Olivier salad has more than a century of history. He survived the revolution and two wars, perestroika and the crisis, from year to year appearing on the tables of Russians celebrating the New Year. Having a beautiful French name in Russia, in France it is called Russian salad, because it was invented by the Frenchman Lucien Olivier, who worked in Russia at the end of the 19th century. Few people know that initially this rich salad consisted of completely different ingredients: grouse, tongue, caviar, crayfish and other components that are no longer in the modern recipe. Only boiled eggs and mayonnaise were common.
Along with champagne, Christmas tree and the president’s speech, Olivier is considered an old New Year tradition. The portal "Women's Opinion" conducted a sociological survey with a culinary bias, finding out if the salad had not lost its popularity in the 21st century.
64.3% of respondents will not exchange tradition for anything. For them, a New Year's table is unthinkable without a salad bowl with olivier decorated with sprigs of parsley and green peas. Some housewives continue to experiment with the recipe, for example, replacing mayonnaise with sour cream and using fresh cucumbers instead of pickled ones.
20% remained faithful to Olivier for many years, but this time they decided to cook something else, no less tasty. Today, Russian housewives do not consider Olivier something outstanding and suitable for such a special holiday as the New Year. They try to impress guests and household members with the “Death Number” and the “Pomegranate Bracelet”.
15.7% have never cooked this salad and have no remorse about it.
Summing up the survey, we can say that most Russians prefer an old proven recipe, which will surely appeal to most guests. According to the survey participants, Olivier goes especially well with Ryazanov’s picture “The Irony of Fate”. Someone, paying tribute to their favorite dish, is still tired of the monotony of the New Year's table and decided to fundamentally change the menu.
In the culinary section of our portal you will find excellent Olivier salad recipes.
The survey of the portal was attended by 3250 people from 142 cities of Russia aged 20 to 45 years.
