SALADS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this session the student will
know the following.
 1. Define salads
 2. Types of salads
 3. The categories of salads
 4. Guidelines for salads
 5. Salad bars and buffet service
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DEFINITION OF SALADS
Salads are a category of dishes whose prototype is raw
vegetables served with a sauce or dressing including oil and
an acid as a light savory dish, with a minimum of three
ingredients. Salads also include a variety of related dishes,
including ones with cold cooked vegetables, including grains
and pasta; ones which add cold meat or seafood; sweet
dishes made of cut-up fruit; and even warm dishes. Though
the prototypical salad is light, a dinner salad can constitute a
complete meal.
 Green salads include leaf lettuce and leafy vegetables with a
sauce or dressing. Most salads are served cold, although
some, such as south German potato salad, are served warm.
 Salads are generally served with a dressing, as well as various
garnishes such as nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the
addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains.
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TYPES OF SALADS
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1. Appetizer Salads
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2. Accompaniment Salads
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3. Main Course Salads
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4. Separate-Course Salads
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5. Dessert Salads
APPETIZER SALADS
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Appetizer salads should stimulate the appetite
with fresh, crisp ingredients; a tangy, flavourful
dressing; an attractive, appetizing appearance.
The portion size should not be too large but
substantial enough to serve as a complete course.
The combination of ingredients should be
interesting, not dull or trite eg. Cheese, ham,
salami, shrimp and crabmeat in small quantities
add eye appeal.
Attractive arrangement and garnish are important
to stimulate the appetite.
ACCOMPANIMENT SALADS
Accompaniment salads are served with
the main course.
 Accompaniment salads must balance and
harmonize with the rest of the meal.
 Should be light and flavourful, not too rich.
Eg.Vegetable salads are good choices.
 Combination salads with a variety of
elements are appropriate
accompaniments to sandwiches.
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MAIN-COURSE SALADS
Main-course salads should be large enough
to serve as a full meal and should contain a
substantial portion of protein eg. Meat,
poultry and seafood salads, eggs and cheese.
 Main-course salads should offer enough
variety on the plate to form a balanced meal,
both nutritionally and in flavours and
textures. In addition to the protein, a variety
of vegetables, greens and/or fruits should be
offered.
 Attractive arrangements and good balance
are important.
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SEPARATE-COURSE SALADS
Many fine restaurants serve a refreshing
light salad after the main course. The
purpose is to cleanse the palate after a
rich dinner and to refresh the appetite
and provide a pleasant break before
dessert.
 Separate-course salads must be very light
with a few delicate greens lightly dressed
with vinaigrette. Fruit salads are popular
choices.
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DESSERT SALADS
Dessert salads are usually sweet and may
contain items such as fruits, sweetened
gelatin, nuts and cream.
 Dessert salads are best served as a
dessert or part of a buffet or party menu.
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INGREDIENTS USED IN SALADS
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1. Salad Greensiceberg lettuce,
romaine lettuce,
spinach etc
2. Raw vegetablesavocado, broccoli,
carrots, tomatoes etc
3.Vegetables, Cooked,
canned and pickledolives, beets, corn,
cucumber pickles etc
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4. Starches- potatoes,
grains, croutons, pasta
etc
5. Fruits, fresh, cooked,
canned or frozenapples, coconut,
melons, pears etc
6. Protein foodsmeats, poultry, fish and
shellfish, cheese etc
7. Miscellaneousgelatin, nuts
STRUCTURE OF A SALAD
The four basic parts of a salad are:
 1. Base or Underliner
 2. Body
 3. Garnish
 4. Dressing
 NB: All salads have body and most have
dressing but base and garnish are parts of
only some salads.
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BASE AND UNDERLINER
Leafy greens usually form the base of the
salad. They add greatly to the appearance
of some kinds of salads.
 Cup-shaped leaves of iceberg or Boston
lettuce make attractive bases. They give
height to salad and help to confine loose
pieces of food.
 A layer of loose, flat leaves (such as
romaine, loose-leaf, or chicory) or of
shredded lettuce may be used as a base.
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BODY
This is the main part of the salad.
 Eg. A mixture of greens, starches,
vegetables and protein items.
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GARNISH
A garnish is and edible decorative item that
is added to a salad to give eye appeal and
sometimes as well flavour.
