The Cobb salad is an American
garden salad
A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called ''salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, ar ...
typically made with chopped salad greens (authentically
romaine lettuce
Romaine or cos lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'' L. var. ''longifolia'') is a variety of lettuce that grows in a tall head of sturdy dark green leaves with firm ribs down their centers. Unlike most lettuces, it is tolerant of heat. In North America, ...
),
tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
,
bacon
Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
,
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
breast,
hard-boiled eggs,
avocado
The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...
,
chives
Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae.
A perennial plant, ''A. schoenoprasum'' is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only spe ...
,
blue cheese
Blue cheese is any cheese made with the addition of Microbial food cultures, cultures of edible Mold (fungus), molds, which create blue-green spots or veins through the cheese. Blue cheeses vary in flavor from mild to strong and from slightly ...
(often
Roquefort
Roquefort () is a sheep milk blue cheese from southern France. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European Union law, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the na ...
; some versions use other cheeses such as
cheddar or
Monterey Jack
Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. Originating in Monterey, on the Central Coast of California, the cheese has been called "a vest ...
, or no cheese at all) and red wine
vinaigrette
Vinaigrette ( , ) is made by mixing an edible oil with a mild acid such as vinegar (acetic acid) or lemon juice ( citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can ...
.
The ingredients are laid out separately, often in neat rows. It is served as a
main course
A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée () course.
Usage
In the United States and Canada (except Quebec), the main course is traditionally called an "entrée". En ...
.
Origin
Various stories recount how the salad was invented.
One says that it came about in 1937 at the
Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, where it became a signature dish.
It is named after the restaurant's owner, Robert Howard Cobb.
Stories vary whether the salad was invented by Cobb or by his chef, Paul J. Posti. The legend is that Cobb had not eaten until near midnight, and so he mixed together leftovers he found in the kitchen, along with some bacon cooked by the line cook, and tossed it with their French dressing.
Another version of the creation is that Robert Kreis,
executive chef
A chef de cuisine (, French language, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that Supervisor, leads a kitchen and its cooks. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is a chef ...
at the restaurant, created the salad in 1929 (the year the Brown Derby's Hollywood location opened) and named it in honor of Cobb.
The same source confirms that 1937 was the reported date of the version noted above, with Cobb making the salad.
See also
*
List of foods named after people
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of salads
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes including green salads; vegetable salads; long beans; salads of pasta, legumes, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They often include vegetables and fruits.
...
*
*
Cuisine of California
The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American ( Mexican, Latin American, Spanish), East Asian and Oceanian influences (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filip ...
*
Chef salad
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb Salad
American chicken dishes
American salads
Bacon dishes
Californian cuisine