I didn't get that distinction, but maybe.
I suppose everyone has a different concept of "salad", and I tend to agree with you.
We always had "salad" for Saturday dinner, back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and it usually involved lettuce, tomatoes (if in season), cucumber, cooked potato, pickled onions, pickled beetroot, pickled cabbage and cheese. ALWAYS dressed with Heinz Salad Cream.Once the UK started recovering from WWII rationing, then we'd get wierd things like "bell peppers" and "sweetcorn" and "coleslaw"
Then, when I went up to Uni, all sorts of strange items appeared, like raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, grated beetroot, spinach, chicory leaves...
and all dressed with some curious thing called "vinaigrette"...
First time in the USA, in 1974, we travelled to 24 cities in 25 days, and the hotels (ie. Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn, etc!) used to serve "Chef Salads", which we absolutely freaked over. What's more, there was a choice of "French, Italian or Thousand Island Dressing". It was also the first time I'd encountered "Pasta Salad" or "Rice Salad". Odd, I thought, eating cold pasta, but what the heck if it tastes good.
About 20 years ago, I remember reading an article in the NY Times where 10 US chefs invited 10 Chinese chefs to spend 2 weeks in the USA, and then the visit went to China. The Chinese chefs couldn't get their heads around American Salad. How could anyone possibly eat
raw vegetables??
Since I'm a great fan of creativity and innovation, I thought I'd look up definitions of "Salad", just to see whether the word has become antiquated.
OED:
a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.
Merriam Webster:
any of various usually cold dishes: such as
raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing
, OR: small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin
Larousse:
- 1. Terme générique désignant certaines plantes potagères feuillues (laitues, chicorées, cresson, mâche, pissenlit).
- (A generic term for certain leafy garden vegetables such as lettuce, chicory, watercress, lamb's lettuce, dandelion)
- 2. Plat composé de feuilles de ces plantes crues et assaisonnées.
- (Dish composed of the above plants, raw and seasoned)
- 3. Mets composé de légumes, de viande ou de poisson assaisonnés généralement en vinaigrette.
- (Dishes composed of vegetables, meat or fish, usually seasoned with vinaigrette)
Interesting, eh? I think "salad" perhaps needs re-defining.