Salad dressing - homemade or store bought

This just occurred to me as I was responding to Karen's Monday night thread.
It always amazes me how many people think it is a bother to make salad dressing. Especially when it is a dressing like "Balsamic Vinaigrette." There is nothing to it and the ingredients are usually pantry staples, so why do you think we see Ken and Paul Newman in so many of our friends' refrigerators?

Ordinarily I make my salad dressings, but I sometimes purchase specialty dressings that are faves but a lot of work and/or have expensive ingredients. Like a shitakke/sesame/ginger dressing that I just love that takes a bit of time that I just don't have on a weeknight.

I buy odd ball dressings to try at farmer's markets and craft shows; sometimes buy them just to help out the artisans.

The Market Basket has a honey mustard dressing we both love -- I've tried to deconstruct it but without success. Otherwise, I make our own, especially the balsamic reduction I've mentioned before as Janet's all time favorite.

It runs probably 75% Bob/ 25% others on the consumption side.

Regards, Bob

I enjoy making my own because it's fresher, more flavorful, probably a bit healthier, and definitely a heckuva lot cheaper than prepared dressings. It doesn't take five minutes to whip up and there is none left over so I leave room in the fridge for important stuff ... like 12 different types of hot sauce or that jar of Nutella.

[Robin Garr]

I can't imagine buying store dressing under any circumstances. Have you ever read the ingredients listing on that stuff?

Smash a clove of garlic in the bottom of a bowl. Put in some really good olive oil and a shot of decent vinegar (or, my preference, lemon or lime juice); whisk to emulsify. Heck, when I'm making just enough for two, I don't even use a whisk, just a spoon.

Use a blend of roasted peanut oil and a little sesame with lemon juice or rice-wine vinegar if you want it Asian.

Crumble in some blue cheese if you want blue cheese. (Or crumble blue cheese into a little creme fraiche or yogurt). It just takes a few seconds.

WTH!?

The specialty stuff I buy is free of Bad Shit. It's very high end artisan specialty stuff. It doesn't even stay mixed.

...why do you think we see Ken and Paul Newman in so many of our friends' refrigerators?

I see the point Carrie, but wanted to mention that this moves into the territory of something Francois Audouze in France lamented about on another site yesterday: assertions that speculate on other people's thoughts or motivations. Assertions of that kind could be more literally called comments on what their writer supposes someone else to be thinking. Do you see what I'm getting at? I don't mean to criticize the intent here, but why not phrase the poll as something we actually, reliably can testify to, like "Those of you who DO use commercial dressings, why do you do so?"

I don't mean to criticize the intent here, but why not phrase the poll as something we actually, reliably can testify to, like "Those of you who DO use commercial dressings, why do you do so?"

Honestly Max? I didn't think any of our members used pre-made dressings.

[Jenise]

Carrie, you're right, most of us make our own dressings. Re why other people do, I selected "laziness". I pondered "Don't realize how easy it is" but rejected it because, on reflection, I have shown friend after friend how easy it really is and observed that it didn't change their game plan one iota. They go home and use bottled dressings, even though they're about four or six times the cost of homemade and never as good or good for you--laziness, then, can be the only answer! I'll bet you've had the same experience.

I grew up on homemade. Have to admit though, kind of like the TV dinner thing we're talking about in another thread, when I was in fifth grade I had a friend at whose home Wishbone Italian was a staple, and for a few years I preferred it to the delicious dressings we had at home. To borrow Gary's word, it was a "novelty".

Honestly Max? I didn't think any of our members used pre-made dressings.

Exactly, I assumed the same. Therefore, why not ask something people can testify to directly?

Now you gone and done it, Carrie! I had to have salad for lunch!!

3 parts EVOO
1 part Apple Cidre Vinegar
1 part Beaver Brand Deli Mustard (with grated horseradish root)

Into this wonderful concoction which, by the boo, needs neither salt nor pepper, I tossed some baby spinach leaves and a diced Roma tomato. Some TJ's Bavarian rye bread toast was the finishing touch. And there was a lovely Yellow Delicious apple for dessert.

