How To Make Homemade Salad Dressing

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[JoeProBono]

Why Make Your Own?

Visit any supermarket or specialty grocery store and you'll be sure to find at least a shelf, and more often an aisle, devoted to bottled salad dressings, with every flavor imaginable. Why then would you make your own? Well, bottled salad dressings can be high in sodium and preservatives - and if you are in the mood for more than one flavor you will need to keep your refrigerator stocked with several bottles. It's really very simple to make your own dressings once you know the basics - you can then control the ingredients and mix them up any way you want. You don't even need special equipment. If you keep your kitchen stocked with any covered container and a few staple ingredients, you will be limited only by your imagination and taste buds.

What Will You Need?

The basic ingredients in salad dressings are fat, acid and seasonings. If you have these ingredients on hand, you can easily make any dressing.

* Fat - this can range from oil, cheese, cream and egg. Most lighter dressings are oil based, while the heavier or creamier versions are made with a soft cheese or sour cream. Many vitamins found in salad greens and vegetables are fat-soluble, which mean that they are only absorbed by the body if a fat is present. This may explain why salads "taste" better to us when covered in dressing.

* Acid - lemon, lime, orange or any kind of vinegar are popular in dressings. They give a bite and sometimes a sweetness to the salad and can be used to complement the ingredients in it.

* Seasonings - salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano - the list is endless.

* A Way to Blend Ingredients - Plastic food storage bag, bell jar, old jelly jar, old mayo jar, tupperware - you probably have any or all of these in your kitchen. They are perfect for blending dressings because of their tight lid. You can shake them well without making a mess. Some dressings, like those made with egg, are better made with an electric hand blender or food processor because the high mixing speeds make for a better dressing.

The great thing about making your own dressing is that you make it the way you want it. By keeping these staples in your kitchen, you will never buy a pre-made bottle dressing again.

[JoeProBono]

Recipes - Easy to Complex

Unless otherwise stated, the following dressings can be made ahead by a day or two in any container that you can shake. If you choose to dress your salad, do so only a few minutes before serving so the lettuce does not wilt. Do not add too much dressing - a little goes a long way and you can always add more if necessary. Remember to taste your dressing before adding to your salad so you can adjust seasonings. These recipes will cover more 4 cups or more of salad - enough to serve a family or small dinner party.

Lemon Vinaigrette: Juice one lemon into container, straining the seeds. Add about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Shake well to combine. This is good on salads, but equally good on steamed vegetables for side dishes.

Avocado Vinaigrette: Place into container - avocado (whole small one or half of a large one), 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon white wine (optional), 1 tablespoon water (or 2 if not opting for wine), 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. If you are planning to mix by shaking, use a fork first to mash the avocado, then cover and shake. Otherwise, use a hand blender or food processor to blend until smooth.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette: Add to container - 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Shake well to combine. Garnish your salad with pomegranate seeds to enhance the flavor of the dressing.

Cesare Salad Dressing: Add to food processor, blender or container wide enough for your hand blender - 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 garlic clove (crushed), 1 sardine (optional), 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and the juice of 1 lemon. Process until smooth and creamy. Cesare salad is traditionally served with romaine lettuce, croutons, shaved Parmesan cheese and fresh ground black pepper.

[libertarian27]

My father made a super-secret salad dressing and told us kids not to tell anyone.....mayo and ketchup.Stir.

Oops - I’m in trouble now.

[JoeProBono]

[Yardstick]

Lately I like Girard’s Old Venice Italian dressing in the triangular glass bottle. I could almost swig it down without the salad.

[fullchroma]

So true! Those bottled dressings aren’t real food and they taste funny.

Assemble your salad. Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil. Drizzle a little vinegar. Scatter some kosher salt. Grind some pepper. Enjoy!

[libertarian27]

That’s the stuff!
He called it French dressing.
If pickles were involved it was Thousand Islands.
lol - actually it was pretty good :)

[JRandomFreeper]

Real Caesar Salad dressing has anchovies, or anchovie paste. Just sayin. Julius ate preserved fish, back in the day, whether Americans today will or not. ;)

And in today's world, you can get pasturized (gamma rays, actually) whole eggs to use for the egg yolks. As I advance in age, I'm more concerned about stuff that I used to laugh off. I don't bounce back so quickly.

Great thread, BTW. I make all my own mayo. Stupid to buy it, when eggs and oil are cheap, and flavorings come from the yard (thyme, parsley, garlic, etc).

Your explanation was culinarily and chemically correct.

/johnny

[elcid1970]

Vee call dat ROOSHIAN dressing, Comrade!

BTW, don’t forget the pickle relish.

[nagdt]

I do this nearly every day:

Balsamic Vinegar, Olive oil, garlic powder, italian seasoning, sea salt and some cracked pepper. Stir. Measuring cup? nah!

fabulous...and good for you. :)

Great on salads and as a maranade for nearly every meat, chick, fish on the planet.

[csmusaret]

Forget dressing. Dump a big glob of salsa on it and enjoy.

[JoeProBono]

[Jemian]

Also, many store-bought dressings are high in carbohydrates. When you make your own, you can control that.

[JoeProBono]

[trisham]

Lemon Vinaigrette is such a perfect dressing. I use it when I make bean salad (black beans, garbanzo beans, and kidney beans with a little onion, celery and Bell peppers.) I always use extra virgin olive oil. It’s a wonderful summertime salad.

[Kimmers]

I will have to try that......I love their Champagne dressing.......

[JRandomFreeper]

The carbs are sugar and corn syrup to cover for the harsh and bitter acids and oils (cheaper, I suppose, in bulk) than you and I would use.

Very correct. Real dressings are much lower carb. Largest source of carbs in my standard 'house dressing' is the sugar in the garlic. And that's tiny.

/johnny

[JoeProBono]

[JRandomFreeper]

Hard to go wrong with putting salsa on most everything. ;)

/johnny

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

We make our own mayo too. My mom also makes a really great basil pesto salad dressing. Mmmm Mmmm!

[JRandomFreeper]

Yep, that's them. Anchovies, bearing 115-125 on the plate edge, headed toward the rim.

/johnny