Salad salad (a noodle-based salad). The sauce used to flavor a salad is commonly called a salad dressing; most salad dressings are based on either a mixture of oil and vinegar or a fermented milk product like kefir. Salads may be served at any point during a meal: The word "salad" comes from the French "salade" of the same meaning, from the Latin "salata" (salty), from "sal" (salt). In English, the word first appears as "salad" or "sallet" in the 14th century. Salt is associated with salad because vegetables were seasoned with brine or salty oil-and-vinegar dressings during Roman times. The
Italian dressing Italian dressing Italian dressing is a vinaigrette-type of salad dressing in United States and Canadian cuisine, consisting of water, vinegar or lemon juice, vegetable oil, chopped bell peppers, usually sugar or corn syrup, and a blend of numerous herbs and spices including oregano, fennel, dill and salt. Onion and garlic can also be used to intensify the dressing’s flavor. It is often bought bottled, or prepared by mixing oil and vinegar with a packaged flavoring mix consisting of dehydrated vegetables and herbs. North American-style Italian dressing is not used in Italy, where salad is normally dressed with olive oil, vinegar