Salad Revelations

June 1, 2002

How you eat your salad tells a lot about your personality, it turns out, according to a 2000 Market Facts survey conducted for the Association for Dressings & Sauces.

The survey divided people into three categories: dippers, toppers and mixers:
• Dippers, 37 percent of those surveyed, dip their greens into their salad dressing.They rate themselves as being more spontaneous and outgoing than “mixers.”
• Mixers, 49.5 percent of those surveyed, are salad eaters who mix their dressing throughout the salad.They see themselves as more sociable than “toppers.”
• Toppers, 10.9 percent of those surveyed, simply dump their dressing n top of their greens and go at it.They tend to be shyer than their mixing and dipping counterparts.

The frequency of eating salads and the type of meal occasions chosen to consume them also give clues to personality type, the survey showed:
• At-least-once-a-week salad eaters consider themselves more trustworthy than those who never eat salad.
• Heavy salad eaters (those who eat salads five or more times a week) are less shy than those who eat salads less often.
• Lunchtime salad eaters who chose salad as their main meal consider themselves more intelligent than those who just eat a side salad at lunch.
• Athletic types claim not to eat salads as their main meal at dinner.

Regional preferences and gender/age differences come into play in salad consumption, too:
• Southerners prefer Thousand Island to dress their salads;
• Midwesterners most frequently choose French dressing;
• Northeasterners report Italian dressing as the most popular; and
• Westerners, who are less likely to be “mixers” than people in other parts of the country, are the most likely to use salad dressings as dips for vegetables or chips, or to use dressing to bind tuna, turkey or chicken salad.
• Men are more likely to be toppers;
• Women are mostly mixers;
• Seniors (55 years or older) eat salads more frequently (3.9 times per week) than the average American; and
• Generation X’ers (18-34 years old) eat salads 2.8 times a week.