# Your recipe for best homemade salad dressing (for green salad) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193 "2013-02-23T20:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/1 "2013-02-23T20:10:27Z")
Please? Kind of oil/vinegar, spices, other additives, proportions, make ahead or right before eating? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/2 "2013-02-23T20:41:28Z")
red wine vinegar (some) olive oil (some, but less than the vinegar) a teaspoon of dijon mustard (needed or the oil & vinegar won’t mix) minced garlic if I’m not feeling lazy dried oregano, basil, and black pepper (some, each) Salt (more than you think) Place all in container with tightly sealing lid. Shake. Not very instructive, I’ll admit. I usually make it right before serving, but only because that’s when I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/3 "2013-02-23T21:03:40Z")
It depends how many kinds of oil and vinegar your cabinet space can support! Macadamia oil is marv, as is walnut. Even the cheap “balsamic” vinegar makes a nice dressing, although the dark color can be off-putting. If you have a microplane grater, adding garlic, ginger, lemongrass, fresh chilli, citrus zest, etc., becomes trivially easy. Egg yolk, if you aren’t fussy about raw eggs, is another good emulsifier, if mustard won’t suit your salad flavours. Having Asian food? Ginger and lime in the salad dressing, crunchy wonton strips if you must, cashews. Mmm. Having Mediterranean food? Oregano, red wine vinegar, and the pepperiest olive oil you can find. Kalamata olives, and red onions, naturally. Cube some feta, not that yucky pre-crumbled stuff. I like to dress just a bit before serving, so everything has a chance to mix up and blend. Mmm, salads! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/4 "2013-02-23T21:51:43Z")
Olive oil Red wine vinegar Balsamic vinegar Spices (I like Penzy Spices’s “[Mural of Flavor](http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysmuralofflavor.html).”) ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/5 "2013-02-23T21:59:23Z")
My immersion blender has made my life a big salad-dressing making adventure. If you can afford one and have any interest in making dressings, get one. What they produce is substantially better than what you can get whisking or mixing. I tend to do something different each batch. I’ll pick and choose from: Oils: Olive Peanut Whatever I have on hand Acid: Red vinegar Seasoned rice vinegar Cheap balsamic vinegar Apple cider vinegar Lemon juice Lime juice Flavorful stuff: Garlic cloves Fresh ginger Soy sauce Fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, etc.) Brown mustard Sun dried tomatoes Orange juice Salt and pepper Creamy stuff: Sesame seeds (Amazing with an immersion blender!) Peanut butter Avocado One of my favorites is peanut oil, red vinegar, soy sauce, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger and a splash of orange juice. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/6 "2013-02-23T23:17:13Z")
I am a huge fan of lemon and lime juice w/ olive oil and a pinch of a mediterranian spice mix that I have. I also like basil, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. After reading this thread I’ve remembered that I have some macadamia nut oil so I’ll have to try that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-recipe-for-best-homemade-salad-dressing-for-green-salad/651193/7 "2013-02-23T23:22:56Z")
I probably should start my own thread, but how would you “whip up” a warm salad dressing? I have a hankering to not eat a cold salad this wet evening, and I don’t really know what to do. Your basic online recipe for warm salad dressing generally starts with cooking bacon and using the hot drippings with vinegar. But I don’t have any bacon, and I don’t want to go buy and eat just a bit and have some leftover. Yes, I’m aware of the internet meme that I must, as red-blooded American male crave mass quantities of bacon. And I do. But I’m also overweight, so I try to avoid fatty foods. And bacon is my worst temptation – I love it so much … I … I’ll … _sigh_ … I’ll even eat it raw from the pack. Hmmm … maybe I’ll just leave the salad out til it warms up and eat it without dressing.