Applications for Cold Vegetables

In addition to their use as components of many other types of garde manger preparations, cold vegetables are also featured as dishes in their own right. These are most frequently served as appetizers or as accompaniments to cold main dishes. Because vegetable-based salads are also served in these situations, you may be wondering about the difference between the two. Generally speaking, if a dish consists of whole, intact cold vegetables or a single type of cold vegetable, it is considered a cold vegetable dish even if it is sauced with a salad dressing. If a mixture of cold cooked vegetables is tossed with a salad dressing, the dish is usually considered a complex salad. However, there are exceptions to this rule.