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" Buying salad dressings may seem like a time saver. But going homemade is a preservative-free, healthy alternative that is so easy to make and store.  (Plus it&amp;#039;s made to your taste!) If you make it in quantity, it keeps for a month in the refrigerator. Store in a screw-top jar and shake to re-emulsify  it just before using. Salad dressings are also known as vinaigrettes. A vinaigrette is a combination of oil, vinegar, herbs and spices which, when combined, form a  tangy, thickened sauce to coat salad vegetables. The piquant flavor of the vinaigrette comes from the vinegar used. Remember that although salads are  low-calorie, salad dressings are not. Salad Dressing Basics: Oils: An oil with flavor is essential for a good salad dressing. Use a good quality olive oil or vegetable oil such as canola. Extra virgin  olive oil is great for salad dressing because of its fruity and sometimes peppery flavor. Oils such as hazelnut and walnut give a nutty taste. They combine well with fruit vinegars and are at their best on plain green salads that do not  compete with the dressing&amp;#039;s delicate flavor. Vinegars: Different vinegars can open up a whole new panorama of tastes. Their sharp flavour cuts through the oil, mellowing the  vinaigrette. All vinegars can be used in salad dressings, but some are better than others. I find ordinary/plain white vinegar too tart; it gives an  acidic taste to the dressing. In my opinion, red and white wine vinegars are the mainstay of salad dressings. White wine vinegar creates a pale,  creamy vinaigrette; the red a more rosy-hued one.  Herb-flavored vinegars, such as tarragon or basil, give a whole different variety of tastes. Fruit vinegars are light and fresh tasting. Raspberry  and blueberry vinegars work well with salads containing fruit. Excellent balsamic vinegar, the least-acidic vinegar, can be used on its own because of its fine, rich mellow taste, or combined with only a little  olive oil. Try it on salads containing seafood, poultry or goat cheese. Other acids, such as lemon or lime juice, can be used instead of vinegar. Dijon mustard helps to emulsify the dressing as well as adding a spiciness to the taste. An emulsion is the amalgamation of oil and vinegar to form  a creamy dressing. Oil and vinegar, on their own, do not have the properties to emulsify; mustard or mayonnaise act as the emulsifier. Tips: Use a bowl and whisk to make salad dressing or use a stick blender. Always beat together seasonings and vinegar before slowly whisking in oil. This  method will produce a thickened dressing.  Quantities: Use three parts oil to one part vinegar for best results. Use fresh herbs if you can; if using dried herbs, use a third of the quantity, i.e. 1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried. If the dressing is too tart or you like a sweetness add a touch of maple syrup. If your dressing is too oily, add salt: it will help to eliminate the oily taste. A big mistake is to use too much salad dressing on salads. The lettuce and other ingredients will lose their freshness and become wilted. Use  about 1/4 cup dressing for 6 cups lettuce. The recipe: Classic Vinaigrette. Next week we will make a classic Caesar salad with two variations, including an outstanding low-fat version. Lucy Waverman is the author of eight cookbooks, including the award-winning Home for Dinner, and is the recipient of Cuisine Canada&amp;#039;s 2005 gold medal award for cookbooks for A Matter of Taste, which she co-wrote with James Chatto. Her latest release, A Year in Lucy&amp;#039;s Kitchen, comes out in October. You can find Lucy at lucywaverman.com and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/lucywaverman. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/cooking/a1142/lucy-waverman-salad-dressing/>