Finding the perfect haystack

How does yours stack up?

The haystack is a legendary meal that makes its rounds at Adventist dinner tables on Saturday afternoons. This unique food has found its way to Seventh-day Adventist, Latter-day Saint and Mennonite plates since the 1950s. Now I ask the question: what is a haystack? Korbin Peacock, a freshman communication major, provided his answer to the pressing question.

“The perfect haystack: enough chips (Fritos or Doritos) to cover the base of the plate, then a nice amount of (Chili) beans covering three-fours of the chip, but they have to be in the center. Then grab a ‘tong-full’ of lettuce, then the same amount of shredded cheddar cheese. On top I put a big dollop of sour cream with some salsa and enchilada sauce.”

Haystacks have been constructed in many ways. While in the Adventist community it may be a staple, it has its own variation in each family. Some choose to have mixed beans instead of refried beans. Others want to have non-chopped lettuce on their stack of ingredients. Some even just want chips, cheese and beans. I don’t find anything wrong with that. 

Ingredients are one thing, but the order you put it on your plate is a completely different topic. Do you put the cheese between the chips and under the beans and meat or do you put it between the meat and lettuce? What if I saved the cheese and put it on top of the lettuce, then added on my garnishes like salsa and sour cream? Do you mix the sour cream and salsa together before you put it on top of the stack? One family even made chili to pour over our chips for our haystacks. It was the first time I had ever heard of that combination and I was inclined to try it. I do not know if I broke any unwritten rules or if that was allowed, but I highly recommend it. 

When it comes to the traditional haystack, what is on it? You will have cheese, beans, chips and lettuce but what else? Some decide to chop up a tomato and sprinkle that on top. Others choose to leave it out. I know some people who put chunky tomato sauce in the beans and leave chopped tomatoes out. Is that okay? Do I have to put it on chips? Can it be on a burrito shell? Whether you mix the ingredients after you put your haystack together or not, the ingredients of a haystack are so versatile that you can make whatever you want. So, what does your haystack look like?

By: Gabriel Sanders