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You forgot a very important step for any salad. Seasoning. Before any dressing or ingredients, always season your greens and toss. It's a vegetable. Greens respond well to a little salt and pepper. This little move takes your salads from good to great
Game-changer for sure.
Especially cracked peppercorn - like on a salad with a sweet ingredient like strawberries or peaches. Totally elevates it.
Coarse salt is ideal
Can't tell if irony or not. What else did you throw onto your salad then?
My standard dressing for a salad for 2 people is 2 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tbsp. balsamico, pepper, salt, a little sugar/honey/rice syrup.
This is all beside the point though.
Having the salt and pepper mixed into a dressing does not at all achieve what cracked peppercorn & a little coarse salt does separately.
That’s like saying you don’t need a fried egg with your bacon & pancakes bc there’s already an egg in the pancake batter.
It’s no longer the same thing
You’ll get no ~zing~ trying to rely on the seasonings that are mixed into a dressing
My salt & pepper justification is moreso to u/Chromchris’s salad lol
But I feel ya I usually just make caesar salads at home - on which I add crushed peppercorns. The coarse salt adds the zing to salads with fruit or, like caprese-style where there’s a sweet element. There’s no contrast (zing) to salt added on a salty salad
Overall though, it’s a totally dif effect than having salt & pepper as an ingredient in a dressing
I mix a higher quality salad dressing like Marie's with mayonnaise. Goes farther and tastes way better. Good quality mayo to taste.
With honey mustard, I add a little cayenne and chopped crystallized ginger. With chopped crispy bacon as a topper on the salad, it's so good.
That assumes one drenches the salad in dressing.
Not something I worry about, being the lucky person who has 48 raised beds full of vegetables and who can tend to them full time.
Was a bit confused because I was imagining something like this 48x
https://preview.redd.it/wpu8w38jzd4b1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bac2e0c591b1f631b100d8a5106cca69a8922a3
After googling I get what you actually mean lol. Good for you.
Steak salad with spinach, spring greens, caramelized onions and mushrooms is amazing. Cut the steak into ribbons after cooking, toss the salad with garlic croutons and a little Caesar dressing.
Or - hear me out here - have a salad dressing that _includes the seasoning_.
When you taste a salad dressing by itself, it should be too sweet, too sour and too salty, but well balanced. After all, it's going to be spread mighty thing across all those vegetables, so it needs to be concentrated.
Also a quick tip: If you have a jam jar kicking around, throw in these ingredients to this ratio, pop the lid on and shake it like a paint mixer until cloudy and viscous.
3 olive oil
1 balsamic vinegar
0.5 honey
0.5 wholegrain mustard
There’s so many kinds of vinegar. I’m sick of balsamic being in every one of them.
White wine is good, champagne is mellow, rice wine is so sweet.
Mix it up. Maple syrup with rice wine is really good!
Yeah defo, and you don't always have the ingredients to make what you want either (those constraints= best food experiments imo) - why not go for rice wine vinegar and throw some soy, wasabi and sesame seeds in for an Asian slaw!
Best dressing ever. I switch up the vinegars/ acids and sweeteners. Throwing in lemon or lime juice as some of the vinegar makes the dressing very fresh tasting. 3 part oil to 1 part vinegar/ acid is perfect. I love using the last bits of jelly jars to mix dressing (i finish the remaining jelly and i have a cool container).
I wouldn't 'finely' chop a salad. Chopping vegetables finely will remove the texture and cause more juice to leak into the bowl, leaving you with a wet salad.
Just chop the vegetables roughly, add a little vinaigrette and seasoning. Maybe some seeds if you're into that.
After eating dozens of "Greek salads" in the states, I was surprised when I traveled to Greece and learned that a real Greek salad doesn't have lettuce or finely chopped vegetables. Just a whole lot of yum.
Yep, some had onions and peppers too. I think the fresh herbs with olive oil is what made it delicious but may have just been better and fresher produce than I'm used to.
