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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Jul-16-08, 08:17
capmikee's Avatar
capmikee capmikee is offline
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Plan: Weston A. Price, GFCF
Stats: 165/133/132 Male 5' 5"
BF:?/12.7%/?
Progress: 97%
Location: Philadelphia
Default Vinegar-free Salad Dressing

I keep hearing folks say they can't have salad dressing. I don't always hear why, but I'm guessing the main culprit is vinegar. I have a vinegar-free salad dressing method that I love - it uses lemon juice. It's very flexible. In my book a salad dressing needs three essential things:

1. fat
2. acid
3. emulsifier

In most dressings, the fat is Extra Virgin olive oil (EVOO). My dressing is no exception: EVOO has enzymes, is naturally liquid at room temperature, and doesn't go rancid too fast.

The acid for my dressing is lemon juice. Occasionally I will use beet kvass, and I suppose you could even try kombucha, but lemon juice is my favorite.

You have a choice of emulsifier:

1. The most easy to obtain is raw egg yolks. If you can't have egg yolks, you can work your way up the gourmet ladder.

2. The next rung is anchovies. Anchovies are great because they have lots of omega-3s and calcium. I've heard that it's better to get them packed in water than packed in any oil besides EVOO. And of course avoid any extra ingredients other than salt.

3. At the top of my gourmet ladder is cured fish roe. I've used Tarama (Greek aged carp roe caviar), but Bottarga is basically the same. And I guess above that you could use real sturgeon caviar, but that seems a little insane. It's no accident that caviar is the "most gourmet" of the three: it's highest in vitamins and good fats. But all of these choices are excellent from a nutritional point of view. Anchovies have more salt than egg yolks, obviously, and Tarama has even more. You need to add salt to your dressing if you use egg yolks; otherwise you probably don't.

Okay, here's the recipe. Quantities are very approximate -- you'll need to try it and decide how you like it best.

MIKEE'S SALAD DRESSING

1 egg yolk/3 anchovies/2 Tbsp roe
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Place your emulsifier, lemon juice, garlic and optional salt in a bowl.
Mash or whisk it up till it's reasonably well blended.
Add a small splash of oil. Whisk until well blended.
Repeat until dressing starts to thicken. Small bubbles may form, evenly spread throughout.
Add the oil in a thin stream or slightly bigger spashes, whisking all the time. Make sure the oil gets blended in right away or the dressing will separate -- it's like mayonnaise.

Taste the dressing occasionally. When you have the right balance of fish/egg, lemon, and olive oil flavor, stop adding oil. You can add more lemon juice if you need to. Salt to taste. If you add a lot of oil, it will get thick like mayonnaise. This is really not necessary for a salad dressing.

TIPS ON EMULSIFYING:

* If you've ever tried to make mayonnaise, you know that it can be tricky the first time. Don't despair! Once you make it a couple times you'll be doing it in your sleep.

* This is a two-handed process. You can't hold the bowl while you're whisking because you need the other hand to pour the oil. If your bowl moves around, try putting a towel under it.

* As long as you don't add too much oil at once, you can just keep whisking to keep the dressing from separating ("breaking"). But if it does separate, here's the old mayonnaise cure:

In a new bowl, place another egg yolk (or other emulsifier). Whisk it up, and then add your broken dressing as if it were olive oil.

* Mayonnaise can be made in the blender or food processor, but the recipe usually calls for a whole egg in addition to the other egg yolks. I've had success making mayonnaise this way, but I've never tried it with the salad dressing.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, Nov-18-08, 01:21
MrBuffalo's Avatar
MrBuffalo MrBuffalo is offline
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Plan: Meat and Veggies
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Default

I may just try this. Thanks, Mikee!
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, Nov-18-08, 09:02
capmikee's Avatar
capmikee capmikee is offline
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Posts: 5,160
 
Plan: Weston A. Price, GFCF
Stats: 165/133/132 Male 5' 5"
BF:?/12.7%/?
Progress: 97%
Location: Philadelphia
Default

I forgot to mention in my original post that anchovies work better in the blender - then you won't find any bones in your dressing!
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, Nov-18-08, 14:59
cyberus's Avatar
cyberus cyberus is offline
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Default

Inquiring mind wants to know ...

... whats the issue with vinegar?
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Nov-18-08, 15:02
pennink's Avatar
pennink pennink is offline
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Posts: 12,781
 
Plan: Atkins (veteran)
Stats: 321/206.2/160 Female 5'4"
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Location: Niagara Falls, ON
Default

thanks, I want to know too. It has some carbs (i mean, we can't have balsamic) but lemon juice must be higher in carbs than vinegar.

lost a lot on some yummy ranches, blue cheese and Greek feta dressings, some oil and vinegars are yummy too.

Wonder what the deal is.
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  #6   ^
Old Tue, Nov-18-08, 18:04
LukeA's Avatar
LukeA LukeA is offline
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Plan: gluten free atkins maint.
Stats: 250/155/180 Male 6 foot 3 inches
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Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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I realise I am not the OP, but many people avoid vinegar because its not considered paleo. Some people with yeast issues also avoid it.
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Nov-19-08, 07:50
capmikee's Avatar
capmikee capmikee is offline
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Posts: 5,160
 
Plan: Weston A. Price, GFCF
Stats: 165/133/132 Male 5' 5"
BF:?/12.7%/?
Progress: 97%
Location: Philadelphia
Default

I have major yeast issues. Vinegar actually gets me "drunk" and I act like a raving maniac for about 48 hours after I have it. I also avoid alcohol.
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  #8   ^
Old Wed, Nov-19-08, 07:53
pennink's Avatar
pennink pennink is offline
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Posts: 12,781
 
Plan: Atkins (veteran)
Stats: 321/206.2/160 Female 5'4"
BF:new scale :(
Progress: 71%
Location: Niagara Falls, ON
Default

Thanks for clearing that up.

Crazy how so many seemingly innocuous things can affect people.
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Nov-20-08, 09:03
capmikee's Avatar
capmikee capmikee is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 5,160
 
Plan: Weston A. Price, GFCF
Stats: 165/133/132 Male 5' 5"
BF:?/12.7%/?
Progress: 97%
Location: Philadelphia
Default

I forgot to mention it's also very irritating to my mouth, and can cause sores.
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