eggs
Mix together--any order-bake at 350 degrees--30 to 40 minutes. It isn't necessary to grease the pan.
One large or two small containers frozen whipped topping
1 box instant pistachio pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
Mix together until smooth. Top off with nuts, coconuts or cherries. Lovely to look at and very moist."
---"A Watergate Cake Mania," Alexander Sullivan, Washington Post, February 26, 1976 (p. B2)
"Here is a fantastic cake recipe that I like to prepare for special occasions," writes Nels Wenman. "It was sent to me by a
cousin in Arizona."
Watergate Cake with Cover-Up Icing
1 (18 1/2-ounce) package white cake mix
1 (3 1/2-ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
3 eggs, unbeaten
1 cup lemon-lime carbonated beverage
Cover-Up Icing
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and lemon-lime in a bowl. Beat until well-blended. Pour into a greased and floured
13X9-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes. Cool. Spread with Cover-Up Icing and sprinkle with coconut and pecans.
2 (1 1/2-ounce) envelopes nondairy whipped topping mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (3 1/2-ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
Beat whipped topping mix, milk and pudding mix together until smooth and thick."
---"My Best Recipe," Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1976 (p. H6)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p.
610)
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 258)
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Krienhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge
University Press:Cambridge] 2000 Volume 2 (p. 1835)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York]
1999 (p. 243)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p.
610)
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York]
2001
(p. 900)
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 267)
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]
1999 (p. 144-5)
[NOTE: This book contains a recipe supplied by the Sheraton-Palace, no date.]
"Green Goddess Salad Dressing
Combine three tablespoons finely chopped parsley, three tablespoons sliced green onion, two tablespoons chopped chives or tops of green
onions, one two-ounce can anchovy fillets, one cup mayonnaise, one tablespoon tarragon vinegar, two tablespoons lemon juice, one-fourth
teaspoon salt and dash of pepper. Mix well. Makes two cups dressing and serves eight."
---"Requested Recipes," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1937 (p. A6)
"This California creation...originated in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. And Miss Genevieve Callahan says in her appetizing
volume, "The California Cook Book," that it was named in honor of George Arliss when he was appearing in "The Green Goddess." This
recipe, tested in our kitchen, as it comes from our informant, follows:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Cracked pepper
2 teaspoons minced chives
2/3 small tin anchovy fillets, finely chopped
Oil contained in the tin of anchovies
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 medium head romaine
1. Place garlic in salad bowl. Blend in all the remaining ingredients except the parsley and romaine. Add the cracked pepper to
taste. Let stand at room temperature for an hour or longer.
2. Just before serving add the parsley and break into the bowl the romaine leaves. Toss together well. Yield: four to six servings."
---"News of Food: A Reader Swears by Green Goddess Salad...", Jane Nickerson, New York Times, April 29, 1949 (p. 26)
"You have heard, of course, of the Green Goddess Dressing? This originated at the Palace by today there are as many versions of teh
Goddess as ways to make apple pie. Here's the original recipe:
Green-Goddess Dressing
1 clove garlic
4 anchovy fillets, finely cut
2 tabplespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
Cut garlic clove in half; rub cut sides over salad bowl; add anchofy, onion, parsley, chopped tarragon, chives and tarragon
vinegar. Add mayonniase, gently mix until thoroughly blended. Yield: 1 3/4 cups. Serve over romaine, escarole and chicory."
---"How America Eats: San Francisco...Palace Court Salad," Clementine Paddleford, Los Angeles Times, September 11, 1949 (p. G36)
"Green Goddess Salad Dressing, Serves 6
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbls. Lemon juice
1 cup Brown Derby Mayonniase
1 rounding tbs. Anchovy paste
2 tbs. Tarragon vinegar
2 tbls. Garlic vinegar
2 tbls. Shallot vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
Add lemon juice to cream, then mix with other ingredients. Serve with green salad. The Green
Goddess Salad Dressing originated more than thirty years ago. It was named for the play in which
George Arliss was starring and was first served at a testimonial dinner given him in the opening
night in San Francisco. Delicately flavored, its smooth consistency causes this dressing to fully
coat each leaf in the bowl."
---Brown Derby Cookbook [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1949 (p. 64-5)
"Green Goddess Dressing
There have been innumerable imitations and variation of this famous salad dressing since it was
first created at the Palace Hotel, in honor of George Arliss, who was opening in William
Archer's play The Green Goddess. This recipe is one given me by the Palace Hotel, and who
should know better than they how it is prepared? The parenthetical notes are mine, added
egotistically for fear that laymen may find the chef's directions a trifle vague.
