Unlike in John Farnham’s song, it was not A Touch of Paradise. Far from it. It was fifty years ago, the mid-1970s, but it wasn’t a taste experience one could forget. There was a small group of us, most around the same age, late twenties to early thirties, who held theme dinner parties every so often to which everyone would contribute. I think it was at the “Christmas in July” party that I encountered that extraordinary American dish, the sweet side salad. Marshmallows, mandarin pieces, preserved cherries and coconut soused in a sweet sauce—oh, yeah.
Susan Summers, an American woman of about my own age, and I were working in the Cataloguing Department of New Zealand’s Wellington Public Library at the time. We would probably have been friends anyway, but the circumstances certainly were an inducement to solidarity: our boss was pretty much la folle de Wellington: a madwoman who threw temper tantrums and had been known to hurl a typewriter bodily across the room. (Back in those days office typewriters were heavy.) Luckily for ourselves, we were both indifferent to her crazy whims and crazier tantrums. She had a mania for always, but always, finding cataloguing copy in a reliable source and so we never got to do anything from scratch, as we’d learned at our respective library schools. The result of this dotty policy was that there was an immense wall of uncatalogued books behind the woman’s desk. She was very clearly a frustrated spinster and suffering badly from the tail-end of what must have been a very bad menopause, poor woman—a reason but hardly an excuse for victimising her staff. The top bosses were terrified of her and never came near the cataloguing room, likewise most of the staff. However, we just kept our heads down and let it all float over us, and as long as we didn’t dare to do any original cataloguing she left us pretty much alone. Though one glorious day I did nothing but very carefully write call numbers in black ink with the prescribed special pen on a pile of children’s books after the efforts of our lovely German pal, Gerhard, also about our age, had caused what the Aussies so aptly call “a dummy spit”. (Picture a two-year-old in a tantrum.) Gerhard was indifferent to the madwoman, too, luckily for him! –Yes, we all three had degrees and professional library qualifications. A waste? Yep.
Actually at the time we were all of course pretty much absorbed in our private lives, but the theme dinner parties were certainly a welcome break from our mad work environment. (“The Crow”, as Susan called her, eventually left, and boy, we went through that wall of uncatalogued books like a dose of salts!)
Well, here’s Susan’s recipe, as nearly as I can remember it. She had to compromise, I’ve since realised: the standard ingredients for this standard American sweet salad, like mini-marshmallows and “Cool Whip”, just weren’t available in New Zealand, and the preferred maraschino cherries, providing one could even find them, were far, far too expensive. I can’t recall whether she found the sort of shredded coconut with the long strands which should be used, or had to fall back on the usual Antipodean desiccated.
Susan Summers’s Marshmallow and Mandarin Salad
The quantities are approximate and can be varied, bearing in mind that the marshmallows should dominate the dish.
* 2 medium-sized packets of pink and white marshmallows
* 1 small tin of mandarin pieces
* 1 cup coarsely shredded dried coconut
* 1 cup (about) sweetened condensed milk
* few glacé cherries (optional)
Drain the mandarins well. Chop marshmallows into quarters, chop cherries (if used) into small dice. Mix all dry ingredients gently with some of the condensed milk until the consistency resembles a coleslaw. (There should not be any liquid.) Chill in the fridge before serving.
Source: From Susan Summers (mid-1970s)
Yes, it’s very sweet—sickly, even! One spoonful was more than enough. But it genuinely is the sort of dish which Americans have traditionally served with turkey or baked ham.
It was decades before I saw any similar recipes—and during the following fifty years, largely in Australia, I was never offered anything in the least like it, thank God!
These days such sweet salads are considered very “retro” and every so often the foodie websites publish versions of them. (An article which gives you a good overview of the genre is “Celebrate the Heyday of Sweet American ‘Salads’ With These 7 Dishes” by Reina Gattuso, Gastro Obscura, June 3, 2020.) They are still popular: lots of people write in commenting favourably on them, or offering their own variations. Today you usually get a note that the thing can be served as a side dish or as a dessert, but back in the day, no, it was definitely meant to go with the meat!
There are several American variations of Susan’s salad which crop up frequently, varying the main ingredient combos just slightly. The binding agent varies too, but it is typically sickly sweet, so NZ condensed milk (always sweetened in those days) was a jolly good substitute.
The main ingredients which can be used in such salads are:
Marshmallows
Mandarins (always tinned)
Pineapple (always tinned)
Cherries (never fresh)
Coconut (dried)
Pasta (small)
Some versions have them all; some pick and choose.
Susan’s recipe is very clearly a version of “Ambrosia Salad”, the type species of the marshmallows and mandarins combo:
Ambrosia: Marshmallows and Mandarins – plus Pineapple
The Best Ambrosia Salad
“This delicious Ambrosia Salad is so easy to make and always a big hit with kids and adults alike! Made in just one bowl, this classic dessert salad is the perfection addition to your next gathering!”
