Southern Pear And Mayonnaise Salad Doubles As A Work Of Art

Whether you're visiting a relative's house or are going to a potluck-style function, one dish is sure to capture your attention. In what is referenced as a pear salad, a curious layering of lettuce, canned pear, mayo, maraschino cherries, and shredded cheese is assembled and presented for the taking. 

A form of this recipe — pears plated on lettuce and garnished with a mayo-based dressing — was spotted in the 1899 edition of "The American Salad Cookbook," but it's unclear how the cherry and cheese entered the culinary equation. This presentation relies on a visual bombardment of colors and textures, and that is before taking a chomp out of one of these pieces to deliver a sweet and savory experience that has to be experienced to be believed. While an old fashioned ambrosia recipe is a similarly questionable salad dish, this compilation of ingredients is one that should be assembled and served without much delay since pears out of a can will bring moisture to a plate and whatever dollops of mayo that have been perched on top of the fruit are at risk of sliding off the fruit onto the bed of lettuce. Sturdier pieces of lettuce leaves like iceberg, butter lettuce, romaine, or bibb can be used as vehicles to carry the rest of the ingredients. The crowning glory of shredded cheddar and the red pop of a maraschino cherry are quickly identifiable elements of this recipe.

Some chefs will swap out the canned pears for rings of canned pineapples, in what could complement sandwiches made with white bread, canned pineapple, and mayo. Other cooks might opt for cottage cheese instead of mayo for the creamy toppings.

Another fruit salad called Candle Salad has equally offered a wild mix of ingredients: In the 1920s, lettuce, pineapple rings, and half of a peeled banana placed upright in the gap of the pineapple was adorned with half a cherry. The appearance of melted wax was often mimicked by a spoonful of cream, and the creative display appeared around holiday times, perhaps in an effort to tempt children into eating more fruit and less sweets. Eventually, mayo also was used to symbolize dripping wax, and at-home cooks started to get inventive when devising ways to keep this presentation upright by using various ingredients.

A benefit about serving up any of these canned fruit recipes is that you certainly don't need to be a professional chef to muster these kinds of plating, and you can serve up a fun taste of nostalgia should you be faced with unexpected house guests or want to bring a bit of life to your next dinner party.