“Savor” is a podcast about foodstuffs. In their most recent episode they talked about – of all things! – Ranch Dressing. Not only is it the most popular salad dressing in the USA but is now being used/promoted as a condiment ‘the new ketchup’ as it were. This was all news to me. The podcast episode made me meditate on salad dressing in general.*
I am suspicious of bottled dressing the type found in the grocery stores. “Fat free” dressings taste ‘off’ and they are full of sugar, gums, and other ingredients to resemble a chemistry class. The ‘real ones’ evoke in me the sense I can make this at home for a fraction of the cost.
I generally don’t use salad dressing actually; I prefer vinegar and oil and not much of either. I use balsamic vinegar and proper olive oils – no rubbish! I make mine using a glass container that once upon a time came with a packet of desiccated dressing (Italian probably). To it I add my vinegar, my oil, and whatever spices or herbs are at hand and viola! Good-enough salad dressing. When the concoction is not used for salads, it makes a good dip for bread and pizza crusts. Ranch dressing as condiment be damned.
Someone doesn’t like v/o; he buys the plastic bottle types at the supermarket – usually Ranch.
I haven’t the foggiest how many types of salad recipes there are but if an alien were to beam down and eat at any typical restaurant they would come to the conclusion there are only four: Italian, ranch, bleu cheese, and 1000 island. I remember from my youth my elders liked“Russian” and “Green Goddess” but apparently these went out with the bell-bottoms.
I am curious to hear what Spo-fans use/like for salad dressing. If anyone has a good recipe for such I would be blithe to try it.
*The Board of Directors Here at Spo-reflections was apoplectic over my proposal I do an entry on salad dressing. They even proposed “Walking the dog” be resurrected. TBDHSR abjure salads and vegetables in general, other than rutabagas. For some reason they adore rutabagas, which they eat with relish.
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January 20, 2019 at 3:49 PM
thickethouse
I also prefer oil and vinegar, sometimes with a bit of mustard in it. The mustard I use (sparingly) is a Dusseldorf type which I like better than Dijon. I season the salad with salt and pepper and random herbs, as my mood takes me, sometimes herbs de Provence and sometimes marjoram and sometimes
tarragon. But I must confess when my granddaughters (3rd and 4th grade) come for dinner on Friday nights, they ask for Ranch. My son likes Blue Cheese in a bottle. No one likes my oil and vinegar.
January 20, 2019 at 8:29 PM
Urspo
hmmmmm
first of all I am delighted you stopped by/wrote a comment
Second – I agree youngsters seem more going towards Ranch and away from v/o. I like your notion of a dab of mustard in the v/o.
January 20, 2019 at 5:06 PM
anne marie in philly
since I don’t eat veggies & salads, I don’t use salad dressings. I do like honey mustard though; it makes a great dipping sauce for chicken and fish.
January 20, 2019 at 8:30 PM
Urspo
I love a good sauce. I guess dressings and sauces are becoming more interchangeable these days.
January 21, 2019 at 5:26 AM
itsmyhusbandandme
AM – it has many uses. Need I say more?
JP
January 21, 2019 at 1:06 PM
anne marie in philly
ONLY YOU would think of “other uses”, lil bro! you so naughty! 😉
January 20, 2019 at 5:47 PM
Mike Warren
Mine is olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dijon, berry syrup or jam, oregano, s&p. I felt superior to all others until Christmas dinner. My sister-in-law served an exquisite salad of mixed greens, pear slices, and blue cheese. I swooned. Her dressing was Paul Newman’s citrus vinaigrette, plus thenprifits go to charity. I’ll never serve salad to guests again!
January 20, 2019 at 8:30 PM
Urspo
I like the looks of your recipe; I shall try it
January 20, 2019 at 6:01 PM
Willym
we tend to do oil and vinegar chez nous however for coldslaw I will mix mayo and milk with some garlic powder and another seasoning. And just as a matter of interest what relish do they eat it with?
January 20, 2019 at 8:31 PM
Urspo
they eat it was great relish.
January 20, 2019 at 6:04 PM
larrymuffin
the only salad dressing I like out of a bottle is Ranch by Hidden Valley. Usually I make my own we have all the ingredients to make nice ones so why buy a bottle. Russian dressing is still popular in Europe and usually found accompanying Hard boiled eggs or a vegetable salad cubed. It’s very Eastern European to serve it that way. I am not crazy about it.
