Waldorf salad
Encyclopedia
A Waldorf salad is a salad traditionally made of fresh apple
s, celery
and walnut
s, dressed in mayonnaise
, and usually served on a bed of lettuce
as an appetizer or a light meal.
was first created between 1893 and 1896 at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City (the precursor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
, which opened in 1931).
Oscar Tschirky
, who was the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel
and developed or inspired many of its signature dishes, is widely credited with creating the recipe. In 1896, Waldorf Salad appeared in The Cook Book by 'Oscar of the Waldorf'; the original recipe did not contain nuts, but they had been added by the time the recipe appeared in the Rector Cook Book in 1928. The salad became popular enough that Cole Porter
featured it in his 1934 song "You're the Top
".
, turkey, grape
s, and dried fruit
(e.g. dates or raisins) are sometimes added. Updated versions of the salad sometimes change the dressing to a seasoned mayonnaise or a yogurt dressing. A variation known as an Emerald Salad replaces celery with cauliflower
.
" is the title of a 1979 episode of Fawlty Towers
which concerns an American
guest's increasing frustration with Basil Fawlty
's incompetence, symbolised by Fawlty's continuing inability to produce the salad of the title: "I think we're just out of Waldorfs."
June serves Waldorf salad as part of a special dinner for Ward in the Leave it to Beaver
episode "Beaver’s Short Pants."
In the 1991 novel American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
, at a Christmas party thrown by protagonist Patrick Bateman
's fiancée Evelyn Williams, Evelyn worries about how well the Waldorf salad is received.
"I'll Have The Waldorf Salad" (featuring Bonobo) is the title of the second track on Amon Tobin
's 2003 EP
Verbal Remixes & Collaborations
.
In the 1999 Albert Brooks
/Sharon Stone
film, The Muse, down on his luck Hollywood writer Brooks is awakened early by his muse (Stone) with a demand to bring her a Waldorf Salad from Spago at her Four Seasons Hotel room.
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
and walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
s, dressed in mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
, and usually served on a bed of lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
as an appetizer or a light meal.
History
The saladSalad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
was first created between 1893 and 1896 at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City (the precursor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
, which opened in 1931).
Oscar Tschirky
Oscar Tschirky
Oscar Tschirky was maître d'hôtel of Delmonico's Restaurant and subsequently the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York, United States. He was widely known as "Oscar of the Waldorf" and produced a large cookbook despite not being a chef...
, who was the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel
Maître d'hôtel
The maître d’hôtel in the original French language is literally the "master of the hotel". In a suitably staffed restaurant or hotel, it is the person in charge of assigning customers to tables and dividing the dining area into areas of responsibility for the various servers on duty. The plural...
and developed or inspired many of its signature dishes, is widely credited with creating the recipe. In 1896, Waldorf Salad appeared in The Cook Book by 'Oscar of the Waldorf'; the original recipe did not contain nuts, but they had been added by the time the recipe appeared in the Rector Cook Book in 1928. The salad became popular enough that Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
featured it in his 1934 song "You're the Top
You're the Top
"You're The Top" is a Cole Porter song from the 1934 musical Anything Goes. It is about a man and a woman who take turns complimenting each other...
".
Variations
Other ingredients, such as chickenChicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, turkey, grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s, and dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
(e.g. dates or raisins) are sometimes added. Updated versions of the salad sometimes change the dressing to a seasoned mayonnaise or a yogurt dressing. A variation known as an Emerald Salad replaces celery with cauliflower
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed...
.
Cultural references
"Waldorf SaladWaldorf Salad (Fawlty Towers)
"Waldorf Salad" is the third episode of the second series of BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.-Synopsis:American tourist Mr. Hamilton checks in with his wife late one evening. They want a hot meal, but Terry, the cook, has finished his shift. Hamilton bribes Basil to keep the kitchen open, but Terry leaves...
" is the title of a 1979 episode of Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
which concerns an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guest's increasing frustration with Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made....
's incompetence, symbolised by Fawlty's continuing inability to produce the salad of the title: "I think we're just out of Waldorfs."
June serves Waldorf salad as part of a special dinner for Ward in the Leave it to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
episode "Beaver’s Short Pants."
In the 1991 novel American Psycho
American Psycho
American Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
by Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
, at a Christmas party thrown by protagonist Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
's fiancée Evelyn Williams, Evelyn worries about how well the Waldorf salad is received.
"I'll Have The Waldorf Salad" (featuring Bonobo) is the title of the second track on Amon Tobin
Amon Tobin
Amon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin , known as Amon Tobin, is a Brazilian musician, composer and producer of electronic music. He is described as a virtuoso sound designer and is considered to be one of the most influential electronic music artists in the world...
's 2003 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Verbal Remixes & Collaborations
Verbal Remixes & Collaborations
Verbal Remixes & Collaborations was an EP released by Amon Tobin in 2003. It was comprised by featuring tracks from two previously released 12" EPs: Verbal and Collaborations.-Track listing:#"Untitled" - Kid Koala & Amon Tobin – 5:40...
.
In the 1999 Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
/Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
film, The Muse, down on his luck Hollywood writer Brooks is awakened early by his muse (Stone) with a demand to bring her a Waldorf Salad from Spago at her Four Seasons Hotel room.
External links
- Original and updated Waldorf salad recipes
- Kosher Waldorf salad recipe at Chabad.orgChabad.orgChabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It serves not just its own members but Jews worldwide in general. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation.-History:...