![]() Thousand Island dressing on a salad | |
Type | Salad dressing or condiment |
---|---|
Place of origin | United States |
Region or state | Thousand Islands |
Main ingredients | Mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, eggs, cream, chili sauce, tomato purée or ketchup |
370 calories per 100g/ 111 per 2 teaspoons ( 30g) kcal | |
Thousand Island dressing is an American salad dressing and condiment based on mayonnaise that can include olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, cream, chili sauce, tomato purée, and ketchup or Tabasco sauce. [1] [2]
It also typically contains finely chopped ingredients, which can include pickles, onions, bell peppers, green olives, hard-boiled egg, parsley, pimento, chives, garlic, or chopped nuts (such as walnuts or chestnuts). [3] [4] [5]
According to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, the dressing's name comes from the Thousand Islands region, located along the upper St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada. [6] Within that region, one common version of the dressing's origins says that a fishing guide's wife, Sophia LaLonde, made the condiment as part of her husband George's shore dinner. [7] Often in this version, actress May Irwin requested the recipe after enjoying it. [8] Irwin, in turn, gave it to another. In another, second version of the story, Thousand Islands summer resident, George Boldt, who built Boldt Castle between 1900 and 1904 and who was proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, instructed the hotel's maître d'hôtel , Oscar Tschirky, to put the dressing on the menu in 1894 after he forgot dressing on salads and improvised with what ingredients were on hand at the time. [7] [9] A 1959 National Geographic article states, "Thousand Island Dressing was reportedly developed by Boldt's chef." [10] Despite claims that he was involved in the introduction of the salad dressing at the Waldorf, chef Tschirky did not mention the salad dressing in his cookbook that was published during that time period. [11]
When University of Wisconsin sociologist Michael Bell and his graduate students attempted to determine the origin of Thousand Island dressing in 2010, they found that the story differed among villages and islands in the Thousand Islands region. [7] They discovered the existence of a third origin story in which the original recipe was based upon French dressing, which is supported by a recipe published in the 11th edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1965). [7] All the claims appeared to be based upon oral traditions without supporting written records. [7] [12] [13]
According to Food & Wine magazine, the dressing was a traditional sauce from the late 19th century in the Thousand Islands region. The wealthy who visited the region carried bottles of the local sauce back to New York City, such as one variant found in Clayton, New York, called Sophia's Sauce found at a local hotel, Herald Hotel run by innkeeper Sophia Lelonde. [14]
Some food writers advance the claim that the dressing was invented by chef Theo Rooms of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago during the same time period. [12] [15] [16] The food historians at The Food Timeline point out that the earliest print reference to Thousand Island dressing appeared in 1912, [17] and that recipes for different versions of the dressing begin to appear afterwards throughout the U.S. [18]
It is widely used in fast-food restaurants and diners in the United States, where it is often referred to as "special sauce" or "secret sauce". An example of this is In-N-Out Burger's "spread", served on burgers and several "secret menu" items; despite its name, it is a variation of Thousand Island dressing. [19] Thousand Island dressing is often used in a Reuben sandwich in lieu of Russian dressing. [20] McDonald's Big Mac sauce is a variation on Thousand Island dressing. [14]
Rhode Island dressing (Rhode islandsås), introduced by the Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman, [21] [22] is similar to Thousand Island and very popular in Sweden. Its name is confusing, especially for foreigners, and its origin unclear, since the dressing has no relationship to Rhode Island and the name is not used for preparations outside Sweden.
In Germany, a similar salad dressing is called "American dressing". [23] [24]
Mayonnaise, colloquially referred to as "mayo", is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar sauce, fry sauce, remoulade, salsa golf, and rouille.
A Waldorf salad is a fruit and nut salad generally made of fresh apples, celery, 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.
Oscar Tschirky was a Swiss-American restaurateur who was maître d'hôtel of Delmonico's Restaurant and subsequently the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York, United States. He was widely known as "Oscar of the Waldorf" and published a large cookbook.
