Salads and Dressings

1. Salads and Dressings FACS Standards 8.5.1, 8.5.2, 8.5.3, 8.5.4, 8.5.5, 8.5.6, 8.5.7 Kowtaluk, Helen and Orphanos Kopan, Alice. Food For Today. McGraw Hill-Glencoe. 2004.

2. Ingredients for Salads • Almost any ready-to-eat food from the food groups can be used in a salad • Salad greens – iceberg, Bibb, romaine, Boston, red leaf, curly leaf, spinach, arugula escarole, chicory, watercress, radicchio

3. Any fruit and/or vegetable – fresh, canned, cooked • Sliced, dried, quartered, shredded, cubed

4. Cooked and chilled pasta, grains, legumes, meat, poultry, fish, eggs • Mix these with fruits and vegetables, greens, seasonings – serve with salsa , balsamic vinegar or cider vinegar

5. Salad Dressings • Add richness and flavor, binding agent to hold salad together

6. Oil-based dressings • Italian or vinaigrette • Mixture of oil, vinegar, and seasonings • 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar • Separate easily; must be mixed each time you use them

7. Mayonnaise • Oil, vinegar or lemon juice, seasonings, and eggs • Eggs create an emulsion – evenly blended mixture of 2 liquids that do not normally stay mixed – to keep oil and acid from separating

8. Cooked dressings • Similar to mayonnaise, but use white sauce to replace some of the oil and eggs

9. Dairy dressings • Ranch-style dressings • Usually buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream or cottage cheese • Seasonings added

10. Low-Fat dressings • Check fat content on label • One serving is 2 Tbsp. • Use nonfat yogurt, herbs and spices, prepared mustard and honey, dry prepared mix, fruit juices and flavored vinegars

11. Making a Salad • Appetizer salad – small, tasty salad served at the beginning of meal to stimulate appetite – shrimp cocktail, small garden salad

12. Accompaniment salad – small salad served with a meal – coleslaw, fruit salad, mixed green salad

13. Main dish salad – main course of meal; popular on lunch menus; contain a protein based food along with grains, fruits, and vegetables – chef’s salad – great way to use leftovers

14. Dessert salad – made with fruit

15. Preparing Salad Greens • Refrigerate greens as soon as you get home from store • Clean before storing

16. Iceberg Lettuce • Hold in hands, core side down; hit once or twice on counter to loosen the core; remove core; let cold water run through cavity; place head, core side down in colander and let drain; store drained lettuce in covered plastic container or in plastic bag in the refrigerator

17. Leafy Greens • Pull leaves away from core and wash under cold running water; place each leaf, stem side down in colander to drain water; pat greens before storage; place in plastic container or in large plastic bag and refrigerate

18. Premixed Salad Greens • If package doesn’t say the product has been washed, wash before using

19. Assembling a Salad • Place a leaf on plate as base for your salad • Top with other salad ingredients to make up body or main part of salad

20. Tossed or mixed salads – garden salad, simple blend of greens and vegetables gently tossed with a dressing • For change, layer salad

21. Arranged salad – salad ingredients arranged in striking patterns on a base of greens • Molded salads – salad that holds its shape; many made with gelatin; contain grain product and a binding agent

22. Serving Salads • Arrange pepper rings, grated carrots, sprouts, or other decorative vegetables on greens; sprinkle with cheese, nuts, raisins; add dressing just before serving • Serve in edible bowls or in a pita pocket