The perfect Reuben?

Cafe Society
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Spicy French:
SOYBEAN OIL, VINEGAR (CIDER, DISTILLED), SUGAR, WATER, TOMATO PASTE, PIMENTOS (PIMENTOS, WATER, CITRIC ACID), SALT. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: ONION POWDER, BROWN SUGAR, CARAMEL COLOR, NATURAL FLAVOR, SPICE, PAPRIKA EXTRACTIVES.

Russian:
WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, DISTILLED VINEGAR, MALTODEXTRIN (CORN), BUTTERMILK POWDER, WHEY (MILK), SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: GARLIC PUREE, SALT, GARLIC*, PHOSPHORIC ACID, ONION*, RED BELL PEPPERS*, YEAST EXTRACT, SPICES. *DEHYDRATED

Thousand Island:
SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, SUGAR, SOUR PICKLE RELISH [CUCUMBERS, VINEGAR, SALT, WATER, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, ALUMINUM SULFATE, TURMERIC (COLOR)], DISTILLED VINEGAR, TOMATO PASTE, SALT. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: EGG YOLK, SPICES, ONION POWDER, NATURAL FLAVOR.

(edited to remove preservatives and non-flavor additives.)

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This is the stuff I’m thinking of.

And then there is also this stuff, which is even darker than I remember.

But I also see this one which is not nearly as red, and looks like it actually may be slightly creamy.

This is more what I think of when I think of Russian dressing.

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I assume something about its (lack of) kosherness (as it tends to be associated with Jewish delis). Maybe something like that?

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It is strange to see a Jewish cookbook have that recipe. Jews don’t eat meat and dairy together.

45

Well, not those that follow the laws of kashrut. Plenty, in my experience, don’t or have varying levels to which they follow it.

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The first link looks most like what I remember the color of the dressing on the Reuben being.

What’s up with all the different colors in pictures of what’s apparently all Wishbone Russian dressing anyway? Seems like more color variation than photo exposure alone would account for.

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It is, in my opinion. The labels are also all different, so perhaps they’re three different formulations?

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Still haven’t determined what type of dressing real New York delis serve on their Reubens. I went to the Carnegie Deli website hoping to see a photo of their Reuben and get an idea of the dressing color, but no luck. Their menu doesn’t even say what type of dressing they put on it (not that a mere dressing name would determine anything, as we’ve learned):
http://www.carnegiedeli.com/mobile/wp-content/themes/master/_menus/menu.jpg

Holy Cannoli though-- $28.00 for a Reuben?

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Here you go.

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NOOOOOOOOO it’s the pale orange stuff :smack:

Thanks for the link, anyway. That blog led me to another blog with a pic of a Reuben from Katz’s Deli (a little ways down on the page)

Harder to tell, but it looks like Katz’s uses the pale orange with pickle relish stuff as well.

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Googling “dark Russian dressing recipe” turned up these two that look promising. Maybe I’ll do a little experimenting over the weekend:

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Oh, if that’s what you’re wondering about, I could have told you that. I’ve never encountered a Reuben without a pale orange dressing. Now whether that’s Russian or Thousand Island or whatever exactly the difference is between them is up to debate (and I, honestly, think they’re interchangeable, especially given that one place’s Russian is another’s Thousand Island), but it’s never that sickly sweet Wishbone crap. I have no idea where Wishbone got its idea for Russian dressing from, but it’s way outside the norm.

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Oh, I see what you mean.

Incidentally, how many Jews do you know? :wink:

54

Well, there is me, and my ex, and the people at the synagogue in New Hampshire, and the congregates at the synagogue in Little Rock, and the congregates at the Reform Temple in Little Rock.

Is that enough? :slight_smile:

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FWIW, Russian cole slaw is basically grated raw cabbage and carrots in a very light vinaigrette, with poppy seeds and what they call “cranberries” tossed in. (I personally think they’re more what the Plains Indians called “chokecherries.”) Not at all creamy, or particularly flavorful, for that matter. Very chewy, though. Lots of, uh, “roughage.” :rolleyes:

All this talk about “Russian dressing” reminds me of the Bullwinkle’s Corner with “Little Tommy Tucker” (about the only one that isn’t posted on YouTube :mad: ):

BULLWINKLE as LTT:

Russian dressing?!?

[Sings to balalaika accompaniment while doing the kozachok]:

Tomatoes, beets, and turnips,
We use to make it red!
Hey!
Put it on your salad
And you’ll wish that you were dead!
Hey!

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Thanks for the memories!

Around these parts the standard is creamy coleslaw, lot’s of mayo or mayo-like stuff added.

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Evidently not, if you think “Jews don’t eat meat and dairy together”.

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I once knew a guy from Georgia (in the US) who, I think, made his with buttermilk and mayo.

Russian grated cheese salads, BTW, are heavy on the raw garlic, also grated. My ex makes this every New Year’s Eve.

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You can’t get a Reuben at Rubin’s.:slight_smile:

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A classmate at Middlebury was a very Jewish guy from NYC. The last Saturday on campus, as we were sitting in the cafeteria waiting to go our separate ways, he took a ham and cheese sandwich from the platter the staff had set out for us (nothing else was offered) and said “Ah, what the heck! I’m going to Hell anyway!” :eek: