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…instead of just “mixing” it?

I googled, but the results basically all point to sex, whereas I mean mixing together the vegetable ingredients in a salad.

Thanks!

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    I googled "toss a/the salad" And...horrors I had no idea. So, look up "toss" in a dictionary.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:26
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    @Mari-LouA Lol, I'm so sorry
    – Kevin
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:29
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    gif of someone tossing a salad Safe for work
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:30
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    A "tossed salad" is a salad where you mix the ingredients by (sort of) tossing them in the air.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:30
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    You might add "in cooking" to the title for clarification.
    – livresque
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 22:06

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"Mix" is generally used when the result is in a state where it is impossible (or nearly so) to separate back into the component parts.

Once you mix cake batter, you can't turn it back into eggs, flour and milk. Once you mix a screwdriver, you can't separate it back into orange juice and tequila.

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  • OK, but why “toss”? What is the etymology of “toss” in this context? (And please don’t talk about alcohol; it’s making me want to drink—to forget the question!)
    – Pierre Paquette
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:52
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    Because that is literally what you are doing. You take two salad serving spoons and gently toss the ingredients into the air
    – Kevin
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:55
  • Thank you! I’m French-speaking, as you can guess by my name, but I dated mostly English-speaking women, and spent 9 of the past 11 years with an English speaker… Even though my “cooking” knowledge was slim to none when we met, she never explained to me that you’re supposed to “toss the ingredients into the air,” and I was just “mixing” them—I guess she never saw what I was doing! Thank you for clarifying! :)
    – Pierre Paquette
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 21:59
  • Hard salad ingredients could take mixing with a bit of vigor. Leafy lettuce would actually be harmed by the rough blending. A lighter touch of lifting, not mashing, works better. Tossing salad is similar to folding rather than stirring airy cake batters that have beaten egg whites.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Apr 13, 2021 at 22:32

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