The Original Waldorf Salad

Name: The Original Waldorf Salad
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1 serving (as a main course)
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 1 medium ripe apple; 1 stalk celery, chopped; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; Salt and pepper; 2 cups lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

By The New York Times

Total Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(428)
Comments: Read comments

"Millions who never visited the Waldorf owe him a debt," The New York Times wrote in 1950, upon Oscar Tschirky's death. Mr. Tschirky, a Swiss immigrant who became known as "Oscar of the Waldorf," is credited with creating this piece of Americana in 1893, a timeless dish whose popularity has spread far past the Waldorf's exclusive doors and into home kitchens. Over time, variations would include blue cheese, raisins and chopped walnuts, which can be added here alongside the celery and apples. But the original is an exercise in simplicity: four ingredients that have lived on for over a century.

Featured in: The Waldorf Is Shutting Its Doors, but Its Salad Will Live On

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Ingredients

Yield:1 serving (as a main course)

1medium ripe apple
1stalk celery, chopped
¼cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
2cups lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Peel apple and cut into halves. Remove core and slice halves ¼-inch thick. Reserve 4 slices. Cut remaining slices into thin strips.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, mix celery, mayonnaise and apple strips; season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange on lettuce and top with apple slices.

Tip

Later versions of the salad commonly added chopped walnuts. If you'd like, toss ¼ cup of them in with the celery and apple.

Ratings

4 out of 5

428 user ratings

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Comments

Kaytkay7 years ago

My grandfather was a waiter at the Waldorf & taught my Mom how to make this, which we ALWAYS ate on Thanksgiving. Always used Red Delicious apples,(the only time we ever actually ate Red Delicious variety, but they work very well for this) celery, walnuts, raisins, mayo. Apples were diced(unpeeled)into a bowl of orange juice to prevent browning, then well drained & the dressing was mayo cut with some of the orange juice. Everyone I ever made this for said it was the best they ever had.

arp467 years ago

I prefer to use unpeeled apples and toasted walnut pieces when making this. I also mince the celery to avoid having large pieces overwhelming the flavor of the apples.

Jackie of Missouri7 years ago

My mother used to make a variation of this every Christmas. In her variation, she would dice the apples, mix the mayo with an equal part of Kool Whip for sweetness, add walnuts, and dispense with the salt, pepper and lettuce. We still make it that way. It wouldn't be Christmas Dinner without it.

Kathy Itomura2 months ago

We were taught to make this salad in public school cooking class - 7th grade at LeConte Jr Hi in Hollywood, CA

BARRY Miller6 months ago

I have grown so accustomed to having the walnuts, or pecans, it the mix I'd never realized the original had none. More to the point, I suppose, the salad, served on a bed of lettuce makes even more sense to me. I always make it in about the proportions proposed in the given recipe and do sometimes serve it with some lettuce. Always acts as a bright spot in the day! (I do like the suggestion Kaytkay about the orange juice.

Elizabeth8 months ago

I am not sure what mayo based dressing my mother used for her Waldorf salad, but she always kept a jar of cherries in the fridge. She would pour a little bit of the cherry juice in the mayonnaise for sweetness and and a pretty color. We had the salad every Sunday with a rib roast.

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