The basis for the word salad is 'sal', which is the latin word for salt, as salt was at one time the main ingredient for a salad. This word features in Old French as salade and then in late 14th century English as salad or sallet.Romans were very fond of salads consisting of a selection of raw vegetables, accompanied by a dressing made with oil, vinegar and often brine - closely resembling many of the salads we eat now.
Hippocrates and Galen believed that raw vegetables easily passed through the system and did not create obstructions for what followed, therefore they should be served first. Others reported that the vinegar in the dressing destroyed the taste of the wine, therefore they should be served last. With the fall of Rome, salads went into decline western Europe, although raw vegetables and fruit were eaten on fast days and as medicinal correctives. It remained a feature of Byzantine cookery and re-entered the European menu via medieval Spain and Renaissance Italy.
