Ever notice the flavor of your cold salads leave something to be desired? You’re probably serving them too cold. According to Matt Harding, chief innovation officer at Piada Italian Street Food, you should be letting your cold salads rest before serving. “Cold temperatures mute flavors. Letting a salad sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving can make herbs, dressings, and vegetables taste more vibrant,” says Harding. Add this as another reason why restaurant salads taste better than homemade.
Flavor isn’t the only thing that benefits when salads rest at room temperature; texture can too. According to Harding, “Some ingredients (like tomatoes, roasted vegetables, or grains) show their best texture and aroma when not ice-cold.” This is why there’s only one time you should be storing tomatoes in the fridge.
Harding also emphasizes the importance of serving room-temperature salads when they’re served next to or at the same time as a hot entree. The clashing temperatures of each component can be jarring, rather than complementary.
Read more: Chefs Tell Us The 17 Old-School Foods They Wish Would Make A Comeback
Dressing and Chill: The salads that benefit and the ones that don’t
Person using squeeze bottle filled with grainy salad dressing to drizzle onto white plate of delicate greens – siamionau pavel/Shutterstock
While you absolutely want some dishes pre-dressed for flavor and texture, the ingredients matter. Matt Harding advises to watch the time you have pasta items dressed, as “the liquids can infiltrate the ingredients and bloat them, and they lose texture.” He says that “items like Caesar dressed Romano beans can take being dressed for an hour or more before serving. Remember to pull those salads out at least 15 minutes before serving to warm them up.”
There are also certain salads that should be dressed and served immediately. “Dressing delicate lettuces before and chilling them in the refrigerator will break down the cell structure of the delicate greens and the dressing will run out back into the bowl,” says Harding. (Also, make sure you choose the perfect dressing for your greens). If you’re serving anything delicate or tender in a salad, like lettuces that can become easily wilted, bruised, or tear when handled too much, or even less substantial pastas like angle hair, Harding advises to dress them at the absolute last minute when they’ve come to room temp and are ready to be enjoyed.
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