What is the history of Salad?

Marcus Gavius Apicius, a food connoisseur who lived in ancient Rome in 1 AD, is believed to have written a cookbook titled “De Re Coquinaria” (“The Art of Cooking”), which contains several recipes for salads. The name salad comes from herba salata, Latin for raw vegetables seasoned with brine. Of course, the Romans themselves never referred to the dish as salad. They just enjoyed assembling raw vegetables, enhancing the taste with sprinklings of salt and herbs and a dash of vinegar. Medical experts such as Hippocrates recommended it as the ideal dish to begin a meal.

Gone.. and back!

With the fall of the Roman empire, salads became less popular as meal starters and slowly went out of fashion – with raw vegetables increasingly being prescribed as medicine. The, between the 11th and 15th Centuries, basic salads made of raw vegetables, herbs and edible flowers made a comeback. By the end of the 15th Century, a great deal of experimentation was happening with salads and salad dressings. In 1756, mayonnaise debuted as a ‘victory sauce’ to celebrate France’s victory over Spain. Since then it has remained a popular salad dressing, a dip for fries and a part of sandwich fillings.

A Dutch cookbook dating back to 1770 mentions a recipe in which things sliced cabbage (koolsla in Dutch) is mixed with melted butter, vinegar and oil. This went on to become ‘coleslaw’ as it travelled the world. As it travelled, the thinly sliced cabbage remained constant while other ingredients – from grated carrots to pineapple, bell peppers, pickles, onions, herbs, buttermilk, cream and in some cases, even fruit – were added to the coleslaw. It has been toasted as a sandwich filling. And it’s been dressed with peanut sauce, green goddess and blue cheese.

Salads came into their own in the late 1800s, with fruit salads making an appearance and leading to the ‘dessert salads’ course. With their health benefits being wildly recognised by the 20th Century, salads entered the diet of countries such as India that had no real tradition for salad consumption. Salad bars appeared in real tradition for salad consumption. Salad bars appeared in restaurants and chefs began experimenting with offerings. Caesar’s salad, Waldorf salad and Cobb’s salad are well known signature dishes. With cookie salads and pasta salads joining the ranks, we can admit that salads have become whacky and exotic!

 

Picture Credit : Google