What in the world is ham salad?
In Operations, we try to put ourselves in the shoes of the Shopper as often as possible.
And when Instacart launched in Northwest Indiana, I got to do just that by hitting the streets to deliver groceries in our newest region.
On my first order, there was, embarrassingly, an item I had never heard of before — ham salad? I asked a store employee for help and was promptly directed to the prepared foods section. On my merry way, I couldn’t help but wonder: What other types of “salads” should I be prepped to find as Instacart Shopper? It was time to do some research.
Ambrosia Salad
With passing reference to the food of the Greek gods, whipped topping and mini marshmallows are staples of this fruit salad. While the modern day version of the salad can’t promise the immortality of its namesake, you can still find it on Instacart and at summer picnics.
Molded Salad
Here’s one I grew up with! Ignoring the French aspic traditions, this “salad” is typically made with gelatin and, well, anything that can float in gelatin. From cabbage or cottage cheese to fruit or carrots, one might need to suspend their disbelief to understand why this isn’t a more popular dish. Wildly popular in Iowa, Ohio and Utah (where it is the state snack), folks are still finding ways to break the mold on what it takes to constitute a salad.
Pea Salad
As a lifelong hater of peas, this truly sounds like one of the worst concoctions imaginable. Rest assured, pea enthusiasts, this very salad is available at many a fine grocer across the Instacart marketplace. We must appease the many eclectic palates across our platform!
Ham Salad
Finally, the salad that launched my research during my salad days at Instacart. Popular in the Upper Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, ham salad is a cousin to the classic chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad varieties — just using diced ham as the key ingredient.
We will be tracking other regional delicacies in the coming months. Be sure to check back in with this blog to see if the weirdest item you had to track down makes our list.
Niki Kidd
Operations Manager, Chicago