January 20, 2019 at 8:32 PM
Urspo
Hidden Valley (it turns out) is the original maker of Ranch dressing, which is why it is called Ranch dressing as it was made at Hidden Valley Ranch.
January 20, 2019 at 6:37 PM
Todd Gunther
I am so over uysing Ranch dressing for salads. I might use it as a dipping sauce for carrots, celery, broccoli, etc. My favorite is Thousand Island dressing which to me is nothing more than Russian dressing with relish added for extra texture. You should at the very least find a Russian dressing at your local market; I know Ken’s Steak House offers this dressing. I Googled Green Goddess dressing and it appears to be available at Target (!)
January 20, 2019 at 8:32 PM
Urspo
My Gran liked russian dressing; she always made it from scratch. I should do some soon.
January 20, 2019 at 6:59 PM
Harry Hamid
I’ve been using some lemon pepper dressing I pick up at HEB that is fantastic. I can also use ginger dressing. Outside of those, I have a tough time with store-bought.
This was a fantastic topic and don’t listen to the Board. Just smile and nod.
January 20, 2019 at 8:34 PM
Urspo
TBDHSR is most concerned with # of comments. If are already pleased as punch with the turn out. I don’t think this means they are ready for dressing salads.
January 20, 2019 at 7:28 PM
David Godfrey
A good vinegarete is easy to make. I recently made mayo from scratch for the first time. Master the two, and you can make most salad dressings at home. Saucing 101.
January 20, 2019 at 8:34 PM
Urspo
Shhhhh! Don’t even mention the “M” word here it makes Someone sick just to think on it.
January 21, 2019 at 4:58 AM
anne marie in philly
(barfs) mayo…
January 20, 2019 at 8:02 PM
Old Lurker
I try to avoid salad dressing these days, but I readily admit I have a fondness for Ranch, and that I have been using it as a condiment for longer than some of your friends at the Genius Bar have been alive.
January 20, 2019 at 8:35 PM
Urspo
Apparently Ranch is becoming more a topping/condiment than actually used in salads. You are not alone.
January 20, 2019 at 8:11 PM
Debra She Who Seeks
Made by someone who knows what they’re doing (i.e. not me), a simple vinaigrette of oil, some variety of vinegar (balsamic, apple cider etc.), and herbs is perfect and my favourite way to eat salad. In default of that, I’ll have Ranch simply because it’s easy to buy and tasty enough.
January 20, 2019 at 8:35 PM
Urspo
I concur.
January 20, 2019 at 10:49 PM
Jennifer
I love a good garlicky Caesar dressing, and there’s a bottled red wine vinaigrette that’s pretty good, too.
January 21, 2019 at 6:46 AM
Urspo
Caesar dressing (I remember now) was my favorite back when it was made proper with anchovies and raw egg. Ah, youth.
January 20, 2019 at 11:18 PM
wcs
The basic French vinaigrette with Dijon mustard is what we enjoy. Some variations are allowed. We also make home-made thousand island to have with crunchy iceberg lettuce. And yes, we do make home-made ranch-style dressing from time to time. No bottled dressings in this house!
January 21, 2019 at 6:47 AM
Urspo
Yours sounds the best: simple good ingredients. I heard on the podcast about Ranch it is not used/even known much in Europe. This this your experience?
January 21, 2019 at 11:00 PM
wcs
Yes. I’ve not seen anything other than bottled vinaigrette on the supermarket shelves. There is a version of vinaigrette that includes cream, but it’s not anything like Ranch.
January 21, 2019 at 1:17 AM
Colonel Panic
I favour a nice mustardy vinaigrette, with either wine vinegar or lemon juice as the acid. And it’s rather eighties, but walnut oil and raspberry vinegar is nice too. When I am in charge of everything, mayonnaise will be illegal.
January 21, 2019 at 1:26 AM
Frogdancer Jones
YES! Can’t stand mayo.
January 21, 2019 at 4:59 AM
anne marie in philly
“mayo will be illegal” – THANK YOU!
January 21, 2019 at 6:48 AM
Urspo
Someone (and several choleric Spo-fans) completely agree with you.
January 21, 2019 at 1:25 AM
Frogdancer Jones
We don’t have Ranch dressing in Australia. It sounds…. weird.
January 21, 2019 at 6:49 AM
Urspo
The podcast on Ranch pointed out this is almost a sole American thing, as Ranch is not used/known elsewhere.
