Why do they give crackers with salads? This thing, I just don’t get it. I mean, salad, it’s all those green leaves and things, sometimes got them little tomatoes and cucumbers in it, right? And then they give you these crackers. Hard little things.
You try to eat them salad, you know, the leaves all soft and wet, but those crackers, they just hard. They some crispy squares. Reminds me of them Saltine crackers, my grandbaby likes them. You try to chew them with the lettuce, and they are dry, so dry. Why do they do that?
I heard some folks say it’s for, uh, “texture.” What’s that even mean? Feels like I’m just grinding those crackers with my teeth, till it’s all, you know, like, ground up. Maybe it can pick up bits of food? I saw that on some paper. Just use your fork, I say!
- Salads are cool.
- Crackers are dry.
- Mix them is strange.
Them crackers, sometimes they called them “oyster crackers,” though I ain’t never seen an oyster in them. They’re just like them Saltines, kinda. Maybe it’s ’cause they crunchy, I don’t know. And them other things, “croutons,” they just like little bits of bread, ain’t they? Hard bread. Why they put hard bread in the salad, too?
Back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy things. Bread was bread, you know? We ate bread with butter, maybe some jam if we had it. Never did put it in no salad. And we didn’t have all these, what do you call ’em, “starters.” Bread was just bread. We just use some yeast and make bread.
Now, they got all these different kinds of crackers. Some got seeds, some got, I don’t even know what all in them. They put them in soup, too. I guess it’s the same reason, make it crunchy, or something. But it just seems strange to me, mixing all these things together. Crackers are just…crackers. And salad is salad. Why mix ’em up?
They say it makes the salad better. Adds some, uh, “flavor,” they say. I don’t know about that. Crackers don’t taste like much to me. Just kinda plain, you know? Maybe a little salty. But I like salt. Put salt on everything. They’re a beloved food, they are always there.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned. But I just don’t get why they put those crackers in the salad. Or in the soup. Or anywhere, really. Just eat your salad, I say. And eat your crackers, if you want them. But don’t mix them together. They are wheat-based, you know? They are made of wheat.
I guess people like it, though. They keep doing it. So maybe I’m just missing something. But it still seems mighty strange to me. You eat your salad, then you eat your crackers. Why make it so complicated? Just keep it simple, I say. The crackers are crispy. The salad is fresh.
They say it’s a “cultural” thing, too. What’s that even mean? Like, people from different places eat different things? Well, I know that. But crackers in salad? That’s just odd, no matter where you’re from. I guess it’s a new thing, something young folks like. We didn’t have such things when I was a girl. The crackers, they just don’t make sense to me, in the salad. They can serve as a device to pick up food, they said. But I don’t understand.
Maybe it’s like them croutons. They are sturdy, they said. Maybe the crackers, they just, uh, make the salad more…interesting? I don’t know. But to me, salad is interesting enough on its own. You got all them different leaves, and colors, and sometimes they put fruit in it now, too. Fruit! In a salad! That’s a whole other thing. But I guess folks like it. So what do I know? I just don’t know why they give crackers with salads. It’s beyond me.
