Vinaigrette ratio
Classic vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar or lemon juice, like 3 tablespoons of oil to 1 of vinegar for a big salad. The oil coats the leaves and carries flavor, and the acid adds sharpness. Mild vinegars like rice vinegar can go closer to 2 to 1.
Taste on a lettuce leaf
Vinaigrette tastes sharper on a spoon than on lettuce, so dip a leaf in it to judge the balance. Dissolve the salt in the vinegar first, because salt dissolves in vinegar but not in oil.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Your vinaigrette is 1 tablespoon oil to 1 tablespoon vinegar and tastes harsh. What do you do?
Whisk in more oil. More oil moves the ratio toward 3 to 1 and softens the sharpness.
True or false: Whisking a spoonful of mustard into vinaigrette helps keep it from separating.
True. Mustard is an emulsifier, so the oil and vinegar stay mixed longer.
What went wrong? You pour all the oil in at once with no emulsifier. The dressing separates within seconds.
There was no emulsifier and the oil went in all at once. Mustard and slow pouring keep the oil droplets small enough to stay suspended.
Fill the blank: Mustard keeps a vinaigrette from separating because it serves as the ___.
Mustard keeps a vinaigrette from separating because it serves as the emulsifier. Compounds in mustard coat the oil droplets and hold them in the vinegar.
You're serving green salad in an hour. When do you add the vinaigrette?
Right before serving. The leaves stay crisp because the salt and acid have little time to act.