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In reply to the discussion: Salad Days are coming. What is your favorite bottled dressing? I have posted more options. [View all]Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)It was the first cooking lesson I gave to my son and I think it is one of the best (and simplest) things one can do for ones health, ones palate, and ones budget.
The low quality high-polyunsaturated fats in most bottled dressings are nasty for ones health, taste bad, and the products are expensive.
Better to use EVO (extra-virgin olive oil) and to have a collection of different acids (vinegars and citrus juices). I mostly (but not exclusively) use vinegars I ferment myself.
I typically put a little salt into a mortar with a clove of garlic and mash it, then add a little mustard to act as an emulsifier (miso also works), then mix in oil and vinegar in a 3/1 to 4/1 proportion (depending on the strength of the acid).
Thats the basic recipes, which one can twist in a myriad of ways, adding different herbs, cheeses, fruits, sweeteners, or other flavoring agents. The world is ones oyster in that regard.
One a person gets used to having quality salad dressing, no one would willingly go back to bottled dressings.