Learning Salad Dressings

SALAD DRESSINGS

Liquids or semiliquids used to flavor salads are called salad dressings. You can divide salad dressings into three categories:

  1. Oil and vinegar dressings/ most of the unthickened salad dressings.
  2. Mayonnaise based dressings/ most of the thickened salad dressings.
  3. Cooked dressings/ tart flavor, little or no oil content in salad dressings.

Most salad dressings are made mostly of oil and an acid, with other ingredients to enhance the flavor or texture.

  • Oils

    • Corn oil: has a light golden color and is nearly tasteless, but it does have a mild nutty type flavor to it.
    • Vegetable oil or Salad oil: is a combination or blend of oils and has a neutral flavor. Cottonseed oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and safflower oil are all bland, almost tasteless, but can be blended together in different combinations.
    • Peanut oil: has a mild but distinctive flavor, but it is expensive.
    • Olive oil: has a fruity flavor and aroma to it along with a greenish color. Virgin and extra virgin or the two best olive oils to choose from. Olive oil can be used in specialty salads like Caesar salads.
    • Walnut oil: is expensive, but you can use other nut and seed oils like hazelnut oil and grapeseed oil in its place. All-purpose oils for dressings should have a mild, sweet flavor to it; strongly flavored oils can make great salad dressings but do not go well with every food.

Oils like winterized oil should be used with dressings that are going to be refrigerated. Oils like winterized oils have been treated so they remain a clear liquid when chilled. One problem with oils is rancidity, because just a small trace of rancid flavor in oil will ruin a batch of dressing.

  • Vinegars

    • Cider vinegar: made from apples, has a brown color and a sweet apple taste to it.
    • Sherry vinegar: made from sherry wine and also has the flavor of sherry.
    • Flavored vinegars: have another food item added to the them like tarragon, garlic, and raspberries.
    • White or distilled vinegar: is distilled and purified so that the flavor of the vinegar is neutral.
    • Balsamic vinegar: a special wine vinegar that has been aged in wooden barrels, it has a color that is dark brown and a sweet taste.
    • Other vinegars: malt vinegar, rice vinegar, and also vinegars flavored with fruits.

Strength of acidity determines the tartness of the vinegar and the dressing made from it. 5% of most salad vinegars are acidic; others can be 7% to 8%. Use white vinegar if you want a neutral flavor for a salad dressing.

Lemon juice can be used instead of vinegar when making salad dressing. Egg yolk is needed to make mayonnaise and other emulsified dressings. For safety pasteurized eggs should be used and when you finish making the salad dressing refrigerate it to guard it against spoilage. Almost any herb or spice can be used in salad dressings, but fresh herbs are better to use in salad dressings than dried herbs. Most salad dressings are better to use two or three hours before using, because the dried spices and herbs need extra time to release their flavors into the salad dressings. Mustard, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and cheeses can also be used to flavor salad dressings.

Emulsions

When someone says to emulsify something they mean to mix two unmixable liquids. An oil and vinegar dressing is called a temporary emulsion because the two liquids always separate after being shaken. The harder the salad dressing is beaten or shaken, the longer it takes for the salad dressing to separate. When a mixture of oil and vinegar is mixed in a blender, the mixture stays in emulsion longer. Permanent emulsions are two liquids that will not separate. Egg yolk is a strong emulsifier, which is why mayonnaise holds together so well. All emulsions, whether permanent or temporary, form a lot easier at room temperature. Cooked salad dressings use starch along with eggs. Other commercially made salad dressings use emulsifiers like starches and gelatin.

Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette is simply a mixture of oil, vinegar, and seasonings. In a basic vinaigrette the proportion is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.

How To Make A Mayonnaise Properly

Mayonnaise is the most popular emulsified salad dressing.

  1. Use bland ingredients if the mayonnaise is going to be used as a base for other dressings.
  2. Use the freshest eggs possible for the best emulsification. Use pasteurized eggs.
  3. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature, cold oils are harder to emulsify.
  4. Beat the egg yolks up well in a bowl.
  5. Beat in the seasonings. Add a little of the vinegar at this time also, the acidity in the vinegar will help prevent curdling of the egg yolk proteins and will distribute the spices and dissolve the salt.
  6. Begin to add the oil very slowly, beating constantly. If you do not add the oil in slowly the emulsion will break.
  7. Gradually beat in the remaining oil. The more oil you add the thicker the mayonnaise will get. Vinegar thins it. Also using a power mixer makes a better emulsion than mixing it by hand.
  8. Add no more than 8oz oil per large egg yolk, or no more than 1 quart per 4 yolks. The emulsion will break if more oil is added than the egg yolk can handle.
  9. Taste and correct the seasonings. Finished mayonnaise should have a smooth , rich, neutral flavor, and a nice tartness. The mayonnaise should have a smooth and glossy texture and should be thick enough to hold its shape.
  10. If the mayonnaise breaks you can still save it. Beat an egg yolk or two or some good mayonnaise in a bowl, and very slowly begin to beat in the broken mayonnaise. Continue doing this until they mayonnaise has been reformed.