Salad Timing is Everything

by:
June 27, 2012
2 Comments

We borrow a lot of things from France - their bread, their macarons, their Nicoise salad - but do we also borrow their dinner traditions?

In French culture, salad is eaten after the main meal, as a sort of palate cleanser before the dessert or cheese (or both) comes out. In America, we’ve been known to reverse that entirely, starting a meal off with our greens, and following with the larger, more substantial main. Like French recipes, is this a tradition that we’d like to borrow as well? Let us know in the comments: when do you eat your salad?

Cultural Differences: Salad Before or After Dinner? from The Kitchn

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • dymnyno
    dymnyno
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
Kenzi Wilbur

Written by: Kenzi Wilbur

I have a thing for most foods topped with a fried egg, a strange disdain for overly soupy tomato sauce, and I can never make it home without ripping off the end of a newly-bought baguette. I like spoons very much.

Popular on Food52

2 Comments

dymnyno
dymnyno June 27, 2012
After, the main course is paired with a red wine (usually, because that is our wine) and then the salad course is often combined with the cheese course.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames June 27, 2012
After, always, when it isn't the main dish (which is happening a lot as we move into summer). When it's just the family eating, I toss the salad immediately before we start the main dish. This way, the dressing soaks up juices from the salad ingredients, and to soften the greens a bit. ;o)