I love Salad 🥗
Lettuce is like conversation: It must be fresh and crisp, and so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it.
-Charles Dudley Warner
A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are often dressed, and typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm.
Why do we call it salad?
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.
The Romans, ancient Greeks, Persians and Indians ate mixed greens with dressing, a type of mixed salad. Salads, including layered and dressed salads, have been popular in Europe since the Greek and Roman imperial expansions. In his 1699 book, Acetaria: A Discourse on Sallets, John Evelyn attempted with little success to encourage his fellow Britons to eat fresh salad greens. Mary, Queen of Scots, ate boiled celery root over greens covered with creamy mustard dressing, truffles, chervil, and slices of hard-boiled eggs.
Learn more about the history of salad on The Food Timeline