Salad Days: A Story of Science, Sexism, and Jell-O
About this episode
This episode explores the definition of salad and its cultural implications, including the influence of sexism and the history of Jell-O salad.
If leafy greens and a little vinaigrette is salad, and chicken with mayo is salad, and vegetables in Jello-O are ALSO salad… What exactly is salad?! That's the big question we're tackling this episode—and it takes us down some unexpected rabbit holes. Listen in now to hear how ‘scientific housekeeping’ and good-old-fashioned sexism made salad into women’s food, and how this led to boiled cucumbers, lettuce-cup prisons, and the emergence of the Jell-O salad. Plus: the rise and fall of the great American salad bar (RIP), and why that plastic bag of mixed salad greens is the most high-tech item in your refrigerator. Lettuce might be in the news for all the wrong reasons right now, but that doesn't mean it can't be salad days for your ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Hosts: Cynthia Graber, Nicola Twilley
Topics covered
- salad
- science
- sexism
- food history
- Jell-O salad
- American salad bar
Keywords
- salad
- Jell-O
- sexism
- food history
- American salad bar
- mixed greens
- cucumbers
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Jell-O, salad, mixed salad greens
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