1 green onion
1/4 cup minced parsley
2 tablespoons minced tarragon
3 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup finely cut chives.
NOTE: There is a growing tendency to add sour cream to Green Goddess dressing, as there is to
add it to almost everything. Do so if you wish, and cut down substantially on the mayonniase.
NOTE: Another version of Green Goddess: 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of minced parsley, 1/4
cup of tarragon vinegar, 2 teaspoons fresh (or 1 of dried) tarragon (the latter soaked in the
vinegar and strained out). To this add 4 minced anchovies or 2 tablespoons of anchovy paste, and
either 2 tablespoons of minced green onions or chives. Thin with a little cream if desired."
---West Coast Cook Book, Helen Brown, 1952 reprint by the Cookbook Collectors Library (p.
318-9)
"Green Salad Dressing
[About 2 Cupfuls]
Combine in a bowl:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar, wine vinegar, or other
1 tablespoons garlic vinegar
2 tablespoons herb vinegar
2 tablespoons anchovy paste
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or chives.
Mix these ingredinets well. Serve them over vegetables of fish."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rommbauer Becker [Bobbs-Merrill
Company:Indianapolis] 1953 (p. 496)
[NOTE: This recipe is not included in the 1946 or previous editions.]
"Green Goddess sauce
[yields 2 cups]
1 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
3 anchovies, chopped
1/4 cup finely cut chives or green onions with tops
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
Blend all the ingredients except the sour cream. Fold in the sour cream. Serve with chilled cooked fish."
---New York Times Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1961 (p. 449)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999
(p. 278)
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman [Times
Books"New York] 1985 (p. 376)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University
Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 379)
[1912]
"Vegetable Salad, Russian Dressing
For this delicious salad, arrange on lettuce some string beans, asparagus, beets and corn. Serve with Russian dressing, which is made
by thinning a mayonnaise dressing with chili sauce, chopped parsley, onion and green pepper."
---"Tested Recipes," Wilkes-Barre Times [PA], December 4, 1912 (p. 16)
"Russian Dressing
A very excellent recipe for "Russian Dressing" is as follows: Get a large bowl and mixer, then beat yolk of 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon of mustard and
1 of salt, a dash of paprika and 1/2 cup vinegar. Mix up well and, while mixing, add 1 pinch olive oil and continue mixing until
thick. Strain one-half bottle of chili sauce throuh a cloth and mix what remains with the dressing. Add some chopped chives and a
dahs of Worcestershire sauce and the dressing is complete."
---"Household Department," Boston Daily Globe, January 23, 1914 (p. 14)
What we Americans know as Russian Salad originated in the that country in the 19th century. It was
created by a French chef and composed (partly) of native ingredients. Most notably, beets and pickles.
In Russia it was called "Salad Olivier," after the chef who concocted it:
---The Art of Russian Cuisine, Anne Volokh [MacMillan:New York] 1983 (p. 60)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 676)
"Vinaigrette.*
Take various cooked meats: game or wild fowl; veal or beef; or boiled fish, such as sturgeon, pike or
salmon. Add 1-2 boiled or baked beets, 1 spoon cornichons, 1 salted or fresh large, peeled cucumber,
1 herring, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 5-6 marinated saffron milk-cal mushrooms, 1 spoon pickles, 5-6 boiled,
finely chopped potatoes, 2 spoons capers, 3 spoons sauerkraut, 1/2 glass white beans, boiled in salted
water, and 20 pitted olives. Cube all these ingredients and pour on mustard sauce, made by mixing
together salt, pepper, 1/2 glass or more vinegar, about 2 spoons olive oil, 1 1/2 spoons prepared mustard,
and 2-3 pieces sugar, if desired. Mix the sauce with the vegetables arrange on a platter, and surround
with attractively sliced boiled potatoes and beets. Place parsley all around or decorate with variously
colored aspic, lemon, and hard-boiled eggs. For fast days, omit all meat and dairy products."
* Internationally, this salad and others like it have become known a "Russian salad," while in Russia
they are often called "Olivier salad," after the French chef of that name who in the 1880s ran a
fashionable Moscow restaurant called the Hermitage."
---Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' A Gift to Young Housewives, translated and
introduced by Joyce Toomre [Indiana University Press:Bloomington] 1992 (p. 298)
"Russian salad.
