Homemade Salad Dressing
Making your own salad dressing may seem like a luxury but actually it only takes a couple of minutes. Homemade salad dressings will save you money because these common ingredients are already in your kitchen. Not only will you be eating a healthier salad dressing but you will be able to make a dressing to suit your salad. Homemade salad dressings require no specialized equipment and can be adjusted to taste. Whether you make a simple vinaigrette or creamy dressing, all salad dressings come down to 5 elements:
Try some of my homemade salad dressing recipes, then when you want to experiment use these tips to make your own.
- Oil: Use a good quality olive oil, canola or grape seed oil. For creamy dressings, mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream are used. Add sesame oil or nut oil to make a more unique dressing. Usually, the oil to acid ratio is 3 to 1, but this can be adjusted to taste.
- Acid: Vinegars, such as, balsamic, red wine, white wine, rice vinegar and Champagne vinegar are common to use in salad dressings. Freshly squeezed lemon, lime or orange juices also make flavorful dressings.
- Sweet: Usually a very small amount of sweetener is used to cut down the acid. White sugar and honey are typically used but fresh squeezed juices work well too.
- Mustard: Adding a small amount of mustard will help vinaigrettes emulsify.
- Herbs and Spices: Minced fresh herbs, shallots, citrus rind, black pepper and/or garlic all add wonderful flavor and can help make your salad dressing unique. Common herbs to use are basil, oregano, thyme, tarragon, cilantro, mint, and parsley. Dried herbs will not add the same flavor.
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