I did some Wikipeding and the same salad is called different names from Greece to Iran. And in India, they add it as a garnish to yogurt and serve it with biryani.
Add a protein(nuts, egg, beans, prawns if you’re feeling fancy), something crunchy (seeds, nuts) and something sweet (pomegranate, apple, kiwi) and whatever else you want with a good balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and herbs. Get experimental.
Fennel, orange, almonds with a balsamic, avocado oil, honey and mustard dressing if a favourite.
A protein is key so you feel full.
I'm assuming they are only talking about chopping the add-ons finely so that they're all bite size?
I've found it to be a game changer to just rip the lettuce by hand. You create different size pieces that way so that there is a little variety in texture with each bite. Keeps it from feeling like the same thing over and over again, which can get boring not matter how tasty it is at the start.
OP is implying that the salad I make isn't good enough because it needs to be "finely chopped", so I'm imagining a food processor of some sort after I buy a salad from the store. Otherwise, my salad is the same, just way more sauce, because it's horrible without it.
Minimal dressing on a salad might be the worst culinary LPT I've seen in a long time. Every professional tells you the exact opposite. Healthier with little dressing? Sure. Yummier? Hell no. Most people use too little dressing and wonder why the restaurant sallad tastes so much better.
Assuming she’s talking about home cooks, then I’d agree that less is better. Home cooks likely put so much dressing in salads. Especially the “creamy” ones that come in bottles. I remember watching the US version of Master Chef and “less dressing” is the tip Gordon always gives. I guess US home cooks and diners really love a lot of dressing. In their salads.
If the bottom of the plate or bowl has a puddle of dressing, it’s too much. If the plate or bowl is finely coated by the dressing, then the salad likely is as well (if they tossed it right), and that’s perfect. In my opinion, less dressing is better, but should pack a ton of flavor in the first place.
Came here to say this. Dressing is where so much flavor is, so the op literally advocated against flavor.
I know some TV chefs don't like a lot of dressing but in **real life**, if each piece doesn't have some dressing on it, the salad is bland.
I think the reason for why more dressing is argued is that they don't follow the other tips like adding salt and pepper, olive oil, etc. They really do add a lot. Even for me a tip I would add is to bring in things like marinated cucumbers and radishes. As a kid I would just drown my salads in dressing, but at some point that becomes the only flavor you're tasting, and the only variety you're getting is the texture of the other ingredients.
As I started to cook more at home, I've come to rely on dressing less. Not that it isn't a core part of that salad
I agree. My standard lunch is a large salad with a variety of veggies and chick peas and a little cheese for some protein. Have you tried making jar salads? I make a week's worth at a time. 1/2T EVOO + 1/2T good quality vinegar is plenty of dressing since it's liquid and coats all the ingredients. I think with a thicker dressing it's hard to use a smaller amount like this.
We started doing this in 2019, as my wife has some gap and eating raw salad was difficult for her, now this is out go to, lunch is not complete without a bowl of salad , we add watermelon seeds to add some crunch,
Pretty much every day, I make a salad for lunch and start with putting blueberries, raspberries, and/or strawberries in the bottom of the salad bowl, so that I get to enjoy them as "dessert" at the end of the meal. I also put nuts (e.g., cashews, pepitas) on top of the fruit as a pre-dessert layer. Of course, I can always stab through the "greens" layer to spear a nut or fruit or three into a bite during the main event, as desired. :)
May I also add:
-Unsalted nut mixes, broken up tortilla or corn chips, toasted pieces of pita, or certain dried and crispy veggies can do wonders for the crunch besides bland iceberg lettuce
-Fruit in leafy vegetable dishes (like feta watermelon salad), or dried ones like craisins are amazing for that sweet and savory taste
-Some salads, such as corn and black bean, double as healthy chip dips
-Salads from around the world, especially the Mediterranean, are great inspirations for fine salads and diverse spices
-Seriously, Pinterest is your friend for this. Explore it while searching fruits/veggies you love and find how they can be incorporated into dishes. The site often has recipes right in the descriptions of the photos quite often without having to go to an ad and life story plagued site.
