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Depression Era Salad
This recipe, or variations of a recipe, has been doing the rounds on Facebook and YouTube recently and it has intrigued me.
Even the name sounds interesting - Depression Era Salad.
I was hooked, and straight away started looking at the different recipes or variations of those recipes. And then I wanted to know the history of the recipe, especially the name, because, well you know, I love history, especially if I can tie it into our day to day lives.
I've looked all over the place, online and through my old recipe books and leaflets and I can't find a particular recipe that is what this salad is. I did find one that was close, but it was jellied. I think jellied salads were all the rage during the Great Depression, perhaps because they were a little festive for what could otherwise be a grim meal or party?
I found a video of a recipe the was called Jew Salad, and it showed a handwritten, faded and stained piece of paper with the recipe written on it, and it's as close as I could find to an original recipe. I'm thinking the name was changed by the person who made it and sent it viral to be politically correct and with everyone being very conscious of grocery budgets and how much things cost and the desire to look to the past to find the tastiest and cheapest recipes, Depression Era Salad became a hit.
I don't really know; after going down a few rabbit holes trying to find the original source my head was spinning, but one thing was consistent: the dressing recipe stayed the same. The salad veggies may have changed a bit but the dressing in every recipe I looked at was the same.
I love salads, and I love to make them ahead of time and having them in the fridge ready to just dish up, so I took up the challenge and made a batch, and it is good. It's basically finely shredded or sliced salad veggies covered with the dressing, packed into a gallon mason jars and put in the fridge, and it's supposed to last for up to a week.
I don't have a gallon mason jar, but I do have four quart mason jars that I use, with a small bowl of the leftover salad used for our next meal.
Just to be safe, I do sterilise the jars before I pack the salad into them. Not really necessary, but I'd rather take a few minutes for the extra step and be safe. As long as your jars are scrupulously clean, as all our storage containers should be, you can choose to sterilise or not. I recycle used lids; the salad isn't being water bathed or pressure canned so there's no need for new lids. As long as the lid is clean, fits the jar and stays on, it's good.
Another reason I prefer to use the quart jars is they fit neatly in the door of the fridge so I don't lose any shelf space.
Depression Era Salad is basically a big coleslaw with cabbage, carrot, celery, red onion, brown onion, capsicum and cucumber.
The recipe I'm following says to peel the cucumbers, so I did, but I don’t think I'll bother in the future, we always eat the cucumber skin and all and I'm not sure why it would need to be peeled other than back in the Great Depression, cucumber was peeled, I think because there was a fear the skins were toxic. They are safe to eat - it is other members of the family, the non-edible gourds and squash that have the toxic skin. Cucumber skin is full of vitamins and minerals, and is even thought to have cancer fighting properties. So now I use the whole cucumber.
Even the name sounds interesting - Depression Era Salad.
I was hooked, and straight away started looking at the different recipes or variations of those recipes. And then I wanted to know the history of the recipe, especially the name, because, well you know, I love history, especially if I can tie it into our day to day lives.
I've looked all over the place, online and through my old recipe books and leaflets and I can't find a particular recipe that is what this salad is. I did find one that was close, but it was jellied. I think jellied salads were all the rage during the Great Depression, perhaps because they were a little festive for what could otherwise be a grim meal or party?
I found a video of a recipe the was called Jew Salad, and it showed a handwritten, faded and stained piece of paper with the recipe written on it, and it's as close as I could find to an original recipe. I'm thinking the name was changed by the person who made it and sent it viral to be politically correct and with everyone being very conscious of grocery budgets and how much things cost and the desire to look to the past to find the tastiest and cheapest recipes, Depression Era Salad became a hit.
I don't really know; after going down a few rabbit holes trying to find the original source my head was spinning, but one thing was consistent: the dressing recipe stayed the same. The salad veggies may have changed a bit but the dressing in every recipe I looked at was the same.
I love salads, and I love to make them ahead of time and having them in the fridge ready to just dish up, so I took up the challenge and made a batch, and it is good. It's basically finely shredded or sliced salad veggies covered with the dressing, packed into a gallon mason jars and put in the fridge, and it's supposed to last for up to a week.
I don't have a gallon mason jar, but I do have four quart mason jars that I use, with a small bowl of the leftover salad used for our next meal.
Just to be safe, I do sterilise the jars before I pack the salad into them. Not really necessary, but I'd rather take a few minutes for the extra step and be safe. As long as your jars are scrupulously clean, as all our storage containers should be, you can choose to sterilise or not. I recycle used lids; the salad isn't being water bathed or pressure canned so there's no need for new lids. As long as the lid is clean, fits the jar and stays on, it's good.
Another reason I prefer to use the quart jars is they fit neatly in the door of the fridge so I don't lose any shelf space.
Depression Era Salad is basically a big coleslaw with cabbage, carrot, celery, red onion, brown onion, capsicum and cucumber.
The recipe I'm following says to peel the cucumbers, so I did, but I don’t think I'll bother in the future, we always eat the cucumber skin and all and I'm not sure why it would need to be peeled other than back in the Great Depression, cucumber was peeled, I think because there was a fear the skins were toxic. They are safe to eat - it is other members of the family, the non-edible gourds and squash that have the toxic skin. Cucumber skin is full of vitamins and minerals, and is even thought to have cancer fighting properties. So now I use the whole cucumber.
Depression Era Salad
Ingredients:
1kg cabbage
3 large carrots
3 large cucumbers
1 large red onion, halved
1 large brown onion, halved
1 large green capsicum
1/2 bunch celery
Dressing:
1/2 cup hot water
10 - 12 tbsp sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
Method:
Finely shred the cabbage. Remove the core and seeds from the capsicum and cut into quarters.
Finely slice the cucumber, carrot, onion, celery and capsicum. This is a large salad, so use a big bowl or pot to toss the veggies together.
Make the dressing by dissolving the sugar in the hot water. Whisk in the oil, then the vinegar, salt and garlic powder.
Pour the dressing over the salad.
Put the salad into jars. I use my hands, and press it down firmly.
Divide the dressing left in the pot between the jars. Cover and store in the fridge.
This salad can be eaten after a couple of hours, but it just gets better and better as the flavours meld.
Keep covered in the fridge for up to a week.
We eat it as a side with barbecued chicken and fish, and on burgers. It's good on it's own too for a quick and easy lunch.
Ingredients:
1kg cabbage
3 large carrots
3 large cucumbers
1 large red onion, halved
1 large brown onion, halved
1 large green capsicum
1/2 bunch celery
Dressing:
1/2 cup hot water
10 - 12 tbsp sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
Method:
Finely shred the cabbage. Remove the core and seeds from the capsicum and cut into quarters.
Finely slice the cucumber, carrot, onion, celery and capsicum. This is a large salad, so use a big bowl or pot to toss the veggies together.
Make the dressing by dissolving the sugar in the hot water. Whisk in the oil, then the vinegar, salt and garlic powder.
Pour the dressing over the salad.
Put the salad into jars. I use my hands, and press it down firmly.
Divide the dressing left in the pot between the jars. Cover and store in the fridge.
This salad can be eaten after a couple of hours, but it just gets better and better as the flavours meld.
Keep covered in the fridge for up to a week.
We eat it as a side with barbecued chicken and fish, and on burgers. It's good on it's own too for a quick and easy lunch.