January 21, 2019 at 5:38 AM
David Godfrey
But, but but, mayo is an essential in blue cheese dressing, or thousand island dressing. Mayo is simply egg yolks, oil and fresh lemon juice – and a lot of work. A basic emulsion. In a classic french vinaigrette the dijon mustard is the emulsifier, in mayo or in a ceasar dressing, egg yolks are the emulsifier. An emulsion is a basic sauce, someday I am going to write a short book about sauce making for the everyday cook. Once you master the basic techniques the variations are endless.
January 21, 2019 at 6:20 AM
Colonel Panic
I know the science of mayonnaise (and I tip my non-existent hat to your knowledge) but I still think it’s revolting..
January 21, 2019 at 6:50 AM
Urspo
Someone is always on guard for the dreaded “M” and understandably won’t touch thousand island or blue cheese dressing. I am now hankering for some proper thousand island dressing.
I would buy your book !
January 21, 2019 at 1:08 PM
anne marie in philly
I love you, penguin, but without mayo! 🙂
January 21, 2019 at 8:59 AM
Bill M
I’ve used homemade dressing for many years — pretty much always the same. The basic recipe is from the Silver Palate cookbook (originally published in 1979; I have the 2007 edition). It’s called “Our Favorite Vinaigrette” (pp. 178-79). It’s easy and quick, and I’ve made it so many times I can do it from memory. 1 Tblsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup olive oil. The recipe calls for minced fresh parsley or snipped chives. I don’t usually put these in, but instead have sometimes used minced shallot or garlic, but more often just a pinch of onion power and a pinch of garlic powder (which are always on hand in the spice cabinet). Lately I’ve had a pot of Moutard Pommery (grainy French mustard) in the fridge, so I’ve used that instead of regular Dijon, and it’s delicious. I make a lot of things from scratch, and I like knowing exactly what’s in my food!
January 21, 2019 at 9:41 AM
Urspo
this does sound good; thank you for spending time to type it out for me!
January 21, 2019 at 9:00 AM
Karen
A good store bought dressing is Marie’s creamy Italian with garlic. Wonderful for salads and also to dip vegetables. Usually in the refrigerated produce section in stores.
January 21, 2019 at 9:40 AM
Urspo
thank you for the tip on good store-bought dressing
January 21, 2019 at 9:45 AM
Moving with Mitchell
I don’t use salad dressing, although i like Russian dressing on a sandwich (in the States, not here). When I met Jerry, salad dressing meant Miracle Whip (OH – DEAR – GOD); otherwise he was specific… Russian, French, Italian, Thousand Island. He was required to stop buying Miracle Whip when we met.
January 21, 2019 at 10:35 AM
Urspo
No Miracle Whip – ever! (said in my best Mommie Dearest voice)
January 21, 2019 at 1:09 PM
anne marie in philly
RTG would disagree with you there, spo.
January 21, 2019 at 2:35 PM
Todd Gunther
Mom always used Miracle Whip to make tuna salad. I will still use it for this out of nostalgia. Don’t question me on this!
January 21, 2019 at 10:12 AM
Ravager619
I usually don’t do salad dressing nowadays. I used to use ranch as a condiment for things like potato skins or bread sticks from Domino’s. If I buy a prepackaged salad at the market, it will have some dressing that I’ll throw on it but not care what it is. Or remember it for that matter.
January 21, 2019 at 10:35 AM
Urspo
apparently lots use Ranch as you describe doing.
January 21, 2019 at 11:26 AM
Bill M
Spo, I made a mistake transcribing the Silver Palate recipe (above)! It’s 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, not 1/2. Generally, as you prob know from your v/o recipes, you want to use twice as much oil as vinegar.
January 21, 2019 at 8:41 PM
Urspo
phew thankyou for the correction
January 21, 2019 at 12:45 PM
Steven
I discovered a delectable chipotle ranch dressing which is not only great for my salads, but a great dipping sauce for veggies, especially baby carrots.
January 21, 2019 at 8:42 PM
Urspo
I am all for chipotle in almost anything
January 21, 2019 at 8:35 PM
usstorageunit
No mayo? That means no chicken salad. No tuna salad. No potato salad, coleslaw, no deviled eggs, no egg salad. That’s nuts!
January 21, 2019 at 8:43 PM
Urspo
I certainly agree! I for one like the stuff and can’t imagine these 6 delicies made with substitutes – although Someone does – using Ranch Dressing hohoho