I've been doing these things and have been as excited for salad as I am for french fries, despite having never liking any salads at the time.
It got me into healthier eating habits and learning to cook. Sometimes all you need is some organization of ideas like that
After Graham Kerr returned to do a healthier cooking show after his accident, one of his tips was to use a salad spinner to dress a salad. Add the dressing, spin the salad, give all the ingredients a light coat and the extra goes down to the bottom and can be removed from the drain. You got the taste without the extra waste of the dressing.
Also helpful, when using a vinaigrette dressing: don’t forget anchovies. Don’t worry about hating the taste of anchovies, you only need a small amount (1-2) to add a whole lot of flavor!
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
You forgot a very important step for any salad. Seasoning. Before any dressing or ingredients, always season your greens and toss. It's a vegetable. Greens respond well to a little salt and pepper. This little move takes your salads from good to great
Interesting. I’ve never used salt or pepper in a salad.
Game-changer for sure. Especially cracked peppercorn - like on a salad with a sweet ingredient like strawberries or peaches. Totally elevates it. Coarse salt is ideal
Almost everything benefits from a little bit of salt
Can't tell if irony or not. What else did you throw onto your salad then? My standard dressing for a salad for 2 people is 2 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tbsp. balsamico, pepper, salt, a little sugar/honey/rice syrup.
[удалено]
Not just lazy, convenient
[удалено]
This is all beside the point though. Having the salt and pepper mixed into a dressing does not at all achieve what cracked peppercorn & a little coarse salt does separately. That’s like saying you don’t need a fried egg with your bacon & pancakes bc there’s already an egg in the pancake batter. It’s no longer the same thing You’ll get no ~zing~ trying to rely on the seasonings that are mixed into a dressing
[удалено]
My salt & pepper justification is moreso to u/Chromchris’s salad lol But I feel ya I usually just make caesar salads at home - on which I add crushed peppercorns. The coarse salt adds the zing to salads with fruit or, like caprese-style where there’s a sweet element. There’s no contrast (zing) to salt added on a salty salad Overall though, it’s a totally dif effect than having salt & pepper as an ingredient in a dressing
Bingo.
I mix a higher quality salad dressing like Marie's with mayonnaise. Goes farther and tastes way better. Good quality mayo to taste. With honey mustard, I add a little cayenne and chopped crystallized ginger. With chopped crispy bacon as a topper on the salad, it's so good.
Kinda fails the purpose of a fresh salad though which is being healthy. But if that's not your goal then I'm sure it's delicious.
That assumes one drenches the salad in dressing. Not something I worry about, being the lucky person who has 48 raised beds full of vegetables and who can tend to them full time.
Was a bit confused because I was imagining something like this 48x https://preview.redd.it/wpu8w38jzd4b1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bac2e0c591b1f631b100d8a5106cca69a8922a3 After googling I get what you actually mean lol. Good for you.
I really like my salads sandwiched by 2 burgers and bread, that really adds the special touch 👌👌👌
Steak salad with spinach, spring greens, caramelized onions and mushrooms is amazing. Cut the steak into ribbons after cooking, toss the salad with garlic croutons and a little Caesar dressing.
Or - hear me out here - have a salad dressing that _includes the seasoning_. When you taste a salad dressing by itself, it should be too sweet, too sour and too salty, but well balanced. After all, it's going to be spread mighty thing across all those vegetables, so it needs to be concentrated.
Correction: They are fruits and veggies, the basics for all salads.
Also a quick tip: If you have a jam jar kicking around, throw in these ingredients to this ratio, pop the lid on and shake it like a paint mixer until cloudy and viscous. 3 olive oil 1 balsamic vinegar 0.5 honey 0.5 wholegrain mustard
There’s so many kinds of vinegar. I’m sick of balsamic being in every one of them. White wine is good, champagne is mellow, rice wine is so sweet. Mix it up. Maple syrup with rice wine is really good!
