A brief history of salads from antiquity to the present day

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

On the eve of the New Year holidays, housewives begin to puzzle over what to put on the table. Especially since next year is the Year of the Pig. What dishes to appease this animal? Of course, salads are immediately remembered in my head - the main attributes of the New Year.

If you look into the dictionary, then salad means a cold dish, the ingredients of which can be vegetables, fruits, sometimes meat or fish, mushrooms, eggs, poured with various dressings. Most often, green salad leaves, tomatoes, peas, potatoes, cucumbers, herbs, onions, and root crops are placed in it. Various spices are added to the dish, such as s alt, pepper, oregano and others. Vinegar, vegetable oil, mayonnaise, lemon or lime juice are taken as dressings. But where did this miracle come from? Let's dive into the world of salad history, briefly recounting the most important moments in the creation of this dish.

Ancient Times

The history of these dishes has more than one millennium. Even in ancient Greece, there was an analogue of salad, which consisted of pomegranate seeds, aromatic herbs, onions, with spices and garlic, poured with olive oil. And ancient Greekthe writer Athenaeus in his work "The Feast of the Wise Men" talks about a salad seasoned with mead.

With the development of relations with other countries, the conquest of colonies, the establishment of trade relations with neighboring states, the history of lettuce was replenished with new pages.

The very word "salad" appeared during the Roman Empire and in Italian means "s alty", "s alted". Although some scientists believe that the vegetable of the same name gave the name to the dish. Most often, the salad was served with meat, and not as an independent snack.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt played a significant role in the history of salads. On the table of the Egyptians there was always fresh herbs, onions, garlic. Moreover, lettuce leaves played a special role. This plant of the god Ming was considered sacred. Each inhabitant of the country grew it in his garden. Serving the dish on the table, the Egyptians seasoned it with a mixture of oil, spices and vinegar.

Middle Ages

Medieval chefs also influenced the history of salads. Between the 5th and 12th centuries, diets and cooking methods changed. Snacks began to consist of hot and spicy herbs, cheese began to be added to the salad. True, such a dish was not very popular among the lower strata of society, since it was considered low in calories. Because of the appalling unsanitary conditions, many people refused fresh vegetable salad. Fried meat was preferred.

The upper class did not refuse salads. Chefs tried to please their monarchs and competed in artcooking this dish.

Renaissance

The dish experienced a real boom during the Renaissance. During this period, great masters were attached to the history of the creation of salads. For example, Leonardo da Vinci. Few people know that he was not only an artist and inventor, but also an excellent cook. In 1473, Leonardo da Vinci in the Florentine tavern "Three Snails" begins to instill a culture of food in his fellow citizens. We owe him the appearance of the salad plate, which, according to the engineer, was to be passed from one eater to another. True, at that time this invention failed, being left without use for almost two centuries.

We offer one of the famous artist's appetizer recipes: hard boil an egg, peel it, take out the yolk. Grind and combine it with pine nuts, pepper and carefully arrange in egg nests. Sprinkle everything with creamy sauce and try.

In the Renaissance, Christopher Columbus discovered America. This seriously affected the history of the origin of salads. There were new products that began to be added to these dishes. Sometimes the snack included more than thirty ingredients, including rose flowers, marigolds, nasturtiums. The chefs of King Henry IV of England and Queen Mary I of Scots used celery greens, lettuce with aromatic herb dressing and mustard.

History of 17th-19th century salads

Since the 17th century, lovers of gourmet cuisine have been experimenting with salads, adding new ingredients to them. Allmore boiled root crops, chopped fragrant herbs appear in the dish. French chefs create new dressings by mixing wine, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil.

In 1699 the English author John Evelyn Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets is published. In it, Evelyn tells how to prepare a salad, recommends sprinkling greens with cold water, putting in a colander, drying and pouring with olive oil and vinegar, sprinkle with s alt. In the collection, Evelyn gives recommendations on growing vegetables for such dishes. Spinach, fennel, arugula, romano and others appear in recipes. The book was intended for the lower strata of society. The need for vitamin-rich salads was explained to people.

In the 18th century, under the Duke of Richelieu, the famous sauce appeared - mayonnaise. Meat and fish were added to salads. In Europe, another type of salad appears - vinaigrette, in which chopped vegetables, pickles and beets are mixed. Mushrooms are sometimes added.

Salads in national history

Which of us before the holiday does not pronounce the names familiar from childhood: "Olivier", "Mimosa", "Herring under a fur coat"? It is these salads that are considered the basis of any feast in Russia.

French chef Monsieur Olivier, who worked in Russia, launched a whole trend of salad preparation using mayonnaise, which before him was served as a separate dish. Lucien Olivier, for the sake of the restaurant's patrons, mixed the ingredients with the sauce, resulting in a dish later named after him.

Initially salads couldenjoy only the officials who visited the restaurants. But over time, the filling of the dish changes. Green peas, sausage, canned vegetables and fish, processed cheese appear in it. Mayonnaise and sunflower oil are used as dressings. At the same time, green leaves disappear from the lettuce. Such a set of products becomes available to ordinary Soviet people. Salad ceases to be an addition to appetizers, but becomes an independent dish.

"Herring under a fur coat" has an interesting revolutionary history. According to one version, "Fur Coat" is an abbreviation: Sh. U. B. A., which meant "Chauvinism and Decline - Boycott and Anathema." At the beginning of the 20th century, Aristarkh Prokoptsev, the cook of one of the taverns, prepared such a salad for the New Year holiday. Everyone liked the dish, having migrated from restaurants to the tables of ordinary citizens in the early 60s. His classic recipe does not contain onions or eggs.

The history of Mimosa salad, unfortunately, is silent about its author. The dish was very popular in the 70s of the 20th century. The composition includes canned fish, mashed with a spoon, boiled eggs, cheese, onions. The top of the salad is covered with mayonnaise, which is sprinkled with crushed egg yolks, reminiscent of mimosa flowers.

Our time

In the age of food abundance, various varieties of salads appeared. States washed by the seas began to add seafood to them. Today's popular crab salad appeared on the American coast. The famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso told old Europe about him.

Inventions of the 20th century includesalads "Caprese", "Caesar", "Nicoise" and many others. Shrimp, squid, lobster, shellfish are added to the dish.

Types of salads

• Cheese. Consists of grated cheese, eggs and mayonnaise, may contain other ingredients.
• Vegetable salad. It is based on various types of vegetables.
• Fruit salad. Contains finely chopped fruits.
• Herring salad. Chopped herring is used.
• Warm salad. Filled with cooked warm meat, eggplant, vegetables.

Salads have many benefits. They are usually low in calories. Rich in various groups of vitamins and fiber. Contains nutrients and minerals. A fresh salad with a delicious and fragrant dressing is a great holiday or everyday dish.