Yummy salad

The Romans and ancient Greeks ate mixed greens with dressing, a type of mixed salad.[3][4] 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,[5] John Evelyn attempted with little success to encourage his fellow Britons to eat fresh salad greens.[6] Mary, Queen of Scots, ate boiled celery root over greens covered with creamy mustard dressing, truffles, chervil, and slices of hard-boiled eggs.[citation needed]

Oil used on salads can be found in the 17th-century colony of New Netherland (later called New York, New Jersey and Delaware). A list of common items arriving on ships and their designated prices when appraising cargo included "a can of salad oil at 1.10 florins" and "an anker of wine vinegar at 16 florins".[7] In a 1665 letter to the Director of New Netherland from the Island of Curaçao there is a request to send greens: "I request most amicably that your honors be pleased to send me seed of every sort, such as cabbage, carrots, lettuce, parsley, etc. for none can be acquired here and I know that your honor has plenty,...".[8]

Salads may be sold in supermarkets, at restaurants and at fast food chains. In the United States, restaurants may have a salad bar with salad-making ingredients, which the customers will use to put together their salad.[9] Salad restaurants were earning more than $300 million in 2014.[10] At-home salad consumption in the 2010s was rising but moving away from fresh-chopped lettuce and toward bagged greens and salad kits, with bag sales expected to reach $7 billion per year.[11]

This article is about the type of culinary dish. For other uses, see Salad (disambiguation).
Salad

A garden salad platter served with bread and dressing on the side, consisting of lettuce, beetroot, cucumber, scallions, cherry tomatoes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta
Main ingredients Pieces of vegetables, fruits, eggs, or grains mixed with a sauce.
Variations Many
Cookbook: Salad
Media: Salad
A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients. They are served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a variety of flavors, are often used to enhance a salad.

Garden salads use a base of leafy greens such as lettuce, arugula/rocket, kale or spinach; they are common enough that the word salad alone often refers specifically to garden salads. Other types include bean salad, tuna salad, bread salad (e.g. fattoush, panzanella), vegetable salads without leafy greens (e.g. Greek salad, potato salad, coleslaw), sōmen salad (a noodle-based salad), fruit salad, and desserts like jello salad.

Salads may be served at any point during a meal:

Appetizer salads — light, smaller-portion salads served as the first course of the meal
Side salads — to accompany the main course as a side dish; examples include potato salad and coleslaw
Main course salads — usually containing a portion of one or more high-protein foods, such as eggs, legumes, or cheese
Dessert salads — sweet salads containing fruit, gelatin, sweeteners or whipped cream
When a sauce is used to flavor a salad, it is generally called a dressing; most salad dressings are based on either a mixture of oil and vinegar or a creamy dairy base.