The Serving Trick That Makes Olive Garden Salads Taste So Good
NEWS
By BUFFY NAILLON
Besides a delicious flavor, some non-food elements play a part in making an Olive Garden salad so popular: the act of chilling the plate, and the condensation it leaves behind.
Salad lettuce wilts due to moisture loss. Once the fragile lettuce comes into contact with a warm plate, the lettuce's moisture starts to release, and the wilting process begins.
Once the water inside the leaves evaporates, the lettuce wilts. Even a nearby hot breadstick or the grilled chicken atop your salad can help start or speed up evaporation.
An Olive Garden salad's fresh taste and mouthfeel is also due to how it is prepped. Each ingredient is pulled together separately, and the dressing is added right before serving.
This is because the salt content in the dressing will make the lettuce wilt. The dressing is also why Olive Garden salad doesn't taste as good the next day.