{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "probably the hardest aspect of America for me to understand is \u201cranch\u201d dressing", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/181455066133/", "html": "

argumate:

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argumate:

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probably the hardest aspect of America for me to understand is \u201cranch\u201d dressing

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1nsomnizac said: it was one of the awful foods of the 1950s that survived

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kontextmaschine said: In the railroad era America expanded into its plains before local farming knowledge or economies developed so for like a century we made do with preserved or durability-bred vegetables made edible by fatty sauces from chicken/livestock supply chains that scaled better

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so how much does its known origin in the\u00a0\u201850s derive from this earlier American experience?

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via iceberg lettuce wedges w/blue cheese dressing as the national standard salad (iceberg being durable enough to survive freezer cars, it was the first out-of-season green vegetable available in much of America)

AND the way that railroad dining cars spread the cuisine of chopped & seasoned salads like the Chef and Cobb, which were protein+greens minced & decorated enough to make subprime inputs interesting

AND the way that the Hidden Valley dude ranch was the apex of railroad-age travel, obscure but making do within continental supply lines before the Jet Age made the vacation world 24/7/365 focused on coastal beaches

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