Salad Dressings

Salad Dressings

Salad is a non-runny, ready-to-eat dish made of heterogeneous ingredients in a wet or once wet base served chilled or at a moderate temperature. Many people use the word "salad" to describe light, savory leafy vegetable dishes often served with a sauce or dressing but the category usually additionally includes dishes made of such ingredients as fruits, grains, meats, seafood, and sweets. It has been pointed out that is difficult to define what is meant by the term "salad" - many salads use raw vegetable, but some salads use cooked ingredients, and most salads use vegetables, but such things as fruit salads (which use fruit rather than vegetables also exist.

Most salads are served cold, although some, such as south German potato salad, are served warm. Some consider the warmth of the dish to exclude it from the salad category. These people may call the warm mixture a casserole, a sandwich topping or more specifically name it the ingredients comprising it, e.g. potatoes in, say, a mayo-base cooked with bacon.

Leafy vegetable salads are generally served with a dressing, as well as various garnishes such as nuts or croutons, and sometimes with meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains.

Salads may be served at any point during a meal, such as:

• Appetizer salads, light salads to stimulate the appetite as the first course of the meal.
• Side salads, to accompany the main course as a side dish.
• Main course salads, usually containing a portion of heartier fare, such as chicken breast, slices of beef.
• Palate-cleansing salads, to settle the stomach after the main course.
• Dessert salads, sweet versions often containing fruit, gelatin and/or whipped cream.