Salads and Salad Dressing Unit 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