Wedge Salads Can Look A Little Intimidating. How Do You Eat One?
The wedge salad is a glorious combination of ingredients like salty bacon, crispy iceberg, juicy red tomatoes, blue cheese sauce, and some herby chives (with the chance of a red onion popping in, too). This dish is slightly decadent, a fabulous mixture of refreshing yet creamy foods. The only thing holding you back may be how intimidating this salad looks. Well, eating it is simpler than you think. Get ready for a wedge salad; you'll need your knife and fork.
During a fancy occasion, a salad knife and salad fork are the appropriate utensils with which to elegantly slice through the crisp layers of lettuce without causing it to scatter or forcing dressing to splatter. Taking your time's also extremely important; rushing a salad will only make the experience much messier. Knowledge of salad-wedge etiquette will boost your confidence when enjoying salads at home or dining out. With this knowledge, you may also feel more inclined to create a wedge salad board for an upcoming event!
What is wedge etiquette?
Miss Manners of the Washington Post attests that you should approach eating a salad "like an archeological dig." This is a great mindset to take to your wedge salad, as you want to excavate the most graceful way to eat each mouthful carefully. Do not expect or attempt to eat a whole wedge salad in one mouthful, like bombing a dig site; you will only destroy the elegant air you wish to create. If they're available, use a salad knife and fork — otherwise, the usual will do, if that's all you have. You want to secure the middle of the wedge with your fork and use your knife to cut off bite-sized pieces from the tip downward.
Once you finish one end, you can turn your plate around and start on the next. Proper salad-etiquette, according to Rachel Wagner, dictates that you should "only cut one bite at a time," so don't chop up the whole salad before you take the first bite. You wouldn't pre-make all your mouthfuls with other dishes, so don't do so with this one, either. Another helpful tip: Ensure that, when preparing meals of this nature for gatherings at home, you don't run your knives through the dishwasher. A dull blade will not sufficiently cut a salad or look particularly clean.
Tips for eating other salads
Salads can feel like a safe option to order, but they can also get messy quickly. It's essential to make yourself feel as confident as possible, whether on a date or at a business meeting. If you want to remain graceful, follow these tips. You might be provided a salad knife and fork, but sometimes you only have the salad fork at your place setting. In this case, use your dinner knife (and salad fork) to enjoy the salad course.
If you order a salad and the dressing and toppings come on the side, adding a little of each to every bite is perfectly acceptable. Do not go overboard and eat all the bacon pieces separately, though, however tempting it may be. It's important to reiterate that eating slowly will only work in your favor; smaller bites always look more graceful than larger ones. Now that you know the best practices for enjoying a wedge salad, it's time to shed any reservations and confidently order one for yourself!