The Dressing Difference Between A Composed And Bound Salad

The word "salad" really opens the door to a wide world when you think of all that it encompasses. Sure, when most people hear "salad," they will think of any dish composed of a bed of lettuce and a dressing; but salads can also include grilled or cooked greens dressed up with a sharp vinaigrette, pasta salads mixed with semi-soft cheese and crisp peppers, or mayonnaise-covered potato salads.

This grand arena of options can be confusing, but it can help to learn more about the various types of salads. The one most people are familiar with is the tossed salad: raw ingredients tossed together with some type of dressing. However, two other styles of salad that are worth getting to know are the bound and composed salads.

The key difference between these two is their form of arrangement. Bound salads are any salads where the ingredients are bound together by their dressing. This dressing typically has a mayonnaise base and it is the defining aspect of these salads. The ingredients may change, but they will always be bound together by the dressing.

Composed salads, on the other hand, are salads where the ingredients are often kept separate to give an elegant air to the dish. Think of static rows of eggs, cheese, and various veggies over a bed of lettuce with the dressing on the side. 

Bound salads take their name from the dressing that literally binds the ingredients together. Another defining feature of bound salads is that they are often built around a cooked ingredient. Some salads might include meat as a topping or garnish, but bound salads build the other elements around cooked potatoes or meats. They can include such salads as potato salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad.

If the point of the composed salad is elegance and presentation, then the point of the bound salad is convenience. Bound salads are good for feeding a large crowd, can easily be made ahead and portioned in a restaurant setting, and can be a great way to repurpose leftovers.

An interesting thing to keep in mind when making bound salads for a gathering is that you're actually safer to use store-bought mayonnaise. Unrefrigerated fresh mayonnaise can become a health risk after some time, but the store-bought variety usually includes more preservatives and will fare better under these conditions.

The classic example of a composed salad is the Cobb salad. The original Cobb salad consists of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, chicken, onions, blue cheese, and avocado artfully arranged in rows over a bed of mixed lettuce. This is a salad that is all about presentation and giving guests the option to pick and choose what elements they want on their plate, or in each bite.

Cobb salad and other composed salads, like wedge or Caprese salads, are often served as a light entree to guests. Their elegant and purposeful arrangements make them the perfect display of effort and skill, even when the occasion calls for more delicate fare. Some chefs even go as far as to assemble their salads in a springform cake pan — to give the proper shape and layering to the salad — and remove it just before serving.

Unlike the bound salad, the dressing of a composed salad is less important. It can be served on the side to allow guests to choose for themselves, or it can be added as an elegant drizzle if the colors add to the arrangement of the salad.