Thousand Island dressing

The origin of Thousand Island dressing's name is unknown. Considerable historic and anecdotal evidence suggest it may hail from the Thousand Islands region along the upper St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada.{{cite book |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Andrew F. |date=2007 |title=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink |page=514 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=978-0-19-530796-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWlCmNDA3QC&q=thousand%20island |oclc=71833329}} Within that region, one common version of the dressing's origin maintains that a Clayton, New York, fishing guide's wife, Sophia LaLonde, made the condiment as part of her husband George's shore dinner.{{cite journal |last1=Stiles |first1=Kaelyn |last2=Altıok |first2=Özlem |last3=Bell |first3=Michael M. |title=The ghosts of taste: food and the cultural politics of authenticity |journal=Agriculture and Human Values |date=28 March 2010 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=225–236 |doi=10.1007/s10460-010-9265-y |s2cid=144478103 |access-date=30 January 2015 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225693659}} Often in this version, actress May Irwin requested the recipe after enjoying it.{{cite book |last=McNeese |first=Tim |date=2005 |title=The St. Lawrence River |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-7910-8245-4 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yA0GNpSyKc4C&q=dressing |oclc=56591404}} Irwin, in turn, gave it to another. In another version of the story, George Boldt, who summered in the Thousand Islands, built Boldt Castle between 1900 and 1904, and was proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, instructed the hotel's maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, to put the dressing on the menu in 1894 after he forgot dressing on salads and improvised with ingredients on hand at the time.{{cite web |title=Thousand Island Dressing, Enjoyed around the world and... "Made in Clayton!" |url=http://www.1000-islands.com/dressing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627172157/http://www.1000-islands.com/dressing |archive-date=June 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |website=Thousand Islands Inn |access-date=January 29, 2015 |date=}} According to a 1959 National Geographic article, "Thousand Island Dressing was reportedly developed by Boldt's chef."{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Andrew H. |date=March 1959 |quote=Today, this dressing is still being served at Oscar's in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel |title=New St. Lawrence Seaway opens the Great Lakes to the world |magazine=National Geographic Magazine |volume=115 |number=3 |page=336}} Despite claims that he was involved in the introduction of the salad dressing at the Waldorf, Tschirky did not mention it in his cookbook published during that period.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/tchirkycookbook00tschrich |title=The Cook Book by "Oscar" of the Waldorf |last=Tschirky |first=Oscar |publisher=The Werner Company |location=Chicago & New York |date=1896}}

When University of Wisconsin sociologist Michael Bell and his graduate students attempted to determine the origin of Thousand Island dressing in 2010, they found that the story differed among villages and islands in the Thousand Islands region. They discovered the existence of a third origin story in which the original recipe was based upon French dressing, which is supported by a recipe published in the 11th edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1965). All the claims appeared to be based upon oral traditions without supporting written records.{{cite news |url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/three_versions_of_the_origin_o.html |title=Three versions of the origin of Thousand Island dressing |newspaper=Syracuse Post-Standard |date=September 3, 2011 |first=Don |last=Cazentre}}{{cite news |url=http://www.thousandislandslife.com/BackIssues/Archive/tabid/393/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1377/Evidence-found-for-the-origin-of-the-Thousand-Island-Dressing.aspx |title=Evidence found for the origin of the Thousand Island Dressing! |magazine=Thousand Islands Life |first=Susan W. |last=Smith |date=September 13, 2013}}

According to Food & Wine magazine, the dressing was a traditional sauce from the late 19th century in the Thousand Islands region. The wealthy who visited the region carried bottles of it back to New York City, such as one variant served at the Herald Hotel in Clayton, New York, run by innkeeper Sophia Lelonde.{{Cite magazine |url= https://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/who-invented-thousand-island-dressing |title= Who Invented Thousand Island Dressing? |author= Matt Blitz |date= 22 June 2017 |magazine= Food & Wine }}

