How to Toss a Salad

A basic tossed salad is comprised of simply lettuce greens and salad dressing.

A tossed salad refers to a salad that is served with the dressing mixed in as opposed to poured on top or provided on the side. For example, Caesar salads are often served as tossed salads. You can prepare almost any salad recipe as a tossed salad, so the ingredients for your salad will depend on the type of salad you are making. Tossed salads typically utilize less salad dressing than other salads.

Things You'll Need

• Salad greens
• Salad spinner
• Salad dressing
• Salad tongs or two spoons
• Serving bowl
• Salad ingredients

Instructions

1. Buy the type of lettuce you want as a whole head, as opposed to a bag of pre-cut lettuce. This is true whether you are buying Iceberg, Romaine or any other type of greens. If you are buying spinach, buy whole leaf spinach. When lettuce is pre-cut, the edges of the lettuce have the opportunity to dry and seal, similarly to how a wound seals itself. This prevents the lettuce from absorbing the dressing.

2. Wash the greens thoroughly. Whole heads of lettuce are typically not pre-washed. This leads to the possible presence of dirt, germs and bacteria.

3. Use a salad spinner to remove excess water. Lettuce will naturally hold on to water it comes in contact with. However, excess water will dilute the salad dressing, which will affect the flavor of the salad.

4. Tear the leaves in bite-size pieces instead of cutting the leaves. Tearing the lettuce will leave the edges rough and jagged, which will allow the leaves to absorb more dressing.

5. Add just enough dressing to coat the leaves. Once you finish tearing the lettuce, make sure to place the ripped lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the lettuce. If you use too much, it will pool at the bottom of the bowl and cause the leaves to get soggy. If you start mixing the lettuce and realize you do not have enough dressing, you can always add more.

6. Use either salad tongs or two spoons to toss the salad. Move the leaves from the bottom of the bowl to the top of the bowl. This will keep the leaves crisp and it will help to evenly distribute the dressing over the salad. Continue doing this until all the leaves are lightly coated with dressing.

7. Transport the lettuce to either the serving bowl you plan to use or the individual salad bowls. Once in the presentation bowls, add any other ingredients, such as croutons or cheese to the top of the salad. Depending on the salad recipe, you can also add the other ingredients prior to tossing the salad, so they are also coated in dressing.

Tips & Warnings

• Hearty greens such as Romaine lettuce can support the salad dressing better and will last longer without wilting.

• Tossed salad will not store well, so only make what you will need to avoid waste.

References

• Cooks.com: Tossed Salad
• Fine Cooking: How to Make a Great Green Salad

Resources

• Taste of Home: Festive Tossed Salad Recipe