Back to the ironing ...

Ok...I do make my own dressing much of the time...HOWEVER, I really like Good Season's Salad dressing. It is kinda homemade....bahahaha! But I have to say I do really like the taste of it, so I will use it. I would say I make my own dressing half the time and use Good Season's half the time. The reason I use it is simply because I like the taste of it. I will not use any other pre-made dressings apart from the occasional Marie's Ranch, which I also like the taste of.

[Robin Garr]

The specialty stuff I buy is free of Bad Shit. It's very high end artisan specialty stuff. It doesn't even stay mixed.

That sounds excellent, and I expect I could probably find something like it at Whole Foods.

Still, though, there remains the response, "But it's so <I>eaaaasssssy</i> to make your own!

Bing-o. A piece of ginger, some mushroom-flavored soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, and a whizz in the blender or mortar'n'pestle, or even a Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker, and bob's your uncle. If you're like me, a bit of wasabi might find its way in there...

Mushroom flavored soy?

Yeah, it's great stuff, especially for vegetarian stuff where you're substituting for oyster sauce. It's infused with shiitake. I have some Pearl River Bridge brand which can be bought at most Chinese groceries.

Don't forget miso for a dressing. What could be easier ? I like to eat it as is but mixed with what Stuart uses it's great to drink and use on salads.
Bottled ??? Used it only when the Boy Scouts needed a dish for the yearly pot luck - poured it on a tortellini salad with chopped olives, celery, peas and carrots....so, my reply...laziness.

Honestly Max? I didn't think any of our members used pre-made dressings.

I do.

Honestly Max? I didn't think any of our members used pre-made dressings.

I do.

I don't mean to criticize the intent here, but why not phrase the poll as something we actually, reliably can testify to, like "Those of you who DO use commercial dressings, why do you do so?"

Honestly Max? I didn't think any of our members used pre-made dressings.

I do too.

I don't mean to criticize the intent here, but why not phrase the poll as something we actually, reliably can testify to, like "Those of you who DO use commercial dressings, why do you do so?"

Honestly Max? I didn't think any of our members used pre-made dressings.

I do too.

Rock on, Robert!


Welcome to the Store Bought Few of this BBS.




We Proud, The Few...The Store Bought.

[David M. Bueker]

I use them.

For the lousy, mid-week, but I still want to have it salad I use the store brands. It's not worth any time at all when all I have is about 30 minutes to get some food and eat it between work, working out and getting ready to go back to work the next day.

Now if I am doing something nice (e.g. my spinach salad with candied pecans) I will of course make my own.

The listing of laziness in the poll is actually rather bothersome. Convenience is different from laziness. I work out over 90 minutes a night, and I use store-bought dressing. I'm not lazy.

I am lazy. Extremely.
Here's how I make my salad, most of the time (and I eat a salad every night)

Tear lettuce, rinse
spin
put in bowl
add salt. add pepper
Drizzle with xvoo
Drizzle with red wine vinegar
Toss by hand
Eat.

I don't even take the extra step of combining the oil and vinegar into a vinaigrette first.
That is truly the lazy man's salad dressing.

That salad treatment is way too boring for my wife, OTOH, and she uses some store bought "Asian" low fat concoction - but that's her business, not mine.

Now if I have some special ingredients, or I'm in the mood for something a bit different, then I'll take the extra 5 minutes to make a proper vinaigrette.

I will also admit to eating the ocassional salad with commercial thousand island dressing, but only if eating out. I don't buy the stuff.

I think you needed another option in your choices:

"I have no oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt in my house."

I don't care if you work out, work up, own up or throw up. For if you have any of those ingredients, a salad dressing *far* better than anything in the marketplace is at your fingertips and mere seconds away.

I bought a bottle of that crap once just to see what it was like.

Oh, and let me fan the flames a little more - salad dressing without fat is totally useless. (I'm sure Bob will explain.)