Waldorf salad recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does a Waldorf salad contain? ›

A Waldorf salad is a fruit and nut salad generally made of celery, fresh apples, walnuts, and grapes, dressed in mayonnaise, and traditionally served on a bed of lettuce as an appetizer or a light meal. The apples, celery, and grapes can all be green, which harmonizes the color palette of the dish.

Also, as soon as you assemble the salad, the apple surfaces become coated with mayonnaise or other dressing, which will protect them from the air. No oxygen, no browning. But really, all of this is much ado about nothing.

The original recipe consisted only of diced red-skinned apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Chopped walnuts were added later to this now American classic.

There are five elements to a perfect salad: greens, sweetness, creaminess, crunchiness, and dressing.

Any type of citrus juice—lemon, lime, or orange juice—will work here; pineapple juice will do the trick too. These fruit juices contain citric acid, which slows the chemical reaction and prevents browning. (You can also sprinkle the fruit with powdered citric acid, but it may leave a strong sour flavor.)

To use this method to prevent apples from turning brown, create a water bath for your apple slices with a ratio of 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of water. Soak the apple slices for 3 to 5 minutes, then drain and rinse them. This simple step should keep your apples from browning for several hours.

Packaged apples found at McDonalds or in your local produce section are usually treated with a solution of calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C) or citric acid (found in citrus fruit) to maintain freshness and color. Both are very safe to use on fruit that will be consumed.

Restaurants salt their salads.

This resulted in every bite tasting vibrant and flavorful. "Season your salad just like you would anything else," Simpson said. "Salt is a big difference between salads at home and salads in a restaurant." This doesn't mean you have to make your salads salty!

The Keys to Crisp Lettuce

Lettuce actually needs a good amount of airflow, in addition to a bit of moisture (but not too much!), in order to stay crisp. That's why restaurants store their lettuce in special perforated bins that allow for air circulation while it's held in the fridge.

How to make salad at home taste like restaurant? ›

Healthy Waldorf Salad – This classic salad of apples, grapes, walnuts, and celery is given a healthy makeover with the substitution of mayo with Greek yogurt.

Add spices and flavours such as paprika, chilli flakes, curry powder, harissa or parmesan. Add acidity or sourness with vinegar, lemon juice or pomegranate molasses to transform your salad.

The salad was part of a menu created by Edouard Beauchamp, the Waldorf's original executive chef, and Oscar Tschirky, its maitre d'hotel. Tschirky, eventually nicknamed Oscar of the Waldorf, is reputed to have been the salad's creator.

Bound Salads

The reason they are a less-healthy option is that the binding agents are typically mayonnaise-based. Some of the most popular bound salads are egg and tuna. Most egg salad recipes are similar, which means that you can tweak the ingredients to your liking.

Bound salad: ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, egg, or starch such as potato, pasta, or rice and bound with mayo. Vegetable salad: cooked and/or raw vegetables (coleslaw); can be bound with mayo or mixed with vinegar/oil dressing.

There's a reason why this Waldorf salad belongs on every holiday dinner table. It's a symphony of crisp apples, celery, grapes, and crunchy walnuts, tossed in a tangy-sweet, creamy dressing that adds the perfect refreshing touch.