The All Purpose Vinagrette Formula and Recipe

If you look into your box tonight and all you can see is salad, then one of the most important and simple sauce recipes that you should have in your cooking arsenal is the VINEGARETTE.

Built on simple ratios and culinary science, there are an endless amount of ways you can utilize this cold sauce. From dressing your spring greens to adding complexity to your sauté or braised veggies - you will be hard pressed to run out of variations and applications.

No recipe here - simple ratios and process:

VINEGARETTE = Acid + Fat + Emulsifier + Aromatics

So let's break it down:

• An ACID can be any vinegar, any citrus juice or any combination of the two

• A FAT can be any type of oil, butter, fat from protein

• An EMULSIFIER is anything that stabilizes the relationship between the Acid and the Fat - as we know - oil and water do not mix well unless there is an emulsifier. There are many to choose from - some more commons emulsifiers include - mustards, eggs, mayo, sour cream, powered ingredients

• AROMATICS are your herbs, spices, cheeses, zests and other ingredients that drive flavor.

Three parts FAT to one part ACID - does not matter what kind of vinaigrette you will be making the ratio is always 3:1.

Ever wonder why you put mustard in basic vinaigrette? Beyond adding a flavor dimension - the mustard acts to stabilize the oil and acids in the recipe. This assures that your sauce does not break and requires little or no additional mixing.


The process

- Add all the ingredients except for your Fat/Oil into your mixing container and mix well.

- Then in a slow and steady stream, pour in your Fat/Oil into the mixture while constantly mixing.

• For emulsifying you can mix with a whisk, blender, and hand mixer. The goal here is to force mix the ACID and FAT into a state of suspension that will not break. The more "aggressive" you are with your mixing the more stable it becomes. I personally favor kitchen appliance to aid and expedite the process. Make mayonnaise from scratch just once with a whisk and you will quickly learn to appreciate the power of kitchen electronics!

- When the vinaigrette is fully incorporated and showing no signs of breaking you are done.

Suggestions:

Spring or Fancy Greens: Balsamic + Olive Oil + Dijon + (Garlic, Shallot and Thyme)

Romaine Lettuce: (Red Wine Vinegar and Lemon Juice) + Olive Oil + (Mayonnaise and Egg Yolk) + (Garlic, Anchovies, and Parmesan Cheese)

A Rice or Grain Salad: Red Wine Vinegar + (sesame oil and plain oil mix) + powdered mustard + (ginger, garlic, soy and scallion)

Baby Spinach Salad: Cider Vinegar + Olive Oil + Course Grain Mustard + (roasted garlic and hardboiled egg)

Salad of Endive: Juice of Orange, Lemon and Lime (mix) + Olive Oil + Sour Cream + (Shallot and Citrus Zest)

Just remember - Acid, Fat, Emulsifier, Aromatics - Ratio 3:1 - Combine all but Fat/Oil - then add Fat/Oil until emulsified and you are done.

Experiment and create - you can always adjust if something is not to your liking. A well emulsified vinaigrette will keep for many days if it is not consumed in the first sitting!!!

You are now making chef grade vinaigrettes and are welcome to discard all salad dressing latent with chemicals that are presently wasting your refrigerator door space!