Waldorf salad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Waldorf salad is a salad consisting of apple, nuts (especially walnuts), celery, and mayonnaise or a mayonnaise-based dressing. It was first created around 1893 at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City (the precursor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel which opened in 1931). Although Oscar Tschirky, who was the maître d'hôtel is usually given credit for creating the recipe, there are conflicting stories about who actually created the salad. Oscar Tschirky also claimed credit for several other dishes served at the Waldorf, including Eggs Benedict. (An alternative theory is that it was created by the Waldorf Lunch System, an early 20th century lunchroom chain—starting in the 1920s, the company logo was an apple.) In 1896 Waldorf Salad appeared in "The Cook Book by 'Oscar of the Waldorf'". It is traditionally served on lettuce. Dried fruit is often added — usually chopped dates or raisins.
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[edit] Cultural references
"Waldorf Salad" is the title of a 1979 episode of Fawlty Towers which concerns a bad-tempered 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." He asks the question: "What is a Waldorf anyway, a walnut that's gone off?".
The song "You're the Top" from the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes contains the line: "You're the top, you're a Waldorf salad".
In the 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Waldorf salads are frequently mentioned and consumed. At a Christmas party thrown by protagonist Patrick Bateman's fiance Evelyn Williams, Evelyn worries about how well the Waldorf salad is received by her guests.
[edit] Recipe
A traditional recipe for a Waldorf salad is:
Ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/8 tsp salt, 3 medium red apples (cored and diced), 1 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup raisins (optional) and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions: 1. In medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Stir in apples, celery and raisins. Chill, if desired. Just before serving, sprinkle with walnuts.
Serves: 8 Preparation Time: 10 minutes
