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 ...
s,
picnics, and
barbecues, 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 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 state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
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 tr, yoÄŸurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
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
970s
The 970s decade ran from January 1, 970, to December 31, 979.
Significant people
* Mar Abdisho I, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, held position 963–986
* Eric the Red (950–1003), Norse Explorer
* Richard I of Normandy (933†...
is exchanged for grilled shrimp."
[Karla Coo]
RESTAURANTS; Mating Instincts
Sunday, December 8, 2002 New York Times
See also
*
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.
In the United States, it is generally considered a side dish and usually accompanie ...
*
Snickers salad
Snickers salad is a dessert salad consisting of a mix of Snickers bars, Granny Smith apples, whipped cream and often pudding or whipped topping served in a bowl. It is a potluck and party staple in the Upper Midwest of the United States, where ...
*
Cookie salad
*
Jello salad
Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...
*
Pistachio salad
*
Hotdish
A hotdish is a casserole dish that typically contains a starch, a meat, and a canned or frozen vegetable mixed with canned soup that must be served hot or warm. A classic example is made with ground beef, topped with tater tots, and flavored ...
*
Glorified rice
*
Baked beans
Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white beans that are parboiled and then, in the US, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. In the United Kingdom, the dish is sometimes baked, but usually stewed in sauce. Canned ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven-Layer Salad
Cuisine of the Midwestern United States
Salads
Cuisine of Minnesota
Bacon dishes