Some food writers claim that Theo Rooms, a chef at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, invented the dressing during the same period.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-25-fo-30786-story.html |title=Salad : Unfashionable Dressings: Which Thousand Islands? |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=August 25, 1994 |first=Russ |last=Parsons}}{{cite news |url=http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Iceberg-Lettuce-with-Thousand-Island-Dressing |title=Iceberg Lettuce with Thousand Island Dressing |magazine=Saveur |date=May 7, 2007 |author=}} The earliest print reference to Thousand Island dressing was in 1912,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/465172837/ |title=Thousand Island Dressing |newspaper=Coast Beacon (Pass Christian, Mississippi) |date=December 28, 1912 |page=6 |author= |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=Take one cup mayonnaise dressing, mix with one-half cup whipped cream, add small amount of tarragon vinegar, one-half teaspoonful of Imperial sauce, then chop one hard boiled egg, one green pepper, one pimento, one pinch chives, mix well together and squeeze the juice of one lemon before serving.}} and recipes for different versions of the dressing begin to appear afterward throughout the U.S.{{cite web |url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodsalads.html#thousandisland |title=Thousand Island dressing |work=The Food Timeline |first=Lynne |last=Olver |author-link=Lynne Olver |date=January 3, 2015}}

Thousand Island dressing is a creamy salad dressing and condiment made from a base of mayonnaise and usually ketchup or tomato purée and chopped pickles; it can also include lemon juice, orange juice, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, cream, chili sauce, olive oil, and hot sauce. It also typically contains finely chopped ingredients, which can include onions, bell peppers, green olives, hard-boiled egg, parsley, pimento, chives, garlic, or chopped nuts (such as walnuts or chestnuts).

File:Thousand-Island-Dressing (Salad).jpg

Thousand Island dressing's principal use is as a salad dressing. It is also widely used in fast-food restaurants and diners in the United States, where it is often called "special sauce" or "secret sauce". McDonald's Big Mac sauce is a variation on Thousand Island dressing. So is In-N-Out Burger's "spread", served on burgers and several "secret menu" items; despite its name, it is a variation of Thousand Island dressing.{{cite web |url=http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-an-in-n-out-double-double-animal-style.html |title=The Burger Lab: The Ins-n-Outs of an In-N-Out Double-Double, Animal-Style |website=Serious Eats |date=July 23, 2010 |first=J. Kenji |last=López-Alt |author-link=J. Kenji López-Alt |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20170926234805/http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-an-in-n-out-double-double-animal-style.html |archivedate= September 26, 2017}} Thousand Island dressing is sometimes used in Reuben sandwiches in lieu of Russian dressing.{{cite book |last=DiSpirito |first=Rocco |date=2010 |title=Now Eat This! 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories |page=75 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-345-52090-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABXyHU2-W18C&q=thousand+island |oclc=851387051}}

Rhode Island dressing (Rhode islandsås), introduced by the Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman,{{cite web |url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/617647?programid=950 |title=1900-talets viktigaste matprofil i Sverige |language=sv |publisher=Sveriges radio |date=October 15, 2015 |trans-title=The most important food profile of the 20th century in Sweden}}{{cite web |url=https://www.svt.se/recept/basta-saserna-till-skaldjuren-och-en-lattgjord-appelpaj |title=Bästa såserna till skaldjuren och en lättgjord äppelpaj |language=sv |publisher=Sveriges television |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405043437/https://www.svt.se/recept/basta-saserna-till-skaldjuren-och-en-lattgjord-appelpaj |archive-date=2019-04-05 |url-status=dead |trans-title=The best sauces for the seafood and an easy-to-make apple pie |first=Håkan |last=Larsson}} is similar to Thousand Island and very popular in Sweden. Its name is confusing, especially for foreigners, and its origin unclear, since the dressing has no known relationship to Rhode Island and the name is not used for preparations outside Sweden.

In Germany, a similar salad dressing is called "American dressing".{{cite web | url = http://www.marions-kochbuch.com/recipe/1334.htm | title = American Dressing | first = Marions | last = Kochbuch| work = Marions Kochbuch | publisher = Folkert Knieper | access-date = 7 August 2018}}{{cite web | url = https://www.mymeenalife.com/american-food-according-to-germany/ | title = American Food According to Germany | first = Ava | last = Meena | work = My Meena Life | date = 29 January 2016 | access-date = 7 August 2018}}

{{Portal|Food}}

• French dressing
• Fry sauce
• Marie Rose sauce
• Salsa golf

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{wiktionary-inline}}
• {{Commonscatinline}}
• [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/thousand_islands_thousand_islands_dressing/ Thousand Islands: Thousand Islands Dressing early printed citations] collected by Barry Popik

{{Salad dressings}}

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Category:Salad dressings

Category:Food and drink introduced in the 19th century

Category:Mayonnaise

Category:American condiments