Recipe Salad dressing

Hemulen

Woof-woof
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Usually the recommended ratio of oil to vinegar is 3:1. Personally, I use a tart 1:1 ratio (extra virgin olive oil/light balsamic) and add two tablespoons of strong and salty Finnish mustard, a pinch of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoons of black pepper, a tablespoon of maple syrup and herbs like dill, thyme or rosemary.
 
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I go the other direction, more like 4:1, and my basic one is red or white wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, some kind of dried or fresh herb, mustard or mayonnaise, sugar or honey, and salt & pepper.

My even more basic one is mustard or mayonnaise, vinegar, water, oil, and salt & pepper.
 
Usually the recommended ratio of oil to vinegar is 3:1. Personally, I use a tart 1:1 ratio (extra virgin olive oil/light balsamic) and add two tablespoons of strong and salty Finnish mustard, a pinch of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoons of black pepper, a tablespoon of maple syrup and herbs like dill, thyme or rosemary.

Minus the maple syrup this sounds good. I make an emulsion of the mustard, garlic and vinegar & then add oil (2:1 or 3:1). You end up with a dressing almost as thick as mayo which coats and clings to each leaf. This is a French style dressing and I learnt it from a chef in France.
 
I'm a 2:1 person when it comes to oil to vinegar / sour. Although some salad dressings do work well with 1:1.

Mustard and garlic - often welcome in my salad dressings! I prefer vinaigrette style to the heavily-creamy types in most cases - and yes, I dislike America's apparent favorite - Ranch dressing. Or as I like to call it, raunch dressing. As in raunchy.

I don't tend to add any sweeteners to my salad dressings. Not often needed, but if I did, the actual flavor of maple would allow me to toss in a half teaspoon of maple syrup or so. There are a few Asian dressings that only work with a little sugar - to cut the fish sauce, for instance.
 
I guess it is the bitterness of the 1:1 vinegar, the hot and salty mustard and the big glob of lemon juice that cut off the excess sweetness of maple syrup in my version. When mixing the dressing, I don´t have to think about adding the oil gradually like in mayo. I just mix everything in whatever order. The Finnish mustard is quite rigid so after a minute of intense mixing the mixture is surprisingly solid and sticky. Like Mountain Cat, I turn up my nose on most creamy and sweet salad dressings - especially tomato based ones. In my opinion such sauces go better with fish, poultry or cold meat. As much as I love garlic, I feel that the distinctive taste of garlic covers the original taste of salad and other ingredients even more than mustard or vinegar. A bit same with chives. I have a slight reflux tendency so raw onion isn't my favorite - but I do like dried onion flakes on top of tuna salad. Individual preferences; matters of taste.
 
I just made my preferred creamy dressing for later:

Mayonnaise
Sour cream
Grated Parmesan
Grated garlic
Squeeze of lemon
Salt & pepper
Chives
Half-and-half (I usually use buttermilk)

Chuck it all in a jar, give it a good shake, taste and adjust seasoning and thickness.
 
Wow, I've never thought about all this. I've always just mixed EVOO and Balsamic vinegar 50/50, and added a bunch of black pepper. I need to tinker with that, now.

CD
 
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