The basic French vinaigrette recipe

The Basic French Vinaigrette Recipe

Are you looking for something to compliment with your cold, bland and sad salad?  Well, here is an easy, basic vinaigrette for you to start with for you to serve with your salad.  This comprehensive dressing can also be served with cold meats and fish to enhance their taste. 

What are the ingredients required?

vinegar

oil

Yes, that's all! All you need are 2 simple ingredients: oil and an acidic liquid (e.g. vinegar).  Easy right?

The basic traditional formula: 3 to 1 formula

The basic recipe is easy to memorize.  Traditionally, mixing 3 parts of oil with 1 part of acidic liquid, such as: vinegar and lemon juice, results in the most widely-known vinaigrette.

Variations for your own vinaigrette recipes

After mastering the basic ratio, you may mix and match your vinaigrette recipe by using different ingredients for different dishes, such as lemon juice and red wine vinegar for a more refreshing salad; different seasonings, like: salt, pepper and spices.  In addition to this, you may also choose to add in emulsifiers such as: egg yolks to lengthen its shelf life.  In the next post, I'll explain how different acidic liquids used will affect the taste of the vinaigrette, and how to choose your acid to pair with different kinds of food. Please check my other group mates' recipes to see how other interesting sciences behind this tasty dressing! :)

THE BASIC FRENCH VINAIGRETTE RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Servings: 4 

Ingredients:

- 120g of olive oil

- 40g of white wine vinegar

- 15g of dijon mustard

- 20g of honey

- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced

- 1.5g of fine sea salt, to taste

- ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. In a jar or a bowl*,  add in all the ingredients. If you are using a jar, close the jar with the lid and shake it vigorously to combine; if you are using a bowl, whisk the mixture using a whisk or a fork until the ingredients are combined and an emulsion^ is formed.

2. Taste the mixture, and adjust as necessary. If it is too acidic, add in more honey; if it is too bland, just add in more salt and pepper. 

3. Either serve immediately or cover the vinaigrette well and refrigerate for future use. Homemade vinaigrette can be kept in the fridge well for around 7 to 10 days. 

Notes:

* Preferably, metal utensils (e.g. aluminium, steel) should be avoided as the acid reacts with the metal to give a slightly bittery taste in the vinaigrette, I don't think you would like your dressing to be bitter in taste right?

^ How can I know when it is combined? You know it when you can no longer observe two differentiated layers in the vinaigrette, since oil and acid do not combine together. As oil is hydrophobic, while acid is hydrophilic. Initially, the two do not mix well together, however the addition of an emulsifier (dijon mustard) helps to temporarily emulsify (kind of like "break down") the larger oil molecules into smaller oil droplets to form an "emulsion", the tiny oil droplets are not big enough to be observed by eye, thus we will see the mixture is "combined".

Recipe adapted and photo source from: https://cookieandkate.com/how-to-make-vinaigrette-plus-variations/

Posted by Chan Wing Sze Kelly (UID: 3035698222)