Salad in the context of Panzanella

A salad dressing is a sauce for salads, a condiment used on virtually all leafy salads. Dressings may also be used in preparing salads of beans (e.g., three bean salad), noodle or pasta salads and antipasti, and forms of potato salad. A dressing may even be made for fruit salads. Salad dressings can be drizzled over a salad, added and tossed with the ingredients, or offered "on the side". The functionality of some of these sauces has been extended, meaning they can be served as a dip (as with crudités or chicken wings).

European cuisine (also known as Continental cuisine) comprises the cuisines originating from the various countries of Europe.

The cuisines of European countries are diverse, although some common characteristics distinguish them from those of other regions. Compared to traditional cooking of East Asia, meat holds a more prominent and substantial role in serving size. Many dairy products are utilised in cooking. There are hundreds of varieties of cheese and other fermented milk products. White wheat-flour bread has long been the prestige starch, but historically, most people ate bread, flatcakes, or porridge made from rye, spelt, barley, and oats. Those better off would also make pasta, dumplings and pastries. The potato has become a major starch plant in the diet of Europeans and their diaspora since the European colonisation of the Americas. Maize is much less common in most European diets than it is in the Americas; however, cornmeal (polenta or mămăligă) is a major part of the cuisines of Italy, the Balkans and the Caucasus. Although flatbreads (especially those with toppings, such as pizza or tarte flambée) and rice are eaten in Europe, they are only staple foods in limited areas, particularly in Southern Europe. Salads—cold dishes with uncooked or cooked vegetables, sometimes with a dressing—are an integral part of European cuisine.

Mayonnaise (/ˌmeɪəˈneɪz/), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (/ˈmeɪoʊ/), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar sauce, fry sauce, remoulade, salsa golf, ranch dressing, and rouille.

Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice; there are many variants using additional flavorings. The color varies from near-white to pale yellow, and its texture from a light cream to a thick gel.

Bean salad is a common salad composed of various cooked beans—typically green, wax, kidney, and/or lima beans—tossed in a sweet-sour vinaigrette. Variant ingredients include fresh raw onions, bell pepper, and/or other cooked or raw vegetables, such as chickpeas.

Bean salad can also be prepared as a pickled dish, making it a popular choice for home canning. Salads prepared with this method should be used within a year for best quality.

Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side dish.

Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, sometimes served in a liquid, either their juices or a syrup. In different forms, fruit salad can be served as an appetizer or a side as a salad. A fruit salad is sometimes known as a fruit cocktail (often connoting a canned product), or fruit cup (when served in a small container).

There are many types of fruit salad, ranging from the basic (no nuts, marshmallows, or dressing) to the moderately sweet (Waldorf salad) to the sweet (ambrosia salad). Another "salad" containing fruit is a jello salad, with its many variations. A fruit cocktail is well-defined in the US to mean a well-distributed mixture of small diced pieces of (from highest percentage to lowest) peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes, and cherry halves. Fruit salad may also be canned (with larger pieces of fruit than a cocktail).

A salad bowl is a bowl-shaped serving dish used to serve salads, especially tossed salads.

Guacamole (Spanish: [ɡwakaˈmole] , sometimes informally shortened to guac in the United States, is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisine as a dip, condiment, and salad ingredient.

The radish (Raphanus sativus) is a flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Its large taproot is commonly used as a root vegetable, although the entire plant is edible and its leaves are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable. Originally domesticated in Asia, radishes are now grown and consumed globally. The radish is sometimes considered to form a species complex with the wild radish and instead treated as the subspecies Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus.

Radishes are often used raw as a crunchy salad vegetable with a pungent, slightly spicy flavor, varying in intensity depending on its growing environment. There are numerous varieties varying in size, flavor, color, and length of time they take to mature. Radishes owe their sharp flavor to the various chemical compounds produced by the plants, including glucosinolate, myrosinase, and isothiocyanate. They are sometimes grown as companion plants and suffer from few pests and diseases. They germinate quickly and grow rapidly, common smaller varieties being ready for consumption within a month, while larger daikon varieties take several weeks. Being relatively easy to grow and quick to harvest, radishes are often planted by novice gardeners. Another use of radish is as a cover or catch crop in winter, or as a forage crop. Some radishes are grown for their seeds; others, such as daikon, may be grown for oil production. Others are used for sprouting.

