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Watergate Salad: A Fluffy Green Bite Of Washington, D.C.'s Past
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/08/03/746312155/watergate-salad-a-fluffy-green-bite-of-washington-d-c-s-pastYou'd be forgiven for not knowing what a Watergate salad is. The dish has largely vanished like 18 minutes of audio tape. That prompted listener Martha Fessenden of Northwest Washington to write to WAMU's What's With Washington and ask, "Why can you no longer buy Watergate salad in D.C.?"
"I've lived here 30 years and I remember when I first moved here you could find Watergate salad offered in many different places — delis, supermarkets, probably at the Watergate Hotel, I'm not sure. But now it's very hard to find," Fessenden says.
...
But the particular mix of ingredients that became the standard Watergate salad likely originated with the Jell-O brand, which introduced a line of pistachio pudding mix in 1976. This was two years after President Richard Nixon resigned, and the Watergate scandal was still fresh in Americans' minds. (A spokesperson for Kraft, which now owns Jell-O, once said pistachio mix was introduced in 1975.) In the past, confectioners were keen to offer a taste of the zeitgeist — think of the Charleston Chew and the Baby Ruth candy bars. Not so with Jell-O. They called the dish the pineapple pistachio delight. The company didn't attach the Watergate name to the dessert until 1993.
...
Despite this, the Watergate salad name stuck. Rumors spread that the salad was a specialty of the Watergate hotel's restaurant, but there's no evidence it was ever served there. The pastry shop in the Watergate complex has not served such a dish, either, though they told us they've made something similar as a special request.
"I've lived here 30 years and I remember when I first moved here you could find Watergate salad offered in many different places — delis, supermarkets, probably at the Watergate Hotel, I'm not sure. But now it's very hard to find," Fessenden says.
...
But the particular mix of ingredients that became the standard Watergate salad likely originated with the Jell-O brand, which introduced a line of pistachio pudding mix in 1976. This was two years after President Richard Nixon resigned, and the Watergate scandal was still fresh in Americans' minds. (A spokesperson for Kraft, which now owns Jell-O, once said pistachio mix was introduced in 1975.) In the past, confectioners were keen to offer a taste of the zeitgeist — think of the Charleston Chew and the Baby Ruth candy bars. Not so with Jell-O. They called the dish the pineapple pistachio delight. The company didn't attach the Watergate name to the dessert until 1993.
...
Despite this, the Watergate salad name stuck. Rumors spread that the salad was a specialty of the Watergate hotel's restaurant, but there's no evidence it was ever served there. The pastry shop in the Watergate complex has not served such a dish, either, though they told us they've made something similar as a special request.
The recipe:
1 box pistachio pudding mix
1 can crushed pineapple in its juice (do not drain)
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 tub Cool Whip or similar whipped topping
Mix all ingredients together. Chill until ready to serve.
2 replies
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