* 2 cups miniature marshmallows
* 11 oz mandarin oranges drained
* 20 oz crushed pineapple drained
* 10 oz maraschino cherries drained, halved, and patted dry
* 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
* 8 oz Cool Whip, lite is fine
* 1/2 cup sour cream, light is fine
* 3/4 cup chopped nuts pecans, walnuts, cashews optional
1. Fold sour cream into Cool Whip in a large serving bowl.
2. Fold in remaining ingredients making sure the pineapple, oranges, and cherries have been properly drained.
3. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.
–Serves: 12
Source: Trish, Mom on Timeout, February 4, 2019
https://www.momontimeout.com/ambrosia-salad-recipe/
As you can see, this salad adds tinned pineapple to the mix, but it’s got Susan’s marshmallows, mandies and preserved cherries.
Pineapple is a favourite ingredient in such salads and appears again in the next example.
Frog Eye: Marshmallows and Mandarins – plus Pineapple & Pasta
It may well seem grotesque to those unaccustomed to such mixtures, but pasta is a standard ingredient in these sweet salads. It is always a small pasta: another very similar version uses orzo. The modern recipe below calls it a dessert but of course, like Susan’s one, it would earlier have been common as a side dish with meat. Such items were very popular at the Fifties American “potluck” dinners where all guests brought a contribution.
The name “Frog Eye” is presumably because of the small grains of the pasta. Possibly “frog spawn” would be more accurate, but that would have been too crude for nice American home cooks!
Frog Eye Salad
“This frog eye salad is made with acini di pepe (or couscous) pasta, coconut, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and marshmallows for a sweet, chilled holiday dessert.”
* 1 cup miniature marshmallows
* 3 (11 oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained
* 2 (20 oz) cans pineapple tidbits, drained
* 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
* 1 cup shredded coconut
* 1 (16 oz) package acini di pepe pasta [or couscous]
* 1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping thawed**
* 1 3/4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
* 2 large eggs, beaten * 1 cup white sugar
* 2 tablesp all-purpose flour * 1 tablesp lemon juice
* 1 tablesp vegetable oil * 2 1/2 tsps salt, divided
1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Combine pineapple juice, sugar, eggs, flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat until thickened.
3. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add oil and remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
5. Combine cooked pasta, cooled egg mixture, mandarin oranges, pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple, and whipped topping in a large bowl; mix well. Refrigerate until chilled, 8 hours to overnight.
6. Before serving, add marshmallows and coconut; toss and serve.
–Serves: 10
Source: Judy Awe. Allrecipes, November 21, 2024
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14439/frog-eye-salad/
** the “frozen whipped topping” would be Cool Whip.
Here’s what the one with orzo looks like:
It’s almost identical, with the same sort of cooked sweet sauce, plus Cool Whip, but it brings back the idea of the cherries that Susan used (maraschino this time). It’s “Rosa Marina Fruit Salad”, by Joy, September 5, 2022: find it on Allrecipes:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/233943/rosa-marina-fruit-salad/
Watergate: Marshmallows and Pineapple – plus Instant Pudding
This is an old traditional 20th-century sweet salad mixture, predating the Watergate affair. But “in 1975, … cooks, eaters, and newspaper recipe writers began dubbing the sweet, gloppy mixture the ‘Watergate’ in the wake of the equally messy Nixonian break-in of the Watergate hotel. …
“So who named the dishes after the Watergate Hotel and scandal? Joseph Rodota, author of The Watergate: Inside America’s Most Infamous Address, has an idea. ‘It could’ve been a Democratic partisan who wanted to make sure the Watergate name lived on,’ he told NPR.” (Reina Gattuso. “Celebrate the Heyday of Sweet American ‘Salads’ With These 7 Dishes", Gastro Obscura, June 3, 2020)
Yes, well, maybe. The author also notes that the same pistachio instant pudding mix was used at the time for a Watergate Pudding. Well, as you can see from the picture, the pudding mix turns the mixture pale green: so perhaps there was something green about Watergate…?
Watergate Salad
“There is nothing better than Watergate Salad! This simple dump-and-go salad is a classic that makes it’s [sic] way into every celebration because it’s both incredibly delicious and incredibly easy. Whip it together in less than 5 minutes and you’re good to go!”
* 3.4 oz pistachio Jell-O instant pudding mix
* 1 cup miniature marshmallows
* 20 oz can crushed pineapple
* 1/2 cup chopped nuts your favorite
* 8 oz container Cool Whip I used lite - thawed
1. Combine pudding mix, pineapple (with juice), marshmallows and nuts in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Blend in Cool Whip and chill until ready to serve.
–Serves: 10
Source: Trish. Mom On Timeout, March 24, 2019
https://www.momontimeout.com/pistachio-dessert-salad-pistachio-fluff-recipe/
… Got the horrors yet? Mm. Better stop!
