"movement of food as illusion" that had begun late in the previous century. The dish's popularity is credited by Olver and food writer Diana Hubbell as likely the product of large corporations marketing canned pineapple to the American public.

Through the 1920s, candle salads were typically served at lunches held for women, to avoid the jokes men often made referencing the salad's phallic appearance, and at Christmas and Halloween events. This association with holidays was highlighted by recipe writers, such as in a 1928 piece in The Philadelphia Tribune: