Watergate salad
{{short description|American dessert salad dish}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Watergate salad
| image = Watergate salad new.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption =
| alternate_name = Pistachio Delight, Shut The Gate Salad, Green Goop, Green Goddess, Green Fluff, Green Stuff, Mean Green, Shamrock Salad
| country = United States
| creator =
| course =
| type = Dessert
| served =
| main_ingredient = Pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, Cool Whip, marshmallows
| variations =
| calories =
| other =
}}
Watergate salad, also referred to as Pistachio Delight or Shut the Gate salad, is a side dish salad or dessert salad made from pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, whipped topping, crushed pecans, and marshmallows.[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB1D72FF13C718D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Sacramento Bee recipe August 08, 1990]{{cite web|last1=Zalben|first1=Lee|title=In Salads Named After Political Scandals: Watergate Salad|url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/watergate-salad-nuts-pineapple-marshmallows-pecans.html|website=Serious Eats|access-date=14 July 2015|date=Jun 15, 2011}}{{cite web|last1=Orchant|first1=Rebecca|title=Earth To America: Dessert Salad Is Not Actually Salad (PHOTOS)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/09/dessert-salad-photos_n_4563985.html|website=Huffington Post|access-date=14 July 2015|date=January 9, 2014}} It is very quick and simple to prepare: the ingredients are combined and then often chilled.Two recipes from Our Savior's (Montevideo, Minnesota) Lutheran Church (1879-2004) 125 Years cookbook{{Full citation needed|date=June 2021}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodsalads.html#watergatesalad |title=The Food Timeline: history notes--salad |work=The Food Timeline |first=Lynne |last=Olver |author-link=Lynne Olver |access-date=2019-02-20}} It is a popular dish in areas of the U.S. where potlucks are common.
History
{{Wiktionary|Watergate salad}}
The origin of the name "Watergate salad" is obscure. The recipe was published by General Foods (since merged into what is now Kraft Heinz) and called for two General Foods products: Jell-O instant pistachio pudding and Cool Whip whipped topping, a whipped-cream substitute. According to Kraft, "There are several urban myths regarding the name change, but we can't substantiate any of them."{{cite web|title=History of Watergate Salad|url=http://ttd.kraftbrands.com/cooking-tips/history-of-watergate-salad.aspx|website=Kraft brands|access-date=14 July 2015}} Several competing explanations exist.
Kraft Corporate Affairs said: "We developed the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight. It was in 1975, the same year that pistachio pudding mix came out."{{cite news|last1=Mahoney|first1=Louis|title=The Proof is in the Pudding; Crashing Watergate|work=The Richmond Times Dispatch|date=August 4, 1999|page=F1}} Kraft, however, did not refer to it as Watergate Salad until consumers started requesting the recipe for it under the name. "According to Kraft Kitchens, when the recipe for Pistachio Pineapple Delight was sent out, an unnamed Chicago food editor renamed it Watergate Salad to promote interest in the recipe when she printed it in her column." Neither the article nor editor has been tracked down, however.
Syndicated household advice columnists Anne Adams and Nan Nash-Cummings, in their "Anne & Nan" column of October 9, 1997, reported that name came from the similar "Watergate Cake" (which shares most of the same ingredients):[http://baking.food.com/recipe/watergate-cake-with-cover-up-icing-190069 baking.com, Watergate Cake With Cover-Up Icing] "The recipes came out during the Watergate scandal. The cake has a 'cover-up' icing and is full of nuts. The salad is also full of nuts."[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=894&dat=19971009&id=R1tIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dk4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4723,1608011 The Daily Courier, "Ask Anne & Nan" October 09, 1997] Both cake and salad were part of a trend for satirically named recipes such as Nixon's Perfectly Clear Consommé and Liddy's Clam-Up Chowder.{{cite book|last1=Sagert|first1=Kelly Boyer|title=The 1970s|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood|page=111|isbn=9780313339196|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9feBCLNhcFQC&q=%22watergate+salad%22+name&pg=PA111}}
In 1922 Helen Keller published a similar recipe, calling for canned diced pineapple, nuts, marshmallows, whipped cream and other ingredients. "I ate it first in California, so I call it Golden Gate Salad".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/02/17/favorite-recipes-of-famous-women/|title=Favorite Recipes of Famous Women|last=Cates|first=Meryl|date=2016-02-17|website=The Paris Review|language=en|access-date=2018-11-19}} Similar "fruit salad" and "pineapple salad" recipes had been published in the 1910s, and "Golden Gate Salad" was served in some American hotels.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}
Other names
Watergate salad is also referred to as Pistachio Delight[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dOUOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HoMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4565,794776&dq=pistachio+salad Recipe from Deseret News April 3, 1985] or Shut the Gate salad,[http://www.cooks.com/recipe/c65lk5uk/shut-the-gate-salad.html Recipe from Cooks.com] or colloquially as Green Goop, Green Goddess salad, Green Fluff,[http://www.cooks.com/recipe/pc63c6aw/green-fluff.html Recipe from Cooks.com] or Green Stuff.{{cite book|last1=Van Dyke|first1=Louis|title=The Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking: 450 Essential Recipes Southerners Have Enjoyed for Generations|date=2013|publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc|page=121|isbn=9781418586263|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKY37Flu9GcC&q=%22watergate+salad%22+name&pg=PA1121}}
See also
References
{{wikibooks|Cookbook:Watergate salad}}
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last1=Deutsch |first1=Jonathan |title=We Eat What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Unusual Foods in the United States |date=2018 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=9781440841125 |id={{ProQuest|2133410518}} |pages=316–319 |ref=no}}
- {{cite book |last1=Rodota |first1=Joseph |author1-link=Joseph Rodota |title=The Watergate: Inside America's Most Infamous Address |date=2018 |publisher=William Morrow |location=New York |isbn=9780062476623 |pages=191–193 |ref=no}}
{{Salads}}
Category:Products introduced in 1975