Lunch is a meal typically consumed around the middle of the day, following breakfast and preceding dinner. It varies in form, size, and significance across cultures and historical periods. In some societies, lunch constitutes the main meal of the day and may consist of multiple courses, while in others it is lighter and more utilitarian in nature. The foods consumed at lunch differ widely according to local dietary customs, ranging from simple items such as sandwiches or salads to more elaborate meals involving rice, noodles, or soups. Regional and cultural practices continue to shape lunch traditions, which are further influenced by factors such as religion, geography, and economic context.

Tuna salad is a salad dish consisting of tuna and mayonnaise. The tuna used is usually pre-cooked, canned, and packaged in water or oil. Pickles, celery, relish, and onion are popular ingredients to add. Tuna salad is used to make tuna fish sandwiches; it can also be served on top of crackers, lettuce, tomato, or avocado (or else served by itself).

Greek salad, choriatiki or horiatiki (Greek: χωριάτικη σαλάτα or θερινή σαλάτα) is a salad in Greek cuisine generally made with pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, and olives (typically Kalamata olives) and dressed with salt, Greek oregano, lemon juice and olive oil. Common additions include green bell pepper or caper berries (especially on the Cyclades islands). Greek salad is often imagined as a farmer's breakfast or lunch, as its ingredients resemble those that a Greek farmer might have on hand.

Dessert salads are dishes made with jellos (jellies), whipped toppings, fruits, vegetables, mayonnaise, and various other ingredients. These salads are served at some buffets and cafeterias, and at potlucks and parties. They can be prepared ahead of time and are transportable. They include sweet ingredients, but are not always served as desserts, and are sometimes considered more generally in the salad grouping and served with the main meal rather than as a dessert. The fruit and vegetable ingredients are often canned, but fresh ingredients can also be used.

A Waldorf salad is a fruit and nut salad generally made of celery, fresh apples, walnuts, and grapes, dressed in mayonnaise, and traditionally served on a bed of lettuce as an appetizer or a light meal. The apples, celery, and grapes can all be green, which harmonizes the color palette of the dish.

Jello salad is an American salad made with flavored gelatin, fruit, and sometimes grated carrots or (more rarely) other vegetables. Other ingredients may include cottage cheese, cream cheese, marshmallows, nuts, or pretzels. Jello salads were popular in the early 20th century and are now considered retro.

Because of its many elements, the result has speckled bits of interior color against a colored gelatin background, and so the dish can be appreciated for its colorful visual appeal. For example, a jello salad might have green from a lime-flavored gelatin, brown from nuts or pretzels, white from bits of cottage cheese, and red and orange from fruit cocktail. Therefore, it has a "salad appearance" (small pieces of food) although it is held firm in gelatin (like aspic). The "salad" theme is more pronounced in variants containing mayonnaise, or another salad dressing. When the dish has plain gelatin instead of sweetened gelatin, the use of vegetables is more common (e.g. tomato aspic).

Falafel (/fəˈlɑːfəl/ fə-LAH-fəl; Arabic: فلافل, IPA: [fæˈlæːfɪl] ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spices before frying.

Falafel is often served in a flatbread such as pita, samoon, laffa, or taboon; falafel also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. The falafel balls may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables, and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze tray.

Blue cheese dressing is a popular side sauce, salad dressing and dip in the United States and Canada. It is usually made of some combination of blue cheese, mayonnaise, and buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt, milk, vinegar, onion powder, and garlic powder. There is a blue cheese vinaigrette that consists of salad oil, blue cheese, vinegar, and sometimes seasonings.

Most major salad dressing producers and restaurants in the United States and Canada produce a variant of blue cheese dressing. It is commonly served as a dip with Buffalo wings or crudités (raw vegetables).