Waldorf Salad ~ a delicious appetizer course.
Waldorf salad was first created on March 13, 1886 for a charity ball held at the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It is one of several signature dishes created or developed by the hotel’s maitre d’hotel, Oscar Tschirky.
Originally, the recipe for the salad was just apples, celery and mayonnaise. Later, in 1928, nuts were added. Today, a more modern version includes grapes. Other modern variations are listed in this article on Wikipedia, but my favorite variation is the original recipe, as my mother used to make it for me, of simply apples, celery and walnuts, all dressed with mayonnaise and served well-chilled on a lettuce leaf. This fruit salad is listed as an appetizer course, but my favorite way of eating it is as part of my main meal with a grilled pork chop.
Recipe Summary
The basic recipe I use for Waldorf Salad is simply one cup of diced apple (peeled or unpeeled), one-half cup of diced celery and about one-fourth to one-half cup of broken walnuts. Toss ingredients together with 2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise, chill for several hours and serve on a lettuce leaf.
*Note: You can sprinkle the cut up apples with lemon juice, if desired. I also sometimes substitute a spoonful of the mayonnaise with sour cream for a creamier taste.
This salad is mentioned in the 1934 Cole Porter song “You’re The Top"
You're the top
You're a Waldorf salad
You're the top
You're a Berlin ballad
But if, baby, I'm the bottom
You're the top
It was also mentioned in a 1979 episode of the British television sitcom Fawlty Towers when an American guest demands a Waldorf salad!
Waldorf Salad has also made the List of Regional Dishes, a list of regional or local dishes associated with specific regions of the United States. This dish is associated with New York City (Manhattan) where the original famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was located from 1893 to 1929.
My all-time favorite salad!
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*Waldorf Salad food review written by Wednesday Elf
+Images in this article were taken by Wednesday Elf. The intro image is from Pixabay, created by GetStencil.
