Seven-layer salad is an American dish that includes a colorful combination of seven layers of ingredients: iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sweet peas, hard-boiled eggs, sharp cheddar cheese, and bacon pieces. The salad is topped with a mayonnaise-based dressing and sometimes sour cream is added. It is often served in a glass bowl or large pan so the layers can be observed. The dish is often associated with
potluck
A potluck is a communal gathering where each guest or group contributes a different, often homemade, dish of food to be shared.
Other names for a "potluck" include: potluck dinner, pitch-in, shared lunch, spread, faith supper, carry-in dinner, c ...
s,
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...
s, and
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
s, where a large gathering of people takes place and many people need to be fed. There are many variants of the seven-layer salad and it can be made with additional (or sometimes fewer) layers, making it (for example) an eight-layer salad instead.
History
Although there are many variations, the traditional seven-layer salad has remained the same for decades. The dish may have originated in the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and was called the "seven-layer pea salad" for its main layers of peas. The traditional seven-layer salad is covered with a coating of mayonnaise (and sometimes sour cream) and includes eggs and bacon. It has been said to have "helped give salads of the 1950s a bad name... when it came to health."
Variations
Popular variations on the home-made salad's ingredients include ham, mushrooms, celery, carrots, and bell peppers. The dish remains a party staple, and its impressive height and layered architecture have been adapted by some restaurant chefs, though "our mothers were stacking long before many of today's chefs were even born."
Cooks modifying the salad include those at Aura restaurant on Lincoln Road in
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
who include sliced mozzarella, red tomatoes and basil layered for red, green and white color, and others using fruit, cutting back on high-fat ingredients, substituting low-fat
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...
or a vinaigrette dressing for the mayonnaise/sour cream, and modifying the ingredients with ethnic and gourmet foods such as tomatillos, chickpeas, black beans and pepperoni.
Another chef who serves items with "a sense of humor" offers "an updated seven-layer salad in a tortilla, where the ground beef of the
970sis exchanged for grilled shrimp."
[Karla Coo]
RESTAURANTS; Mating Instincts
Sunday, December 8, 2002 New York Times
See also
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List of salads
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes including green salads; vegetable salads; long beans; salads of pasta, legumes, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They often include vegetables and fruits.
...
*
Potato salad
Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side dish.
History and varieties
Potato salad is foun ...
*
Snickers salad
*
Cookie salad
*
Jello salad
Jello salad is an American salad made with flavored gelatin, fruit, and sometimes grated carrots or (more rarely) other vegetables. Other ingredients may include cottage cheese, cream cheese, marshmallows, nuts, or pretzels. Jello salads were p ...
*
Pistachio salad
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Hotdish
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Glorified rice
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Baked beans
Baked beans is a Dish (food), dish traditionally containing white Phaseolus vulgaris, common beans that are parboiling, parboiled and then baking, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but ar ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven-Layer Salad
Cuisine of the Midwestern United States
Salads
Cuisine of Minnesota
Bacon dishes