# Can a salad, by definition, include animal protein? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 26, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365 "2021-07-26T20:18:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/1 "2021-07-26T20:18:16Z")
So I got into the most ridiculous online argument last night over whether a salad can be called a salad if it includes meat products. My view is that of course it can, and I cited my own potato salad that has lots of bacon, Caesar salad and even green papaya salad that traditionally includes small crabs. What say the Dope? Are these examples no longer salads if they are not exclusively plant-based? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/2 "2021-07-26T20:20:44Z")
You got into an argument with a complete idiot it sounds like. Salad is not exclusively plant based. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/3 "2021-07-26T20:27:05Z")
Of course it can. Tuna salad, ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, taco salad…the list is endless. You were arguing with idiots. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/4 "2021-07-26T20:32:26Z")
As noted, many popular salads include animal protein along with the vegetables, including Caesar salad (anchovies, egg) and Cobb salad (bacon, chicken, eggs). And, there are lots of dishes which are called “salads” that are even less veg-based, including pasta salads, Jello salads, tuna salads, etc. Even if one looks at definitions in the online dictionaries, there’s nothing in there that says “must only be vegetables,” and both of the examples below explictly mention meats as potential ingredients. For example: Merriam-Webster: > [@](#): > > ## Definition of _salad_ > > 1 **:** any of various usually cold dishes: such as > > a **:** raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing > > b **:** small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): > [@](#): > > - a usually cold dish consisting of vegetables, as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, covered with a dressing and sometimes containing seafood, meat, or eggs. > > - any of various dishes consisting of foods, as meat, seafood, eggs, pasta, or fruit, prepared singly or combined, usually cut up, mixed with a dressing, and served cold: chicken salad; potato salad. So, yeah, whoever you’re talking to has a non-standard definition of what is and is not a salad. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/5 "2021-07-26T20:34:07Z")
TIL that [Bacos](https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=Bacos+commercial) have been discontinued. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/6 "2021-07-26T20:36:09Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > So I got into the most ridiculous online argument last night There’s your problem right there. You should know that people online can’t be trusted to not be argumentative. You do hang out here, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/7 "2021-07-26T20:36:24Z")
Perhaps the people arguing with you have fallen into the trap of insisting that the meaning of a word can never change. Sorry, I can’t seem to enter the link, but search on “origin of the word salad”. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/8 "2021-07-26T20:37:16Z")
I love me a huge steak salad Pittsburgh style. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/9 "2021-07-26T20:44:45Z")
Don’t forget that mayonnaise and ranch both contain animal products, too. If a salad can’t contain animal products, then ranch isn’t a salad dressing. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/10 "2021-07-26T21:00:40Z")
The word “salad” only refers to salt. So if it’s not salted, it can’t be salad. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/11 "2021-07-26T21:31:39Z")
No one’s ever heard of a chef’s salad? > **[Chef salad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef_salad)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Chef salad (or chef's salad) is an American salad consisting of hard-boiled eggs, one or more varieties of meat (such as ham, turkey, chicken, or roast beef), 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. > Food historians do not agree on the history and composition of chef's salad. Some trace it to ... ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/12 "2021-07-26T22:16:37Z")
There’s even word salad. Though you start with a cabbage head, there is nothing of substance, just a lot of hot air. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/13 "2021-07-26T22:41:57Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Of course it can. Tuna salad, ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, taco salad…the list is endless. If I were being pedantic, I would point out that the OP asked about “ **a** salad,” not about “salad.” Even so, it is absolutely true that a salad can contain animal protein. My cite is the menus of millions of restaurants all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/14 "2021-07-26T22:50:24Z")
If I just asked for “a salad” as a side I would expect to receive something like a ceasar salad with lettuce, tomatoes, croutons and dressing. Then be given an option to add things like chicken, shrimp or salmon. Other “salads” would add numerous other things, type of meat being part of desription. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/15 "2021-07-26T23:01:55Z")
It’s seems everyone agrees with the OP here, so I’m curious if the non-present arguer had any counter-arguments to “What about a cesar salad”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/16 "2021-07-27T00:52:52Z")
Was the erroneous person French? In French, besides meaning “salad,” _salade_ can mean simply “lettuce.” > **[Translate 'salade' from French to English](https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/salade)** > > French to English translation results for 'salade' designed for tablets and mobile devices. Possible languages include English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and Swedish. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/17 "2021-07-27T01:10:49Z")
Of course it can. I can sort of get behind the idea that egg salad, tuna salad, etc. aren’t what I would think of if someone said “salad.” If I ordered something in a restaurant and it just said it came with salad as a side and it turned out to be a glob of tuna mixed with mayo, I would be a bit vexed. And as an extension, I can get behind the idea that maybe if you’re going to call it a salad, there ought to be at least one vegetable involved. So tuna+mayo+celery=tuna salad, but tuna+mayo=not salad. Although in that case, I don’t know what else it would be called, so… salad it is, I guess. But swinging back over to what I would consider traditional salads, the idea that they can’t have animal products in them is absurd. A regular lettuce-and-veg salad with bacon or chicken on top is still a salad by any reasonable definition. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/18 "2021-07-27T01:14:30Z")
Salads seem to be amazingly popular in Puerto Rico. There were signs all along the freeway. [![](https://www.caribbeanluxuryrentals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/caribbean-luxury-rentals-villas-puerto-rico-rio-mar-salida.jpg) ](https://www.caribbeanluxuryrentals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/caribbean-luxury-rentals-villas-puerto-rico-rio-mar-salida.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/19 "2021-07-27T01:44:36Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > In French, besides meaning “salad,” _salade_ can mean simply “lettuce.” Heh. The old “French Gambit”? Seriously? Never works. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365/20 "2021-07-27T01:53:46Z")
Salad can have virtually any ingredient you want, including meats. There is no Culinary Police that define what salad is. There are definitions as cited above and none of them say, “A salad may not contain…” I suppose that a salad is generally served cold but I’ve had salads with hot meats on them (salmon, grilled chicken). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-salad-by-definition-include-animal-protein/947365.md?page=2)