 Garnish should harmonize with the rest of
the salad ingredients. It may be mixed with
the other salad ingredients or added at the
end.
 Often the main ingredients of a salad form
an attractive pattern in themselves and no
garnish is necessary.
 A wide range of fruits, vegetables and
protein foods may be used as garnish.
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DRESSING
Dressing is a seasoned liquid or semi-fluid
added to the body of a salad for flavour,
tartness, spiciness and moistness.
 The dressing should harmonize with the
salad ingredients. Eg. tart dressings for green
and vegetable salads; lightly sweetened
dressings for fruit salads; light dressings for
delicate greens.
 Dressings may be added at service time,
served separately for the customer to add
or mixed with the ingredients ahead of time.
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GUIDELINES FOR ARRANGING
SALADS
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1. Keep the salad off the rim of the plate
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2.Strive for a good balance of colors
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3. Height helps make a salad attractive
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4. Cut ingredients neatly
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5. Make every ingredient identifiable
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6. Keep it simple
CATEGORIES OF SALADS
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1. Green salads
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2.Vegetable, grain and legume salads
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3. Bound salads
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4. Fruit salads
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5. Composed salads
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6. Gelatin salads
GREEN SALADS
Salad greens must be fresh, clean, crisp,
cold and well drained.
Moisture and air are necessary to keep
greens crisp.
1. Leaves wilt because they lose moisture.
Crispness can be restored by washing and
refrigeration.
2. Air circulation is essential for the greens
to breathe.
VEGETABLE, GRAIN AND
LEGUME
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Vegetable salads are salads whose main
ingredients are vegetables. Eg. celery, carrots,
cucumbers, tomatoes and radishes. Some are
cooked and chilled before including in the
salads; green beans, beets, artichokes and
asparagus.
Starchy items such as grains and dried
legumes can also form the body of a salad.
Raw or cooked vegetables are usually added
to the starch item to enhance the colour,
flavour and nutritional balance of the salad.
BOUND SALADS
Bound salads are mixtures of foods held
together, or bound with a dressing, usually
a thick dressing such as mayonnaise.
 The term bound is used for mixtures of
cooked protein, starch and vegetable
items with mayonnaise such as chicken
salad, tuna salad, egg salad, potato and
pasta salad etc.
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FRUIT SALADS
Fruit salads have fruits as their main
ingredients.
 They are popular as appetizer salads, as
dessert salads and as part of combination
luncheon plates often with a scoop of
cottage cheese or other mild tasting
protein food.
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COMPOSED SALADS
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Composed salads are salads made by arranging
two or more ingredients attractively on a plate.
They are called composed because the
components are arranged on the plate rather
than being mixed together.
One or more elements may be mixed or tossed
salads, but the individual mixed salads are
arranged on the plate with other components for
the final presentation.
Composed salads are more elaborate and
substantial in size and are usually served as main
courses or first courses.
GELATIN SALADS
Gelatin salads have a distinguished history.
Their ancestors are aspics, the highly
ornamented appetizers and elaborate
buffet pieces made with meat and fish
stocks rich in natural gelatin extracted
from bones and connective tissue.
 Aspics are part of the glory of classical
cuisine and still an important part of
modern buffet work.
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SALAD BARS AND BUFFET
SERVICE
Salad bars are frequent fixtures in
restaurants.
 Diners enjoy customizing their own salads
with selections from a large bowl of
greens, smaller containers of assorted
condiments and a variety of dressings.
 Salad bars take pressure off the dining
room staff during service.
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POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR
SALAD BARS
1. Keep the salad bar attractive and well
stocked from the beginning until the end of
service.
 2. Keep the components simple but
attractive.
 3. Select a variety of condiments to appeal to
a variety of tastes.
 Two types of salad bar condiments:
 a. Simple ingredients
 b. Prepared salads- three bean salads,
macaroni salads
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POINTS CONT’D
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4. Arrange the salad bar in this order:
a. Plates
b. Mixed greens
c. Condiments
d. Dressings
e. Crackers, breads etc.
5. Make sure set up conforms to your state
health department regulations.
6. Portion control can be achieved by
selecting the right size plates, condiment
servers and dressing ladles.
FURTHER READING
CHAPTER
21 IN THE
PROFESSIONAL
COOKING