A scoop on the fluffy green Watergate salad
Let’s explore the culinary history of Watergate salad. This dish is categorized as a Jell-O salad, primarily because it utilizes pistachio pudding produced by the Jell-O brand, which is now part of Kraft Heinz. Once a source of humor and lighthearted jabs, Jell-O (or gelatin) salads were once a fundamental aspect of American dining. These creations, which blend instant gelatin or pudding mix with a variety of ingredients to produce both sweet and savory dishes, surged in popularity across the United States during the latter half of the 20th century. Their convenience and ease of preparation made them essential in households where women were increasingly balancing work both inside and outside the home.
In the 1950s, a plethora of cookbooks emerged featuring recipes for Jell-O salads, many of which originated from Kraft Heinz itself. Frequently, these recipes would incorporate multiple products from the same brand. Watergate salad is one such example, although you won’t find it listed by that name in older cookbooks. Kraft first launched the dish as "pineapple pistachio delight" in 1976, coinciding with the introduction of its pistachio pudding mix. The company continued to use this title until 1993, when it officially rebranded it as Watergate salad. While this recipe mirrored other pistachio pudding variations that were already popular, Kraft's version quickly gained traction among home cooks due to its light texture and delightful sweetness.
How the Watergate salad was named
How did pineapple pistachio delight come to be known as Watergate salad? The prevailing theory suggests that the salad's name is derived from the similarly pistachio-flavored Watergate cake. Given that both recipes feature a comparable green color and nutty base, it's understandable that home cooks might see the salad as just another version of the cake. However, this raises further questions — how did the Watergate cake acquire its name? The name likely gained traction from a story published in the Washington Post in 1976, two years after the Watergate Scandal concluded and a year after the Post first shared a recipe for the cake. According to the Washington Post, a 1970s article stated, "[a] new Watergate crisis is sweeping the Washington area." This "crisis" was attributed to the rising popularity of a recipe for a dish called 'Watergate Cake,' which required substantial amounts of powdered pistachio pudding mix.
The writer humorously pointed out that the origin of the cake's name was uncertain even at that time — yet the article solidified the name and its connection to the scandal. Shortly thereafter, Kraft introduced its recipe for pineapple pistachio delight, and before long, the two similar desserts were both referred to as Watergate. It appears that the only genuine link between Watergate and the hotel (or the political scandal) is through this association. It's a culinary game of telephone that, unfortunately, lacks any real connection to the political drama it often evokes. So, you might want to set aside those vivid green visions of Watergate salad on your next visit to D.C.
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