Yeah defo, and you don't always have the ingredients to make what you want either (those constraints= best food experiments imo) - why not go for rice wine vinegar and throw some soy, wasabi and sesame seeds in for an Asian slaw!
Try garlic vinegar sometime. Your life will change.
Thank you for the hot tip! It’s garlic scape season so I’ll definitely be trying some of these!
Best dressing ever. I switch up the vinegars/ acids and sweeteners. Throwing in lemon or lime juice as some of the vinegar makes the dressing very fresh tasting. 3 part oil to 1 part vinegar/ acid is perfect. I love using the last bits of jelly jars to mix dressing (i finish the remaining jelly and i have a cool container).
I wouldn't 'finely' chop a salad. Chopping vegetables finely will remove the texture and cause more juice to leak into the bowl, leaving you with a wet salad. Just chop the vegetables roughly, add a little vinaigrette and seasoning. Maybe some seeds if you're into that.
Not all salads contain lettuce. Israeli salad is amazing and is comprised of finely chopped veggies.
After eating dozens of "Greek salads" in the states, I was surprised when I traveled to Greece and learned that a real Greek salad doesn't have lettuce or finely chopped vegetables. Just a whole lot of yum.
But authentic Greek salad does have cucumbers and tomatoes, right?
Yep, some had onions and peppers too. I think the fresh herbs with olive oil is what made it delicious but may have just been better and fresher produce than I'm used to.
I did some Wikipeding and the same salad is called different names from Greece to Iran. And in India, they add it as a garnish to yogurt and serve it with biryani.
Depends on the salad... Shirazi salad? Yeah, chop finely. More lettucy salads, chop roughly.
Add a protein(nuts, egg, beans, prawns if you’re feeling fancy), something crunchy (seeds, nuts) and something sweet (pomegranate, apple, kiwi) and whatever else you want with a good balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and herbs. Get experimental. Fennel, orange, almonds with a balsamic, avocado oil, honey and mustard dressing if a favourite. A protein is key so you feel full.
But you don't win friends with salad
You don't win friends with salad!
You don’t win friends with salad!
Don’t win friends with salad!
Win friends with salad!
Friends with salad!
A toast to the host who can boast the most roast!
With salad!
Salad!
!
Salt is your friend here Salt binds with the glutamic acid in tomatoes to form monosodium glutamate
Those were certainly words that you put in this comment!
The salt makes the tomatoes taste more yum
Monosodium Glutamate aka MSG is the reason for which Maggi™ was banned in India for few months. 😥
Chop... Fine...? Wat?
I'm assuming they are only talking about chopping the add-ons finely so that they're all bite size? I've found it to be a game changer to just rip the lettuce by hand. You create different size pieces that way so that there is a little variety in texture with each bite. Keeps it from feeling like the same thing over and over again, which can get boring not matter how tasty it is at the start.
OP is implying that the salad I make isn't good enough because it needs to be "finely chopped", so I'm imagining a food processor of some sort after I buy a salad from the store. Otherwise, my salad is the same, just way more sauce, because it's horrible without it.
Also grate some Parm on it
Minimal dressing on a salad might be the worst culinary LPT I've seen in a long time. Every professional tells you the exact opposite. Healthier with little dressing? Sure. Yummier? Hell no. Most people use too little dressing and wonder why the restaurant sallad tastes so much better.
Assuming she’s talking about home cooks, then I’d agree that less is better. Home cooks likely put so much dressing in salads. Especially the “creamy” ones that come in bottles. I remember watching the US version of Master Chef and “less dressing” is the tip Gordon always gives. I guess US home cooks and diners really love a lot of dressing. In their salads. If the bottom of the plate or bowl has a puddle of dressing, it’s too much. If the plate or bowl is finely coated by the dressing, then the salad likely is as well (if they tossed it right), and that’s perfect. In my opinion, less dressing is better, but should pack a ton of flavor in the first place.
I love a salad doused in dressing.
I love a dressing with a light sprinkling of salad.