Russian dressing is a piquant American salad dressing consisting of mayonnaise, ketchup, and other ingredients.
George Charles Boldt Sr. was a Prussian-born American hotelier. A self-made millionaire, he influenced the development of the urban hotel as a civic social center and luxury destination.
Rémoulade is a European cold sauce based on mayonnaise. Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish, sometimes flavored with curry, and sometimes contains chopped pickles or piccalilli. It can also contain horseradish, paprika, anchovies, capers and a host of other items.
Louis dressing is a salad dressing based on mayonnaise, to which red chili sauce, minced green onions, and minced green chili peppers have been added. It is commonly used as a dressing for salads featuring seafood, such as a crab or shrimp.
Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, sometimes served in a liquid, either their own juices or a syrup. In different forms, fruit salad can be served as an appetizer, a side salad. When served as an appetizer, a fruit salad is sometimes known as a fruit cocktail, or fruit cup.
A Hot Brown sandwich is an American hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It is a variation of traditional Welsh rarebit and was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923. It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late-night dinners.
Green goddess is a salad dressing, typically containing mayonnaise, sour cream, chervil, chives, anchovy, tarragon, lemon juice, and pepper.
Chef salad is an American salad consisting of hard-boiled eggs, one or more varieties of meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese, all placed upon a bed of tossed lettuce or other leaf vegetables. Several early recipes also include anchovies. A variety of dressings may be used with this salad.
Pasta salad is a salad dish prepared with one or more types of pasta, almost always chilled, and most often tossed in a vinegar, oil, or mayonnaise-based dressing. It is typically served as an appetizer, side dish or a main course. Pasta salad is often regarded as a spring or summertime meal, but it can be served any time of year.
Chinese chicken salad is a salad including chopped chicken and Chinese culinary ingredients that is common in parts of the United States. Though many variations exist, common features of Chinese chicken salads include lettuce, cabbage, chicken, deep-fried wonton skins or rice vermicelli and nuts. A basic vinaigrette for the salad includes ingredients like vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar. Optional seasonings include dry hot mustard, sesame seeds, coriander and raw ginger or pickled ginger. In restaurants, Chinese chicken salad may be more embellished and offered as an American-style entree salad, similar to Caesar, Chef, and Cobb salads.
Salsa golf is a cold sauce of somewhat thick consistency, common in Argentina. According to legend, it was invented by the physician Luis Federico Leloir in the mid-1920s at a golf club at the seaside resort Mar del Plata. Tired of eating shrimp and prawn with mayonnaise, he asked the waiter to bring various ingredients and experimented with different mixtures. The favourite was ketchup and mayonnaise. Leloir's companions named the result salsa golf, and its fame grew. Soon it also spread to neighboring Uruguay.
Marie Rose sauce is a British condiment often made from a blend of tomatoes, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and black pepper. A simpler version can be made by merely mixing tomato ketchup with mayonnaise. The sauce was popularised in the 1960s by Fanny Cradock, a British celebrity chef.
The Waldorf-Astoria originated as two hotels, built side by side by feuding relatives on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1893 and expanded in 1897, the Waldorf-Astoria was razed in 1929 to make way for construction of the Empire State Building. Its successor, the current Waldorf Astoria New York, was built on Park Avenue in 1931.
Salads that are internationally known as Thai salads, with a few exceptions, fall into four main methods of preparation. In Thai cuisine these are called yam, tam, lap and phla. A few additional dishes can also be regarded as being a salad.
Today, this dressing is still being served at Oscar's in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Take one cup mayonnaise dressing, mix with one-half cup whipped cream, add small amount of tarragon vinegar, one-half teaspoonful of Imperial sauce, then chop one hard boiled egg, one green pepper, one pimento, one pinch chives, mix well together and squeeze the juice of one lemon before serving.