A salad dressing traditionally has a base of vinegar or lemon juice (an acid) and an edible oil, more often than not this will be olive oil, but many other light edible oils are used including soybean, corn and safflower. The best proportions to apply in achieving a creamy texture is half acid to oil. Various flavored foods, herbs and/or spices are then added to give the dressing a unique and interesting flavor.
Dressing greens and vegetables in oil and vinegar appears date back to Babylonian times, around 2,000 years ago, and was further developed in countries where olives and vegetables grow in abundance. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Salad-Dressing.html<ref>
Varieties of Salad Dressings
French Dressing: - considered the classic of dressings, named this in the UK and the USA, it is actually the basic salad dressing in France, known to the French as "vinaigrette."
Italian Dressing: - is a vinaigrette type dressing flavored with various ingredients including: onions, bell peppers, garlic, oregano, fennel and dill. This dressing is unknown in Italy, as the Italians usually dress their salads at the table with basic oil, vinegar (often using balsamic vinegar) and salt (sometimes including freshly ground pepper) and do not premix their salad dressings.http://www.italiantraditionalfood.com/
Herbfest - Homemade Salad Dressing
This video, filmed at the annual HerbFest, demonstrates the extensive variety of ingredients that can be included in a salad dressing. The demonstrator shows us how to use up onion greens (that might normally be discarded) for additional flavor. She also explains the correct quantities of acid to oil for the correct consistency, in this case she uses both balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice. She then goes on to describe the numerous herbs that she includes in her dressings; among them are oregano, tarragon and basil.
References
Fast Facts
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Native to
Originally Europe but now used worldwide
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Used for
Dressing salads and as a dip
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Often combined with
Vegetables, cooked pasta, fruit, nuts, legumes and fruit
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History
Many of the major brands of dressings and sauces available today were introduced as early as the 1920's
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Consistency
To achieve a creamy consistency, half acid (vinegar or lemon juice) to oil is used