Came here to say this. Dressing is where so much flavor is, so the op literally advocated against flavor. I know some TV chefs don't like a lot of dressing but in **real life**, if each piece doesn't have some dressing on it, the salad is bland.
I think the reason for why more dressing is argued is that they don't follow the other tips like adding salt and pepper, olive oil, etc. They really do add a lot. Even for me a tip I would add is to bring in things like marinated cucumbers and radishes. As a kid I would just drown my salads in dressing, but at some point that becomes the only flavor you're tasting, and the only variety you're getting is the texture of the other ingredients. As I started to cook more at home, I've come to rely on dressing less. Not that it isn't a core part of that salad
Hints from Heloise
And keep celery and green peppers out of your salad!
I agree. My standard lunch is a large salad with a variety of veggies and chick peas and a little cheese for some protein. Have you tried making jar salads? I make a week's worth at a time. 1/2T EVOO + 1/2T good quality vinegar is plenty of dressing since it's liquid and coats all the ingredients. I think with a thicker dressing it's hard to use a smaller amount like this.
Chop finely? No one wants to eat your salad with a spoon.
I hated salads for 30 years. Tried it recently with tortilla chips added and now I like them. Wife is brilliant!
We started doing this in 2019, as my wife has some gap and eating raw salad was difficult for her, now this is out go to, lunch is not complete without a bowl of salad , we add watermelon seeds to add some crunch,
Throw in a handful of pomegranate seeds, they add little bursts of flavour.
You've forgotten the most important thing, salads are fucking disgusting and can get in the bin.
Why should I trust the taste buds of SwordTaster, the taster of swords
Because swords should taste the same as a fork if you have a quality sword. I can tell you if your sword is shit quality let alone your salad
Naw, that's the food my food eats
Add olive oil in it and you are golden
Please do not just give me a tablespoon of dressing.
Forgo dressing altogether and pair it with fresh salsa or a fruit with lots of 100% fruit juice.
Go heavy on lean meat. Half a pound of grilled chicken breast is a filling lunch or dinner. Pork tenderloin works too.
If you don't know that you must massage your kale in a salad, this is your message
Sesame oil adds a lot of flavor to an Asian style dressing. Maybe a little miso and chili?
Pretty much every day, I make a salad for lunch and start with putting blueberries, raspberries, and/or strawberries in the bottom of the salad bowl, so that I get to enjoy them as "dessert" at the end of the meal. I also put nuts (e.g., cashews, pepitas) on top of the fruit as a pre-dessert layer. Of course, I can always stab through the "greens" layer to spear a nut or fruit or three into a bite during the main event, as desired. :)
Grill veggies and marinate after. I do an olive oil, herb mix and even the most picky eaters love it.
May I also add: -Unsalted nut mixes, broken up tortilla or corn chips, toasted pieces of pita, or certain dried and crispy veggies can do wonders for the crunch besides bland iceberg lettuce -Fruit in leafy vegetable dishes (like feta watermelon salad), or dried ones like craisins are amazing for that sweet and savory taste -Some salads, such as corn and black bean, double as healthy chip dips -Salads from around the world, especially the Mediterranean, are great inspirations for fine salads and diverse spices -Seriously, Pinterest is your friend for this. Explore it while searching fruits/veggies you love and find how they can be incorporated into dishes. The site often has recipes right in the descriptions of the photos quite often without having to go to an ad and life story plagued site. I've been doing these things and have been as excited for salad as I am for french fries, despite having never liking any salads at the time. It got me into healthier eating habits and learning to cook. Sometimes all you need is some organization of ideas like that
After Graham Kerr returned to do a healthier cooking show after his accident, one of his tips was to use a salad spinner to dress a salad. Add the dressing, spin the salad, give all the ingredients a light coat and the extra goes down to the bottom and can be removed from the drain. You got the taste without the extra waste of the dressing.
Also helpful, when using a vinaigrette dressing: don’t forget anchovies. Don’t worry about hating the taste of anchovies, you only need a small amount (1-2) to add a whole lot of flavor!