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Some forms of salad have been eaten for centuries, originally made primarily from cabbage and tubers, flavored with vinegar, oils, and herbs. The ancient Greeks believed that raw green vegetables promoted good digestion, and the Romans agreed. The first records of lettuce appeared in the 6th century BC. C., although they bore little resemblance to our current varieties.

Salads have come a long way from the pedestrian version of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. Today there is no end to the hundreds of varieties, ingredients and dressings available to our salad-crazed nation. In the 1920s, they achieved success when restaurant chefs created Caesar, Chef, Cobb and fruit salads. Canned vegetables and fruits became more available and added to the mix, allowing Americans to eat salads year-round. Plain vinegar and oil made way for bottled dressings and mayonnaise, paving the way for “united salads.” It sounds a little weird, but this category includes some of our favorites: Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, Egg Salad, Ham Salad, Shrimp and Crab Salad. Chicken came first, appearing in cookbooks in the mid-19th century, tuna much later with the advent of canned tuna. In the late 1930s, Spam made ham salad easy and egg salad a natural. With the introduction of Jello, molded salads took a colorful place at any lunch.

Restaurateur Robert Cobb created his namesake salad at his Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood; The chef’s salad debuted at the Ritz Carlton in New York and originally included sliced ​​ox tongue along with ham and cheese. (Fortunately, in later years, turkey or chicken replaced ox tongue.) In the early days of Hollywood, the Caesar salad was embraced by stars, who happily ate this trendy salad at some of their favorite restaurants. The creator, Caesar Cardini, eventually bottled and sold his signature dressing in the Los Angeles area. A favorite Chicago restaurant, the Blackhawk, featured its signature “rotating salad bowl” alongside each menu entrée, served tableside.

French chefs made vinaigrette dressings with oil, herbs, minced shallots, and paprika throughout the 19th century. Those especially adventurous added tomato sauce, which became the base of the classic French dressing. Kraft Foods, in 1939, introduced its popular orange version. Boomers remember it being sprinkled on iceberg lettuce. Miracle Whip appeared around the same time, labeled as a salad dressing, but was primarily used to bind ground meat, chicken, or eggs for a tasty sandwich filling. In the 1920s, the Green Goddess dressing room was created in a San Francisco restaurant in honor of a play of the same name. (Good thing Death of a seller did not start that same year.)

Colonial America grew lettuce in their home gardens, along with cabbage, beans, and tubers. A delicate seasonal food, it was enjoyed only in the summer and was not available year-round until the 20th century, when California grew and shipped head lettuce across the country. No doubt enthusiastic President Thomas Jefferson experimented with a number of varieties served daily to his family and dinner guests, with vinaigrette dressing or a sprinkling of herbs and mayonnaise (his chef was trained in France).

As Americans developed more sophisticated tastes, traditional iceberg lettuce took a backseat to romaine lettuce, arugula, endive, radicchio and field greens. Originally, these varieties were considered green for the elite due to price and shelf life. Lately, retro salads are popping up with quarters of iceberg lettuce and dressing. For Boomers who grew up with this stuff, it dates back to the 1950s along with Spam salad, meatloaf, canned fruit cocktail, and popsicles.

With America’s love of pasta, it was only a matter of time before pasta salad emerged, appearing first as a simple macaroni salad, giving way to more sophisticated versions and add-ins.

European immigrants brought their potato salad recipes to the United States, both hot and cold, which used the inexpensive and easy-to-grow potato as a hearty base. Europe was serving potato salad as early as the 17th century, usually mixed with vinegar, oil and bacon, the forerunner of German potato salad, served hot. Warmer climates enjoyed cold potatoes with cream and vegetables. The French, not far behind in the kitchen department, went one step further and added mayonnaise, herbs and mustard – Dijon of course. (No Frenchman worth his salt would even think of using yellow mustard like the Americans do.)

Since the 1970s, when salad bars became strictly, the humble salad has taken center stage, no longer an afterthought alongside a main course. Supermarkets stock pre-packaged lettuce and salad toppings, boxed pasta salad mixes, and rows of colorful vegetables and greens, all ready to dress up. No longer considered “rabbit food”, we can enjoy it almost anywhere. So go to the bar and jump on it.

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