Watergate salad

Watergate salad
Alternative names Pistachio delight, Shut The Gate Salad, Green Goop, Green Fluff, Green Stuff
Type Dessert
Place of origin United States
Region or state Midwestern United States
Main ingredients Pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, Cool Whip, marshmallows
Cookbook: Watergate salad  Media: Watergate salad

Watergate salad, also referred to as "Green Goddess", Pistachio Delight,[1] or Shut The Gate Salad[2] or colloquially as Green Goop, Green Fluff[3] or Green Stuff,[4] is a side dish salad or dessert salad made from pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, whipped topping, and marshmallows.[5][6][7] It is very quick to prepare: the ingredients are combined and it can be chilled, if desired.[8]

The canned fruit used is usually pineapple, but can be a fruit cocktail and/or mandarin oranges. Thanks to many home cooks, there are many slight variations with additional ingredients. Watergate salad is similar to ambrosia salad. It is a popular dish in the Upper Midwest and other areas of the U.S. where potlucks are popular.

Etymology

The origin of the name “Watergate salad” is obscure. The recipe was published by General Foods (since merged into what is now Kraft Heinz) and called for two General Foods products: Jell-O instant pistachio pudding and Cool Whip whipped topping, a whipped-cream substitute. According to Kraft, "There are several urban myths regarding the name change, but we can’t substantiate any of them."[9] Several competing explanations exist.

Kraft Corporate Affairs said: "We developed the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight. It was in 1975, the same year that pistachio pudding mix came out."[10] Kraft, however, didn't refer to it as Watergate Salad until consumers started requesting the recipe for it under the name. "According to Kraft Kitchens, when the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight was sent out, an unnamed Chicago food editor renamed it Watergate Salad to promote interest in the recipe when she printed it in her column."[10] Neither the article nor editor has been tracked down, however.

The Denver Post, in the Empire Magazine of June 27, 1976, published a recipe for Watergate Salad. Rumor has it that Watergate salad was a concoction thought up by a sous chef at the Watergate Hotel, and it was then served at brunch on most weekends. Watergate Salad took off in popularity during and after the presidential scandal which shares the same name. However, the Denver Post article does not verify this rumor, noting like most sources that the origins of the name are obscure.

Syndicated household advice columnists Anne Adams and Nan Nash-Cummings, in their "Anne & Nan" column of October 9, 1997, reported that name came from the similar "Watergate Cake" (which shares most of the same ingredients):[11] "The recipes came out during the Watergate scandal. The cake has a 'cover-up' icing and is full of nuts. The salad is also full of nuts." [12] Both cake and salad were part of a trend for satirically-named recipes such as Nixon's Perfectly Clear Consomme and Liddy's Clam-Up Chowder.[13]

In 1922 Helen Keller published a similar recipe, calling for canned diced pineapple, nuts, marshmallows, whipped cream and other ingredients. "I ate it first in California, so I call it Golden Gate Salad". Similar "fruit salad" and "pineapple salad" recipes had been published in the 1910s, and "Golden Gate Salad" was served in some American hotels.

References

  1. ↑ Recipe from Deseret News April 3, 1985
  2. ↑ Recipe from Cooks.com
  3. ↑ Recipe from Cooks.com
  4. ↑ Van Dyke, Louis (2013). The Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking: 450 Essential Recipes Southerners Have Enjoyed for Generations. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 121.
  5. ↑ Sacramento Bee recipe August 08, 1990
  6. ↑ Zalben, Lee (Jun 15, 2011). "In Salads Named After Political Scandals: Watergate Salad". Serious Eats. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Orchant, Rebecca (January 9, 2014). "Earth To America: Dessert Salad Is Not Actually Salad (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Two recipes from Our Savior's (Montevideo, Minnesota) Lutheran Church (1879-2004) 125 Years cookbook
  9. ↑ "History of Watergate Salad". Kraft brands. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  10. 1 2 Mahoney, Louis (August 4, 1999). "The Proof is in the Pudding; Crashing Watergate". The Richmond Times Dispatch. p. F1.
  11. ↑ baking.com, Watergate Cake With Cover-Up Icing
  12. ↑ The Daily Courier, "Ask Anne & Nan" October 09, 1997
  13. ↑ Sagert, Kelly Boyer (2007). The 1970s. Greenwood. p. 111.
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