Homemade Salad Dressing

It is no secret that creating your own salad dressing is much healthier (for the most part) than the ones you buy in the store. While there may be the rare exception, when you make your own at home at least you know what is going into your salad dressing and there are no ingredients that you have to wonder about. But figuring out how to make your own salad dressing can be hard.

In my opinion, making Salad Dressings like anything in cooking is all about experimenting. Play around with flavours you like and see what you get. So today we are going to look at the basics of Salad Dressing and a few quick and easy ones to help you get started.

So let's start with the basics; a vinaigrette. The base of any vinaigrette is 2 parts oil to 1 part "Acid", usually this is vinegar but it can also be lemon juice or lime juice. Plain and simple you can definitely use that to dress a salad, you just want to make sure it is packed with flavour so that the dressing highlights that. You can also add some chopped herbs to this and get more flavour out of it. Something like this would be what the Greeks use in their salads.

Now we can add to those to give salads a little kick. One thing I enjoy is adding Dijon Mustard to my vinaigrette. (This could be with vinegar or lemon juice.) And I add a little honey also if it gets to be too strong or sour. (Honey is a great way to replace sugar.) Another thing I add sometimes if I want a creamy dressing is Mayo. Mayo is basically oil and eggs and it will add some flavour to your salad dressing and give it a creamy texture.

Now, depending on the salad you are making you may have to play around with your salad dressing, adding a little of this and a little of that as you go until you find the right sweetness, or the right bitterness, or the right amount of citrus. And that is okay. I personally enjoy adding White Wine Vinegar, to Garlic Olive Oil, Olive Oil, Dijon Mustard, and Tahini and then I add a little honey to sweeten it up. And the measurements always change depending on the day and the salad.