Salad as a Metaphor

I didn't take this photo myself, but I’ve made that salad, and I used to have a bowl just like that. So the picture is fake, but real.

Truth: I love a good salad. I love soup, too — but that’s a topic for another day.

Salads and soups are delicious and easy to make, they don’t require recipes or any special expertise, and both make use of whatever ingredients you have on hand. (Scroll to the end for recipe suggestions.)

These two food groups also serve* as metaphors for two sociological perspectives: the salad bowl and the melting pot.

Dining on Metaphors

Here’s the skinny* on salad as a metaphor. Lots of disparate items are gathered together and unified in a relationship that emphasizes their commonality but doesn't mask their individual characteristics.

As a sociological trend, the salad metaphor expresses the notion that ethnic or religious minorities can (or should) retain distinctive cultural attitudes and behaviors when living in a larger, heterogeneous society like the U.S.

Writing can be like a salad. The writer brings a unique voice to unify multiple elements or perspectives that are loosely related. The writer’s role mimics that of a moderator in a panel discussion. News articles often resemble a salad. The reporter gathers inputs, quotes various sources, and ties everything together under a single banner headline. This style also works well for research papers and articles or blog posts that purport to be even-handed.

As a sociological phenomenon, the “melting pot” was largely discredited in the 1960s. It never recovered.

There is still a melting pot style of writing, however, with more blending and a lot less representation of individual perspectives. The writer assumes the role of an omniscient narrator, and that narrative voice subdues — or at least colors — all other viewpoints. This blended style is well suited to essays, op-eds, and some fictional genres. It’s best if the melting-pot writer does not pretend to be objective.

This is making me hungry. You, too? Here are some recipe ideas.

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Dice thin-skinned cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions and toss them into a bowl with some extra-virgin olive oil. Then you can take it in one of these directions, or go your own way:

Israeli Fresh : Add lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley, plus salt and pepper to taste.

It’s Greek to Me: Add red wine vinegar, crumbled feta cheese, kalamata olives, salt, pepper, and oregano. Eat it just like that or pile the whole thing onto a bed of crispy romaine lettuce that’s been cut into bite-sized pieces.

B’tayavon, and kalí óreksi!

*I also like puns.