Orchard Training Cookery Club (part 2) of 'Nobody is eating the salad!"

I’ve never had a more lively discussion with all of you, homeschoolers. Only a few have definitively stated that "you don’t eat" salad. That is because of texture or you don't like different foods touching, but that is ok because you are getting your fruit and vegetables in different ways. However, many of the gym staff refer to salad as “rabbit food” - we should talk about that from the very beginning of this blog. The term “rabbit food” is an unhelpful way to describe raw vegetables, particularly lettuce, which is commonly found in salads.

We associate rabbits with eating plants, especially leafy greens, because that’s their diet in the wild. However, here’s an interesting fact about rabbits and lettuce: you shouldn’t feed them lettuce as it can upset their tummy. Our association of rabbits and lettuce stems from Beatrix Potter’s stories of Peter Rabbit, who would steal Mr. McGregor’s lettuces. 

A bit of science here: there’s another reason why lettuce isn’t universally adored. For some people, lettuce can taste bitter. This bitterness is often more noticeable when lettuce is stressed or has matured. Lettuce naturally prefers cooler, wetter conditions; when it becomes hot and dry, lettuce tends to become bitter. Additionally, some individuals have a genetic predisposition to perceive bitterness more intensely than others, which makes them more prone to avoiding bitter foods. Luckily, for them, salad is not just lettuce!

Some history - the term salad originates from the Latin “herba salata,” which means salted vegetables: items dipped in salt or preserved seasonal vegetables in brine or a salty dressing. This method was essential in many historical recipes to enjoy salad year-round.

Now for the Design and Technology section: this idea of salting vegetables was used across the world and would then include picked vegetable recipes like piccalilli, giardiniera, kimchi, sauerkraut, olives and gherkins. In fact you can include a long list of vegetables that can be pickled and stored for later use and fast pickles that can be used pretty soon after making them.

However, that is not how we define salad today and here it gets interesting - as there is not one single defining definition of salad. Most don’t even mention lettuce. Here are just 12 of the definitions I found:

• A single sliced vegetable, such as sliced tomatoes, with a drizzle of olive oil.

• A mixed salad – lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes (remember that was my nan definition.)

• A chilled dish consisting of assorted combinations of raw or cooked vegetables, typically seasoned with oil, vinegar, or another dressing, and occasionally served with meat, fish, eggs, or other ingredients.

• In France, it can mean: a small, hot, savoury dish like chicken livers.

• Elsewhere in the world, it can be a mixture of vegetables served chilled or at room temperature or with a mixture of cold and hot ingredients or example a cold vegetable with hot grilled/ barbequed steak, chicken, lamb or pork on top.

• It can mean the vegetables dish served on the side of the meat dish.

• It is can be served as a completely different course in the meal and by itself.

• Some recipes have both vegetables and fruits in the salad, whereas others just have one or the other.

• Some meanings of salad include the idea that the dressing is what makes it a salad – think of Caesar salad – it the dressing that makes it a Caesar salad. We will be coming back to this salad later!

• In Italy, a chopped salad means the chef has already cut the vegetables up in to even sized pieces for the diner. That is was Anna had done with her salad

• Some salads have a carbohydrate base like pasta, noodles, rice or grains think tabbouleh or potato as in potato salad.

• Some definitions have the ingredients in layers, so you mix them as you spoon them out of the serving bowl, other have the ingredients arranged in a round like Budha bowl, some have them mixed before served and others do not, the person eating them mixes them and dresses them to their liking on their own plate.

Going forward I think we need to add our own Orchard Training Cookery Club definition and  it is going to be this:

• 50% (250g or less) vegetables / fruit (raw, cooked or picked),

• 25%  (125g or less) carbohydrates – including potato, rice, pasta, couccous, buckwheat, pearl barley, farro, quinoa and bulgur (wholemeal preferred if pasta or couscous, brown or wild if rice, skins on potatoes if using new potatoes or baked)

• 25% (125g or less) protein -plant protein like tofu, legumes like lentils, chickpeas and black beans, nut seed like hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, or meat like grilled chicken, steak, pork or lamb or fish like salmon, trout and prawns.

• Dressing is optional but if used – used sparingly!

Many store-bought salad dressings can be unhealthy due to high levels of fat, sugar and salt. Many have highly processed oils and artificial additives. Personally, I am not a fan of the dressing but some of you were – now you know not to drench the vegetables with the dressing and that you can reduce the volume of mayo by mixing it with natural fat free yoghurt to reduce the fat, from our cookery lessons. So, if you like a lot of dressing with the potato salad use more yoghurt than mayo.

Salad can be highly nutritious meal (when you dress sparingly) primarily becasue they are a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber - espeically when packed with a variety of colourful vegetables. Some of you have already done the "Eat the Rainbow" lessons and so you will understand salad greens are rich in vitamins A, C and K as well a several B vitamins and potassium. Salads with red, orange, yellow, blue and purple vegetables and fruits are also a great source of antioxidant polyphenols.

Speaking and Listening for English - the most talked-about salad was the Caesar salad. I didn’t know you cared about this one dish, so much! “Which lettuce is the best for Caesar salad?” Well, it turns out that it does matter a lot to everyone! About half of you said it had to be iceberg lettuce, while the other half said Romaine lettuce or little Gem lettuce.

Oh, and let’s not forget the delightful debate about adding other ingredients! Bacon, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, peppers, mushrooms, and even asparagus were all on the table. Then, you deliberated whether to add crotons or not and which brand of Caesar salad dressing to choose. Some of you are even making your own Caeser salad dressing (see photogrpahs above) – I am very impressed. Finally, given that Caeser dressing has parmesan already in it - do we need to add shaved parmesan?

Oh, and then we discovered the Caesar Chicken Dip! We brought out the French bread and had a proper tasting session. Out of the three supermarkets brands there was a clear winner. No-need for me to wear my UN hat after all! None of the three Caesar Chicken Dips were particularly healthy, but they were tasty.

So, in answer to the statement of “Nobody is eating the salad” we are saying – Oh yes we are, and we are very suppressed you are not!

So, we are now throwing the challenge down to the Personal Trainers at the gym – we want them to up their game and to start eating and sharing their salad with us!

We are looking forward to “Nobody is eating the salad” part 3 with their (the personal trainers) salads. I know - some of them are going to have to eat some salad to find out which is their favourite!