American Salad

European colonists brought the concept of salad to the New World. Salad was considered a survival food by many, because salad ingredients were gathered in the early spring before crops matured. Colonial middle- and upper-class Americans enjoyed salads. Most kitchen gardens included salad ingredients, such as lettuce, cabbage, watercress, kale, cucumbers, carrots, parsley, leeks, shallots, onions, spinach, garlic, and chives. In addition, wild greens were collected from fields. In the southern colonies, wider arrays of kitchen garden plants and vegetables were grown. Salad dressings varied, including single ingredients, such as salt or sugar or vinegar or melted butter, or combinations, such as vinegar and egg yolks or salt, vinegar, and sugar or molasses. Occasionally dressings included olive oil, which was an expensive commodity in colonial and early America, as it had to be imported. It was also frequently adulterated and prone to turning rancid easily.