Salads and Salad DressingUnit 5

Salads Salads are very versatile Classified into 7 categories:

Fruit Vegetable Leafy Green Meat Seafood Gelatin Pasta

Parts of a Salad Base

Usually consists of salad greens (lettuce) Body

Main part of the salad, type of salad determines the body

Example: noodles would be the base of a pasta salad Dressing

Poured over or mixed into the salad Adds flavor and acts as binder

Garnish Adds eye appeal and taste

Washing Lettuce Place cut greens in sink or bowl filled

with cold water Gently stir and remove the greens

without allowing them to soak Dry the greens in a salad spinner for 30

seconds

Kinds of Salad Greens Iceberg Escarole Endive Boston Lettuce Bibb Lettuce Curly endive Romaine Watercress Spinach

Vegetable Salad Can be cooked or raw Examples

Cole Slaw Potato Salad Bean salad Cucumber Salad

Should have a variety of textures, colors and tastes

Fruit Salad Very colorful and very healthy Fragile, break down and discolor quickly Needs to be refrigerated Toss salads with lemon or lime juice to

keep from discoloring Don’t “bruise” the fruit by rough

handling

Meat Salads Usually ham, turkey or chicken Meat should be in small, bite size pieces Needs a sauce to go along with it Examples:

Chicken salad Egg salad (since it’s a protein)

Seafood Salads Delicate flavored seafood Leftovers can be used in a salad Many different kinds of seafood can be

used in salads Mixed with vegetables and some kind of

dressing (mayo is very common) Example: Lobster salad on a roll

Gelatin Salads Presented in many forms and colors Must use correct ratio of gelatin to

liquid, or else it does not set up Can use molds to make a neat display Some gelatin salads have whipped

cream mixed in to give it a light, fluffy texture.

Example: Jello

Pasta Salads Pasta salads should be prepared in advance,

so the flavors can blend together. Often has a creamy dressing, or a vinaigrette

dressing Includes vegetables and should be colorful Common ingredients

Cherry tomatoes Onions Olives Nuts Cheeses

Salad Dressings Three different kinds

Oil and vinegar Mixture of oil, vinegar, and seasonings Need to form emulsion, to keep ingredients mixed

together (egg yolks, mustard good for this) EX: Italian dressing

Mayonnaise Semi solid, base for many other dressings Made from oil and egg yolks EX: Egg salad dressing

Boiled or cooked Dressing is cooked before it is added to salad EX: German potato salad