Candle salad facts for kids
A traditional candle salad
|
|
| Type | Fruit salad |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Main ingredients | Lettuce, pineapple, banana, cherry, mayonnaise or cottage cheese |
| Variations | Strawberry yogurt, alfalfa sprouts |
Candle salad is a fun and old-fashioned fruit salad. It was very popular in America from the 1920s to the 1960s. This salad usually has lettuce, pineapple, banana, and a cherry. It's often topped with mayonnaise, cottage cheese, or even whipped cream.
Contents
What is Candle Salad?
Candle salad gets its name because it looks like a lit candle! The banana stands up like a candle, and the cherry on top looks like a flame. It's a simple and creative way to serve fruit.
How to Make It
Making a candle salad is easy and fun.
- First, you place a few leaves of lettuce on a plate. This forms the base of your salad.
- Next, you stack pineapple rings on top of the lettuce. These rings create a small space in the middle.
- Then, you put a whole or half peeled banana upright into the middle of the pineapple rings. This is the "candle" part.
- Finally, you can add a dollop of whipped cream, mayonnaise, or cottage cheese on top of the banana. A bright red cherry goes right on top of that to look like a flame.
Why Was It So Popular?
Candle salad was a hit for many reasons, especially with kids and families.
A Fun Way to Eat Fruit
One big reason for its popularity was its unusual and playful look. It was known as an easy way to get children to eat fruit. Kids loved the idea of eating a "candle."
Easy for Young Cooks
This salad was also seen as a great first recipe for children learning to cook. It's very simple to put together. The recipe for candle salad was even in A Child's First Cook Book (1950) by Alma S. Lach. It also appeared in the 1957 Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls. That book said, "It's better than a real candle because you can eat it."
Candle Salad Today
Even though it's an old recipe, candle salad still pops up sometimes!
Modern Mentions
- In 2008, a version of this salad was in The Friend, a children's magazine. This version used alfalfa sprouts and strawberry yogurt to look like dripping wax.
- Comedian Amy Sedaris once made candle salad on a TV show called Watch What Happens: Live.
- Ellen DeGeneres also joked about this salad on her show in 2014. This made it popular on the internet for a short time.
Candle salad is a sweet reminder of a simpler time. It shows how food can be both tasty and fun!
