Ham salad

Ham salad

File:Ham_salad_spread.jpg Ham salad spread on wheat bread
Origin
Place of origin	North America, Great Britain
Region or state	American South, American Midwest
Details
Type	salad or spread
Serving temperature	Cold
Main ingredient(s)	ham mayonnaise or salad dressing

Ham salad is a traditional Anglo-American salad. Ham salad resembles chicken salad, egg salad, and tuna salad (as well as starch-based salads like potato salad, macaroni salad, and pea salad): the primary ingredient, ham, is mixed with smaller amounts of chopped vegetables or relishes, and the whole is bound with liberal amounts of a mayonnaise, salad cream, or other similar style of salad dressing, such as Miracle Whip.

Ham salad generally includes cooked, cold ham which has been minced, cubed, or ground; the mayonnaise or other dressing; diced sour or sweet cucumber pickles or cucumber pickle relish; and perhaps chopped raw celery, green pepper, or onion. Raw cucumber, shredded carrot, pimento, sweet corn kernels, or tomato are sometimes used. Very often, the salad is mixed or garnished with generous quantities of chopped hard-boiled egg; less frequently, grated cheese may be used, or peas or boiled potato may be added to bulk out the dish. The salad is kept chilled until serving.

Like other mayonnaise-bound meat salads, the finished dish typically has a chunky, grainy, or pasty texture, and is frequently served as a spread upon crackers or upon bread in a sandwich.

Ham salad is still very popular in western Pennsylvania, and is also fairly popular in the Upper Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, which have long histories of pork and ham production.

As with other Anglo-American salads, the recipe for ham salad has many regional and family variations. Similar salads are made using chopped or ground bologna, Spam, and other cured or potted meats and sausages.

See also

• Wurstsalat
• Deviled ham
• Salad Olivier