Bill S
Assistant Cook
vinagrette dressing begins with vinegar salad oil dressing 3cups salad oil to 1 cup vinegar--cider the virgin oil made it taste bad
Bill S said:vinagrette dressing begins with vinegar salad oil dressing 3cups salad oil to 1 cup vinegar--cider the virgin oil made it taste bad
Bill S said:someone wanted to know what made their vinaigrett salad dressing taste bad I suggested it was the virgin oil they used, an posted that vinaigrett begins with a vinegar/oil salad dressing 3 cups salad oil / 1 cup cider vinegar....hope that cures your migraine...........
jennyema said:I also don't understand why olive oil would make a dressing too tart, which was the original poster's complaint.
I highly doubt that the oil made the dressing taste bad, but it might have been rancid or too assertive.
Also, making vinaigrette by the quart is pretty unnecessary unless you are cooking for a huge number of people. It's best made fresh, IMO.
Personally, I love the flavor of olive oil in my salad dressings, and only use flavorless oils when I'm going for another specific flavor. I collect smaller bottles of "really good" olive oils to use in vinaigrettes. Often I only use lemon juice and the olive oil, along with a specialty sea salt and freshly ground pepper.Nicholas Mosher said:Okay, I'm going to offer a different opinion.
Many many many many people recommend that you use "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" for vinaigrettes... I myself do not. Olives have a definite flavor of their own - one that I absolutely love - but not in mnost dressings.
As many restaurants and fine chefs do, I use a neutral flavored oil in the majority of my vinaigrettes. Canola happens to be my workhorse. It is delicate enough to let the flavors of the other ingredients come through, and doesn't clash with it's own flavors.
Here is my run-o-the-mill vinaigrette.
2-T White Wine Vinegar (I use Red for heartier salads)
1-T Finely Minced Shallot
1-T Minced Chives
1-t Minced Tarragon
1-t Minced Flat Leaf Parsley
2-t Dijon Mustard
Good Pinch of Salt ("Pickling Salt" dissolves easiest)
Good Pinch of Sugar (Balance of Salt/Sweet/Acid is important)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper - To Taste
5-T Canola Oil (Sometimes 6, Depends on strength of the Mustard)
Put it all in a small lidded jar or a screw-top ziplock container and shake vigorously until the liquids emulsify. Let it sit for 15-20min for the flavors to spread/develop then shake again before use.
The trickiest part to a fantastic vinaigrette is getting the correct balance of salt and sugar. Make a practice batch and slowly add more and more salt tasting between each addition until it gets over salted. Then you'll know where the fine line of fantastic lies.
Anyhoo... try using a neutral oil like canola. The herbs I commonly use above are of course optional, but add some interesting complexity - be careful of the tarragon though, it can be overpowering.
You make Caesar dressing ahead? I always make it in the bowl where I'm making the salad. It's one of the few dressings I don't shake up in a jar! In fact, Caesar Salad was the FIRST place I ever was aware of olive oil being used in salad dressing.ironchef said:I also use EVOO in the majority of my salad dressings. Those that I can think of off-hand that I don't use them in are caesar (gives off a weird taste with the anchovy, especially 1-2 days later), truffle vinaigrette, and any Asian fusion vinaigrette.
ChefJune said:You make Caesar dressing ahead? I always make it in the bowl where I'm making the salad. It's one of the few dressings I don't shake up in a jar! In fact, Caesar Salad was the FIRST place I ever was aware of olive oil being used in salad dressing.
ChefJune said:You make Caesar dressing ahead? I always make it in the bowl where I'm making the salad. It's one of the few dressings I don't shake up in a jar! In fact, Caesar Salad was the FIRST place I ever was aware of olive oil being used in salad dressing.
ChefJune said:You make Caesar dressing ahead? I always make it in the bowl where I'm making the salad. It's one of the few dressings I don't shake up in a jar! In fact, Caesar Salad was the FIRST place I ever was aware of olive oil being used in salad dressing.
Nicholas Mosher said:I just got that information from Alton Brown and a couple internet sites focusing on food history. According to these sources, the original caesar preparation at table side used worcestershire sauce (which contains anchovy itself). Apparently over time people tried to adapt the recipe, and many restaurants used anchovy paste and garlic. Then came the deal of laying a few whole anchovy filets atop the salad. I like the traditional recipe, along with recipes made with anchovy paste or mashed filets - but whole filets on top of or tossed withthe romaine just overwhelm the other flavors to me.
Nicholas Mosher said:Caesar salads are one of those simple dishes that I judge restaurants by. I really love it when the restaurant gives huge descriptions of it's dishes - a great way for an establishment to make or break it's image for me.
I ate out at a place in Northampton Massachusetts a while back who's menu described it's "Traditional Caesar" as one that would make Caesar Cardini proud... it's dressing was mayo based and featured "Whole Anchovy Filets" along with parmesan garlic toasts... Caesar salads are pretty difficult to mess up - and this one was terrible (although the parmesan toasts were great!). I also tried their "Perfectly Roasted Chicken" with the house Pilaf. All in all the meal was $25 and I won't be going back.
The person who ate with me loved her meal though - Orechiette and Grilled Chicken swimming in a pool of sundried tomato cream sauce with asparagus tips. Ah well...
I'm only picky when I'm paying...