I may not like to boast too much, but I must admit that I possess a certain expertise when it comes to salads. Whenever there’s a special occasion or a gathering, my friends and family always assign me the task of preparing the salad. And truth be told, I believe it’s because I genuinely enjoy crafting a delicious salad—one that boasts a perfect harmony of crisp, crunchy, and creamy textures, a vibrant assortment of fresh vegetables, and a tangy homemade dressing to tie it all together. For me, making a salad is not merely a chore but a delightful experience.
Even for someone who has mastered the art of salad-making, there’s always room for improvement. Recently, I stumbled upon an age-old trick used in restaurants that can significantly elevate the quality of any salad: the simple act of chilling your salad plate before serving.
Why It’s Beneficial to Chill Your Salad Utensils
According to Sheela Prakash, the author of Salad Seasons and Mediterranean Every Day, limp lettuce can quickly ruin a salad. By taking just a few moments to refrigerate the bowl or platter from which you serve your salad for about 10 to 20 minutes, you can prevent this unfortunate outcome. “Similar to how serving hot food on a warmed plate helps maintain its temperature, serving a salad in a chilled bowl ensures it stays crisp long after it has been dressed,” she explains.
Echoing this sentiment, Chef Ann Ziata from the Institute of Culinary Education recommends refrigerating your salad plates or serving bowls for approximately 20 minutes before use. She notes that many restaurants maintain their plates at varying temperatures depending on the course being served. Ziata emphasizes the vital role that time and temperature play in the science of cooking. The law of thermodynamics dictates that heat will transfer from a warmer object to a cooler one when they are in contact. Therefore, a chilled plate can prevent your salad from becoming limp, wilted, or inadvertently cooked, as can occur when using a plate straight from a hot dishwasher. Even if the plate is not warm to the touch, a dish stored in a cupboard can raise the temperature of the salad ingredients that were stored in the fridge, resulting in less crisp leafy greens.
My Salad Plate Experiment
Initially skeptical about the necessity of this additional step, I decided to conduct a little experiment. I took three salad plates—one chilled in the fridge for 20 minutes, one at room temperature, and one warmed in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I then portioned out a simple arugula salad onto each plate.
After 10 and 30 minutes, I sampled the salads and was pleasantly surprised by how much crisper the greens remained on the chilled plate, particularly when compared to those on the microwave-warmed plate. Not only did the salad on the chilled plate retain a superior texture, but it also appeared more appealing and tasted better.
Moving forward, I intend to
