What The Perfect Salad Looks Like For Americans

Would you put marshmallows or meatballs on a salad? Some folks do, according to new research. In honor of National Salad Month, a new survey asks Americans what the “perfect” salad looks like to them.

According to the poll of 2-thousand U.S. adults:

• People aren’t afraid to get creative with their salad, some of the strangest toppings they’ve tried are banana, peppermint, peanut butter and popcorn.
• But in general, they stick to the classics and say the best toppings are cheese (42%), tomatoes (37%), bacon (30%), croutons (28%) and cucumbers (27%).
• Greens are the “main character” of salads for 61% of respondents. Their favorites are romaine (46%), iceberg (44%) spinach (32%), spring mix (30%) and crunchy green lettuce (26%).
• When it comes to dressings, Americans prefer ranch (50%), Italian (30%) and Caesar (25%).
• People find salads enticing depending on their dressing (56%), quality of lettuce (42%), toppings (40%) and the “harmony of different flavors” (20%).
• The level of freshness is the biggest factor in how appetizing a salad is for 57% of those surveyed and 78% would refuse to eat a salad if the veggies are soggy.
• More than three-quarters (78%) of respondents eat two salads a week.
• The average person has to throw away lettuce they were going to use twice a month because it went bad.
• Over half (53%) consider pasta salad a type of salad, while 45% consider hot dogs to be sandwiches.
• People are nearly evenly divided on where they prefer to eat their salads. For 46%, they like to have them at a restaurant because they’re more creative than what is made at home (43%), it tastes better when someone else makes it (34%) and it takes too long to make salad at home (26%).
• But 48% prefer making salads at home because they can control the freshness (73%), taste (46%) and crunch factor (37%).

Read the article at Talker