Do you make your own salad dressings? Tips please!

[Anonymous]

We are trying to make more and more of our foods from scratch and I am wondering about salad dressings. I make this really delicious simple dressing for an asian salad, but when I make it, it's usually for a group of us and I pour it all on the salad and so the leftover salad only lasts 2-3 days. Just wondering if it's possible to make salad dressing and save some for the side, and how long will it last?

We like to cook ahead on weekends for the week ahead, and the beauty of store brought salad dressing is it lasts, so it's a quick option for whipping up a side salad on weeknights to serve with whatever we are having. Just wondering if I can make ahead some simple dressings and would it last a few days?

Would also love some simple ideas for simple dressings/salads. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Homemade dressing lasts a while -- you can put it in the fridge if you want but it can sit out for a few days if it doesn't have perishable ingredients in it. The oil and vinegar will separate but you can let it come to room temperature and shake it up.

[Anonymous]

I like lettuce-based salads, but it wilts if you dress it and then you wait too long to eat it. So for quick meals during the week I usually get the pre-washed organic lettuce, throw in some dried fruits or a chopped apple, crumble a little feta, and then add some nuts or red onion. For dressing, I squeeze a whole lemon in a small bowl, mix in a small amount of white balsamic vinegar, and then add some lime-flavored olive oil (tiny bit) and salt/pepper to taste. I also do something similar substituting the lemon/balsamic with strawberry balsamic. (That's DH's favorite.) Takes 10 minutes, tops.

Another easy salad - split a wedge of iceberg (I usually do 1/2 for DH and 1/2 for me), then add some fresh tomatoes (best in summer) and red onion. I usually dress it with my "blue cheese" dressing - which is a greek yogurt base (0 percent fat), a tiny bit of non-fat milk to thin, salt, pepper, and either blue cheese or Gorgonzola crumbles to taste. Just throw it all into a food processor. Also 5-10 minutes total prep.

[Anonymous]

Make it in a closed container, and serve in a creamer/gravy-boat thing so that people can add it to their salad as they wish.

French dressing:
Dijon mustard
salt pepper
cider vinegar or wine vinegar
olive oil

My favorite quick dressing:
Olive oil
rice vinegar
Japanese soy sauce

[Anonymous]

My standard dressing is a vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and sometimes crushed garlic and/or basil) and it keeps just fine for several days in the fridge. I guess a dressing with dairy or egg would be more perishable.

[Anonymous]

Meant to add, the closed container can sit in the fridge for weeks as long as no one has stirred their licked spoon in it.

[Anonymous]

My favorite quick dressing: lemon juice from 1 fresh lemon, 1 tbs of olive oil, salt & pepper. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My standard dressing is a vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and sometimes crushed garlic and/or basil) and it keeps just fine for several days in the fridge. I guess a dressing with dairy or egg would be more perishable.

I do this, except I use red wine vinegar and I and add some chopped red onion if I have it. It lasts at least for me in the fridge, although the oil may harden. If it does, I just set it out on the counter for 15-30 minutes before I need to use it.

[Anonymous]

My two-second go-to dressing is olive oil, balsamic, dijon mustard, honey, salt & pepper, sometimes a sprinkle of "Italian herbs" or "herbs fine." I keep it in the fridge for a few days.

[Anonymous]

I always make my own and I don't store it. The trick is to make it in the bottom of your salad bowl, put the lettuce on top, and store in the fridge till dinner time, then toss. No wilting, and we get to change it up all the time.

I use the same basic method with infinite variations: put acid in bowl (lemon juice, vinegar, etc.), add flavors (mustard, honey, horseradish, garlic, shallots, onion, fig jam, herbs...possibilities are endless here), whisk in oil, season to taste with salt and pepper. A favorite lately is butter lettuce with champagne vinegar, horseradish, honey, and olive oil.

I'm sure you could store any vinaigrette in a bottle and just shake and serve though.

[Anonymous]

I make my own pretty much every night. I just make as much as I need every night because it only takes about 2 minutes. I don't measure, just use proportions: 3 parts olive oil, one part vinegar (I use different vinegars: white wine, red wine, balsamic, etc.), one part dijon mustard, a dash of salt. Whisk it up and you're done. If you feel like it, you can add crushed garlic or minced shallot or herbs or whatever else is on hand. But a basic oil, vinegar, and mustard is great for a regular week night salad.

[Anonymous]

You all have inspired me, the OP, so thank you! I am committed to trying a bunch of these!

[Anonymous]

I always make my own viniagrette and I keep it in one of those glass shaker bottles (can buy it in the grocery store for a few bucks, I think it comes with a packet of Wishbone Italian dressing mix).

I just use olive oil, balsamic, dijon mustard, salt & pepper, and sometimes some garlic and/or lemon juice. It keeps for a while in the bottle. Just remember to take it out before dinner so it can come up to room temp so you can shake it because it will separate and harden in the fridge. We eat salad most nights, so whenever the bottle runs out, I just wash it and make a new batch. It probably lasts me a week or longer.

Now that I am used to having my own dressing all the time, I cannot stand bottled viniagrettes. Did you ever look at the ingredients?! The bottled viniagrettes using cheap oil & vinegar really taste terrible compared to homemade using good quality olive oil and nice vinegar!

21:41, I'm going to make your bleu cheese dressing tonight - thanks!