Salad is dish which basic ingredient is usually raw vegetable. Salad is often served with a sauce or dressing including an oil and an acid as a light savory dish, with a minimum of three ingredients.

The salad may include cold cooked vegetables, grains and pasta; cold meat or seafood; sweet dishes made of cut-up fruit; and even warm dishes. Though a salad is light, a dinner salad can constitute a complete meal.

Green salads include lettuce and leafy vegetables with sauces or dressings. Most salads are served cold, although some, such as south German potato salad, are served warm.

Salads are generally served with a dressing, as well as various garnishes such as nuts or croutons, and with the addition of meat,fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains.

Salads may be served at any point during a meal. Appetizer salads are light salads to stimulate the appetite served as the first course of the meal. Side salads accompany the main course as a side dish. Main course salads contain a portion of protein. Palate-cleansing salads settle the stomach after the main course. Dessert salads contain fruit, gelatin or whipped cream.

The “green salad” or “garden salad” is composed of leafy vegetables. Due to their low caloric density, green salads are a common diet food. The salad leaves are cut into small fragments and tossed together or may be placed in an arrangement .

Vegetables other than greens may be used in a salad such as Cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, spring onions, red onions, carrots, celery, and radishes.

Other ingredients, such as avocado, olives, hard boiled egg, artichoke hearts, heart of palm, roasted red bell peppers, green beans, croutons and cheeses are sometimes added to salads.

A “bound” salad can be arranged or tossed and mixed with a thick dressing. They are assembled with thick sauces such as mayonnaise. A true bound salad will hold its shape when placed on a plate with an ice-cream scoop.

Bound salads are often used as sandwich fillings. They are also popular at picnics and barbecues, because they can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Fruit salads are made of fruit, and include the fruit cocktail that can be made fresh or from canned fruit. Dessert salads are often sweet.

Popular salad garnishes are nuts, croutons, garden beet, bell peppers, shredded carrots, diced celery, watercress, sliced cucumber, parsley, sliced mushrooms, sliced red onion, radish, french fries, sunflower seeds and cherry tomatoes.

Various cheeses, berries, seeds and other ingredients can also be added to green salads. Cheeses, in the form of cubes, crumbles, or grated, are often used, including blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, and feta cheese.

Color considerations are sometimes addressed by using edible flowers, red radishes, carrots, various colors of peppers, and other colorful ingredients.

Sauces for salads are often called “dressings”. The concept of salad dressing varies across cultures. In Western culture, there are three basic types of salad dressings. Vinaigrette Creamy dressing and Cooked dressings, usually thickened by adding egg yolks and gently heating.