Occasionally, a hundred-year-old recipe brings back vivid memories. I recently came across a recipe in a 1926 cookbook for a Carrot and Celery Salad. Suddenly long forgotten memories flowed back. Easter dinner and other family gatherings were often held at my parents’ home, and my mother generally served a Carrot Salad. When my brother and I were in elementary school, we assisted in preparing the big meal. Mom always found fun, but easy tasks for us. A favorite kid task was to grate carrots for Carrot Salad.
For some reason, I can’t remember much about those Carrot Salads. I don’t know what the other ingredients were or what they tasted like. I just know that it was fun grating carrots.
In any case, when I saw the old recipe for a Carrot Salad that contained carrots and celery, I immediately knew that I wanted to make it, and I’m glad I did. The Carrot and Celery Salad was quick and easy to make. It only contained three ingredients: grated carrots, chopped celery, and a little mayonnaise to bind everything together.
This salad is a winner. The slight sweetness of the carrots combined with the crunchiness of the celery, and the rich, tanginess of the mayonnaise was delightful.
Here’s the original recipe:
I decided to put the salad in a bowl rather than on lettuce leaves. The recipe does not provide any details about the salad dressing. The same cookbook also contained another recipe for “Carrot Salads” which suggests that mayonnaise should be used as the salad dressing, so I went with that when updating this recipe. Here is the old Carrot Salads recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Carrot and Celery Salad
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 mayonnaise
Put all ingredients in bowl; stir to combine, then put in serving dish.
Sounds simple and yummy. I would add tiny equal parts of sugar and vinegar. I like my salads of the sweet/sour variety.
A little sugar and vinegar would be a nice addition.
Easy, and I’m sure will tickle the memories of many folks! Mine included.
It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed this post.
Its the season for carrot salad with the “bunny” making the rounds. Mama always added raisins.
Raisins would be good in this salad. I have a vague memory that my mother may have sometimes made a salad that was just carrots, raisins, and mayonnaise.
I don’t recall if we ever had salads like this, but Mom did make apple and celery salad. I always enjoy looking up the towns where the various cookbooks were from, and learned a little more about Woodcock Center Grange. It is now a small borough, but still very pretty with large farm houses and cute little cottages! It reminds me of how much I would like to go back to Pennsylvania and see more of the areas we passed through during our time there.
Since I’m originally from Pennsylvania, I also have really enjoyed seeing which towns the various recipes in the Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book were from. Like you, I wasn’t familiar with Woodcock Center, and did an online search to figure out where it was located. One of the things on my to-do list is to research the Grange a little more, and then do a post about it and the old cookbook that I have. The Grange has such a long fascinating history. Not sure when I’ll get it done, but I’ll get the post written sometime before the end of the year.
That would be wonderful!
I know too many people who don’t like celery. I would gladly eat your salad, but I wouldn’t make it just for myself.
A nice thing about this salad is that the amounts are very flexible. It could be made using just one carrot (or half a carrot), a little chopped celery, and a little mayonnaise to hold everything together.
Yes, the amounts are flexible, but maybe I’m not!!
You gave me a chuckle, Anne!
My aunt used to make carrot, apple and pineapple salad. No mayo or dressing. A little of the juice from the pineapple tidbits moistened everything. As kids, we loved it.
I always say I’m going to make it but then never do. 🤦🏼♀️
Your aunt’s salad sounds delicious. And, I like that it’s easy to make.
Our family loves carrot salad, only I add raisins yet. I usually let it set overnight as the juices from the raisins add just a touch of sweet then.
mmm. . . raisins would be a great addition. I like the idea of making it ahead so the juice from the raisins can add a bit of sweetness to the carrots.
As a child, my mother made something similar, but I think she added pineapple to it. This looks so good!
Pineapple would be nice in this salad.
It was interesting that both recipes had the salad served on a lettuce leaf.
Old-time salad recipes often indicate that the salad should be served on lettuce. Years ago, I think that salads were often plated on salad plates for serving. When updating a recipe like the one in this post, I struggle with whether I should reproduce how the recipe author probably served the salad or whether I should show the salad in a way that modern cooks are more likely to serve it. I go back and forth on this. For example, several years ago I did a Tuna Salad post where I served the salad on lettuce.