Let me say up front: This post will not answer the question posed in the title. I’m hoping you can help me uncover the true reason behind this tradition.
Restaurants always seem to serve the salad first — even Italian eateries. But, when I was growing up, dinner with my Italian grandparents meant we’d be eating the salad last. After mounds of spaghetti and multiple meatballs, the salad was a refreshing way to round out the meal. I never knew exactly why we did it that way at home, when it seemed the rest of the world enjoyed the salad as an appetizer.
One would think eating the salad first, as Americans do, is healthier. It fills you up on the leafy greens and other good-for-you vegetables before the heavy, carb-loaded main course. But conventional wisdom says Italians are healthier than increasingly obese Americans.
I took to the Internet seeking answers, but only found others posing the same question. I’m going to continue my research, but in the meantime:
What do you think? Do you eat the salad at the beginning or end of the meal? Do you know why Italians prefer to end a meal with a salad?
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Christina
I’ve wondered the same thing! In my family, we had our pasta — macaroni with meatballs or lasagna or whatever else — as the first course, then some kind of meat with salad on the side. (Then fruit, then dessert.) I always thought the pasta should be last, since that was my favorite part.
I’ve messaged my Italian Stallion Nico to answer for certain (because he definitely serves the salad after we’ve finished everything else,) but my mom always used to do this too. She did it because you line your stomach with carbs first and then eat the more acidic salad (especially dressing & tomatoes) next. Nico has mentioned before that it doesn’t really matter whether you serve it before or afterward, but that he felt the pasta or risotto should be served separately from the regular salad or Caprice because they don’t go well together.
The French do this as well. Salad is the last course before fruit/dessert/cheese. I’ve always been told it is because the roughage from the salad aids in digestion.
Well I often had that burning question as well, but I guess we might have to go back in history to find out.. Example.. a person was cutting off the ends of a roast before putting into oven and asked ” why do you cut off both ends of roast?’ she replyed my family always did it when I was growing up. But the truth of the matter that the pan was too small for the roast to put in, soo the ends were cut off… makes sense to me.. lol
Good question…I’m not a fan of salad but my family likes to put the salad on the left over sauce that is still on the plate. They say it adds a nice flavor to the salad. That’s just my family, I’m sure there are many other reasons why salad is eaten last.
I was recently reading an article on digestion and they suggested the following:
Eat the salad last -
Eat your protein and fat rich foods first and your salad last so that the water in the salad veggies does not dilute your digestive fluids.
If it helps you any, they do the same thing in parts of France. We had it this way in Val d’Isere. I think it feels better and is easier to eat this way. Now, my husband and I often eat the salad last here at home. We didn’t do it on purpose, but we started eating the hot food first (while it was still hot), then ate the salad. And it stuck. Seems like if we have eaten too much pasta, somehow the salad after will cut through it and ease any tummy discomfort.
my father is from southern italia and when we would visit my family we ate salad last and it was to help the digestion..the roughage helps the system
I grew up in an Italian household and we, as well as our Italian relatives and Italian friends, ate our salad last. When I told my husband that Italians did this, he said that it wasn’t Italians but just my family that did this and NO other cultures eat their salad last. HA!
I have the answer. I , like a lot of you, thought it was to cleans the pallet. This is not true. You eat the salad last because you don’t want the vinegar in the dressing to interfere with the taste of the wine.
My Nonna said it was to help with digestion!
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It’s also because if you eat the cold food first then when you’re finished the hot food is cold
The thing to note, is that there are multiple right answers here. The dressing in a salad does in fact change the flavour of the wine. The water does dilute the stomach acids as well. Not only that, but the roughage/fiber aids in digestion and ‘getting it all out’ in the end. Almost all of these answers are correct in their own way, but all of them are only part of the story.
Each reason plays it’s part, but in the long run, it’s better to eat the salad last.
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its supposed to clean out your system or something before you eat sweets and such!!
I think it is because it goes well with the meat..What else can you eat with the meat if not a salad?..Certainly not more carbs,you just finished eating pasta…