A Tribute to Chicken Salad

Since I have, you know, tons of spare time I was doing a little browsing on the interwebs. I came across a cool web site called Food Timeline. The food timeline illustrates at what point in time certain food items were introduced into the human diet. I mean, we didn't exactly evolve eating Stouffer's Macaroni & Cheese.

Mysteriously, this timeline dates back to 17,000 BC and reports that agricultural practices began in 10,000 BC. It seems that the first omnivores ate sheep, which horrifed me at first, because I kept thinking, holy crap, people ate SHEEP? And then I realized, oh yeah, people still eat sheep. We just don't call it sheep, we use euphamisms like "lamb chops."

If this timeline is accurate (and truth be told, I'm skeptical), 1950 is responsible for frozen pizza while the ice cream sandwich is a creation traced back to Renaissance-era English trifles and 18th century Charlottes, rich compositions of sweet cream and biscuits. When the Titanic was sinking in 1912, someone was in a very ambitious kitchen somewhere making Chicken a la King.

I was interested to see that Cobb Salad is fairly new, with a birth date in 1937, yet potato salad was eaten as early as 1597. Oddly, I noticed that the timeline had an entry for "Chinese Chicken Salad" but there was no mention of chicken salad in its purest form. For whatever, reason, I was curious about this, maybe since I'd recently made chicken salad and had a blog post on my mind.

I couldn't find a suggested date for the invention of chicken salad but I did find a great post from The Courageous Cook that put my mind at ease. At least I'm not the only blogger who's embarked on a self-satisfying quest to find out when chicken salad was invented.

Regardless of how old or how young it is, it's one of those recipes that I like because there are few rules and if you have chicken, you can make a chicken salad.

Crunchy Cranberry Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked chicken
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
2 Tbsp. low-fat mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. tangy honey mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. curry powder, optional

Directions: Combine chicken, celery and cranberries in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk mayonnaise, honey mustard and curry powder. Stir chicken mixture into dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes one serving, but recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. 

Comments

[Melissa]

holy crap, people ate SHEEP?

HAHAHA! I can *completely* imagine myself saying the same thing in my head.

That timeline is fascinating. I wish I could go back and keep certain things from being invented - soda, certain candies, Red Bull - ugh.

But chicken salad? That's forever. I can never eat enough and in almost any variation. I've never added cranberries to mine though. Need to try that.

[elra]

This is such a perfect post for hot weather like today Maris. It sounds really delicious.
Cheers,
elra

[mandy]

I love chicken salad and have a few difference recipes. I will be adding this one to my list of ones to try. I have never had it with cranberries.

[Susan]

This was such a good post, what a good idea to research this!

And I love chicken salad, no matter when it was invented.

[Pearl]

haha wow! that is such a cool timeline! i'd love to research on items like that, too!

[beyond]

people eat sheep. i believe i once had sheep in an ethiopian restaurant up in harlem. wait, maybe it was goat. no, i really think it was sheep.
anyhoo... your chicken salad looks good!

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

The only thing I can vouch for it is that TV dinners were invented around the same time I was (in the 1950s)! Chicken salad as we know it (with mayo) couldn't have come before the invention of mayonnaise (17th century). And Hellmann's is an early 20th century product, so really, how much chicken salad did people eat before commercially-available mayo? I do love chicken salad for its infinite variations. It's hard to make a bad one!

[Matt]

haha... "People eat SHEEP"

Nice. I'm pretty sure people eat about anything...nothing really surprises me anymore.

[Sandie]

You're probably too young to remember Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop (Lamb Chop was Shari's sidekick and hand puppet), but after reading this post, for some reason Lamb Chop came to mind. When I was young, I never made the connection between the lamb we eat and cute, lovable Lamb Chop the puppet---thank goodness. I probably would have turned into a vegetarian! :)

[kat]

Love chicken salad, such a refreshing lunch always

[jshively]

Very interesting website and I too have heard the frozen pizza in the 50s thing. I should ask my grandparents this weekend if they remember this.

I like the addition of cranberries in your chicken salad. I am not a huge mayo fan so my chicken salads just tend to be salad greens with shredded chicken.

[E.P.]

Chicken salad! I've actually been meaning to make this because it is a wonderful, quick lunch that can come to work with me. So I'm going to give your recipe a try! Thanks!

[AshleyD]

Now I really want some chicken salad. Too bad I'm still in my pajamas watching Gilmore Girls. :)

[Elyse]

Mmm, I love this version of chicken salad. It looks totally yummy!! I love your blog, by the way. It's really full of absolutely fabulous treats. I cannot wait to keep reading more :)

[Barbara]

What a great chicken salad. I love the combination of crunch and sweet!

[Jescel]

hmnnn.. another interesting post.. your chicken salad looks sooo good..i sometimes throw in fresh grapes and cashew nuts for some sweetness and crunch. ;O)

[Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella]

That's a really interesting link there and lol about eating sheep. It's like eating deer vs venison. No-one wants to eat Bambi! :)

[sleepyjane]

I burst out laughing at the first paragraph - the part about sheep. :) That is too funny!

[magda]

Oh I am SO ready for summer. Chicken salad always reminds me of summertime dinners growing up, and those nights it was nice enough to eat outside on the deck. Yum.

[Tangled Noodle]

Thanks for the Timeline link! It's interesting to see at what point we realized that a bark or root or nut was good to eat! 8-) This is a great recipe - I always love the pop of fruity flavor (whether sweet or tart) in a savory dish. This will be great for a side dish during a summer barbecue!

[Lisa (dinner party)]

I love the Food Timeline too. So glad someone out there took the time to make it. And your chicken salad looks delicious!

[burpexcuzme]

I just burst out laughing at your comment about ppl still eating sheep! hahaha! yeah, when you say "sheep" you think of cute litte white fluffy baby sheeps, not the delicious lamb chops we love!
chicken salad is sounds amazing with the added spices and dried fruit!

[Sara]

Interesting facts! The chicken salad looks really good, love the addition of cranberries.

[Sophie]

MMMMM....Maris, this chicken salad looks yummie 8)! MMMMMM......

[Paula Maack]

This is a great take on the classic Waldorf Salad, Maris, and would be perfect with turkey leftovers, too. In fact, I usually make something like this, but with pecans included during the week after Thanksgiving.

Thanks for the timeline link - how fun!

Cheers,

~ Paula

[Carissa]

I love chicken salad! it's a recent discovery on my part, but it is so yummy. I especially like it in sandwich form :) I am not the biggest celery fan but I am ok with it in this for a little crunch. but cranberries? that sounds fantastic! and the tangy honey mustard too. all in all, this recipe sounds like a winner that I must try soon!

[Chris De La Rosa]

curry and cranberries.. nice combo. Never had this in a chicken salad before, but it's game the next time we feel like some sandwiches.