Taylor Tobin: Chefs and etiquette specialists from around the globe debate the best order for proper digestion…
In the United States, it’s become the norm to eat our meals without ceremony, quickly devouring them at our desks, in the office break area or in front of the living room TV. But if you find yourself in a stateside “formal” dining scenario (like a banquet or a wedding), your meal likely begins with a dressed salad.
American chefs and etiquette experts point to the filling nature of roughage to defend salad’s position as the first course, but in many other cultures, enjoying a salad after the main entree is considered the right move for proper digestion.
So when should we actually eat our salads: before, during or after the main course? We spoke to chefs and etiquette specialists from around the world to learn the salad protocols for 5 different global cuisines, and the reasoning behind each one.
In the United States, diners typically eat their salads before the main course.
Formal meals in America generally start with a salad and/or soup, followed by an appetizer, an entree and then a dessert course. According to etiquette expert Jacquelyn Youst of the Pennsylvania Academy of Protocol, starting off with a salad can prevent overeating later on.
“Americans typically eat their salad before or during a meal. [As some of my] research shows, eating a salad before a meal can reduce your caloric intake.”
NYU gastroenterologist Rabia de Latour agrees with Youst’s findings, telling HuffPost that “the stomach senses satiety after a period of time, so if you are interested in maintaining or losing weight, filling your stomach with low-calorie roughage like lettuce before your meal will help with this.”
French meals include a salad course after the entree and before dessert.
An ancient medicinal and nutritional tradition based in India, ayurveda centers around the connection between the mind and the body and uses those principles to promote wellness and energy generation. One crucial tenet of ayurveda involves the digestive system, which practitioners believe strengthens our physical power.
Ayurvedic nutritionist Anastasia Sharova of Happy Bellyfish points out the link between ayurvedic theories and the choice to eat salad prior to a warm entree, stating that “according to ayurveda, raw foods are not easy to digest and they should never be mixed with cooked foods. Therefore, it is advised that raw salads are eaten at least 20 minutes before the main meal. As an alternative, you can make a delicious salad from slightly sautéed vegetables, with a pinch of spice, and enjoy it as part of the main meal.”
While opinions about digestive health play an important role in the choice to eat salad before, during or after a main course, the timing of the salad course is a cultural design rather than a hard-and-fast nutritional rule. As long as you’re consuming veggies on a regular basis, you’ll receive their benefits, regardless of where you choose to position your salad course during your meal.
