We celebrate the relish tray - a classic pre-dinner course that was popular on American tables from the 1930's through the 1970's. Meant to excite the appetite, relish trays featured all kinds of pickled and preserved foods, as well as fresh vegetables. Classic relish tray ingredients inclulde: sweet gherkins, pickled beets, radishes, carrot sticks, assorted olives, celery, dill pickles, giardiniera, bread & butter pickles, sardines, pickled herring, green onions, and many other items.
As meals became faster and many opted for convenience foods that were already prepared, or people started serving green lettuce salads before dinner, the job of assembling the relish tray before dinner soon fell out of favor.
Now that many people are cooking and eating at home due to the pandemic and limited choices for dining out, it is a chance to take that relish tray out of the cupboard and start using it again! Don't have one? A visit to almost any thrift store will likely provide a chance to pick one up. Millions of pressed glass relish trays were manufactured throughout the mid 20th century. They can easily be found for sale online. Maybe you mom or grandmother had one? Dust it off and put it into service again!
Join us for this celebration of a classic piece of American tableware - the relish tray!