12 anchovies
2 small gherkins
1/2 pint of aspic jelly
1 small potato
1/2 can of mushrooms
1 head of celery
1/2 pint of mayonnaise
2 eggs
1/2 pint of carefully cooked peas
1 good-sized beet
1 boiled carrot
2 tablespoonfuls of capers
1 pound of boiled halibut, or salmon
1/2 can of caviar
Stand a small bomb mold in a pan of cracked ice. Make the aspic; cut the anchovies into halves. Chop
fine the potato, beet and carrot, whcih should all be cooked; chop the mushrooms and celery. Put a
little of the aspic into the bottom of the mold, on top of which put a few fillets of anchovies, a little
chopped white of hard boiled eggs, a little of the mixed vegetables, and a few slices of gherkins; then
the mushrooms, and then a layer of cold boiled fish; then another layer of anchovy fillets, and arrange
as before. Pour over the remaining quantity of aspic which must be cold, not hard, and stand in a cold
place overnight for several hours. When ready to serve, dip the mold quickly into hot water; turn out
on crisp lettuce leaves; make a hole in the centre of the mold by twirling around a tablespoon, taking
out the piece, and fill the space with caviar; garnish the dish with finely chopped onion and triangular
pieces of buttered pumpernickel."
---"Economical Housekeeping," Jane Eddington, Chicago Daily Tribune, September 17, 1913 (p. 11)
The earliest print reference we found for Blackstone Dressing was a dinner menu from the Hotel Holland Cafe, Duluth Minnesota,
September 19, 1915, 6 to 8PM. "Head lettuce and Orange Salad, Blackstone Dressing," Duluth-News Tribune (MN), September
19, 1915 (p. 11). The earliest recipe we found was this:
[1919]
"Blackstone Dressing
Mix with four tablespoonfuls of mayonnaise dressing four tablespoonfuls of whipped cream, two of chili sauce and two of tomato
catsup with two of vinegar. Roquefort cheese may be added if desired."
---"Helps for Home Needs," Pueblo Chieftan [Colorado], Feburary 28, 1919 (p. 5)
"At University of Texas tent at the State Fair yesterday, Miss Rich gave a lecture on "Salds and Salad Dressing,"...Demonstration
is given. Tomato and green pepper salad, vegetable salad with thousand island dressing and stuffed cherry salad were prepared. The
following is a recipe for the vegetable salad and the dressing...thousand island dressing. This dressing is made by adding
chopped onions, green pepper, nut meats, olives and pimentos to any good mayonnaise or cooked salad dressing."
---"University of Texast Tent is Thronged," Dallas Morning News [Texas], October 19, 1912 (p. 9)
[NOTE: the name of this dressing is NOT capitalized in this article.]
[1912]
"Thousand Island Dressing
Take one cup mayonnaise dressing, mix, with one-half cup whipped cream, add small amount of Tarragon vinegar, one-half teaspoonful
of Imperial Sauce, then chop one hard boiled egg, one green pepper, one pimento, one pinch chives, mix well together and squeeze
the juice of one lemon before serving. This sauce can be served with any kind of salad."
---"Thousand Island Dressing," Kansas City Star [Missouri], November 26, 1912 (p. 7)
"Thousand Island Dressing
Some one has asked you for the recipe for "Thousand Island" dressing. it is the oil mayonnaise, made as usual, then enough
chili sauce added to satisfy the desires of the cook...The influx of recipe for the dressing...indicated, and after weeks of
vain solicitation for the formula, reminds one of the beraking up of a 'log jam' in rivers that border lumbering districts. Were
I to undertake the publication of one-half that like before me, there would be room for nothing else in our Corner for a month to
come. The oddest part of the flood is that no three recipes are alike. One is ready to ask if tha number may not, in the long run,
rival that of the islands from which the formula borrowed its name. The honorable authority authority quoted above has apparently
supplied the key to the enigma. All have one and the same foundation. And many have builded thereupon."
---"Marian Harlan's Helping Hand," Marian Harland, Chicago Daily Tribune, February 6, 1914 (p. 16)
"Thousand Island Dressings
No. 1.--Mix one-half cupful of mayonnaise dressing with one-half cupful of whipped cream, add two tablespoonfuls of
chopped pimientoes, one tablespoonful of chopped green peppers, one chopped hard-cooked egg, one-half teaspoonful
of chopped chives, one-half tablespoonful of tomato catchup and one-half tablespoonful of tarragon vine
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