HOW TO SAY THE SALADS: EMULSIONS

The fat and sour part should not be added separately on the food to be seasoned especially if the oil is added first, creates a greasy film on the ingredients that make up the salad, not allowing the other components of the sauce to adhere and characterize the dish with their taste.

To be able to season a salad uniformly, an emulsion ((or dressing) must be created, mixing the seasoning ingredients in the right sequence.

If you use an immersion mixer or a blender: all the ingredients of the emulsion can be mixed at the same time.

The ratio of a “basic emulsion” is:

 2 tablespoons oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt

or for a smoother sauce and less acidic:

 3 tablespoons oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt

The seasoning dose for 1 person is:

15 grams (1 tablespoon)

The emulsion is called “vinaigrette” if the vinegar is the sour part, or “citronette” if the juice of lemon or lime is the sour part.

These emulsion unfortunately are not stable oil and vinegar or lemon juice can not dissolve into each other, after a short time the droplets of oil and the sour ingredient are divided, you must always stir before use.

This task can be done by different types of ingredients that act as glue but also add a greater complexity of flavors and aromas to the sauce:

JAMS UNSWEETENED

Flavor the condiments and replace the aromas of fruit vinegars:

• • Choose 100% unsweetened fruit jams, the dose that I recommend adding to the base emulsion is indicative, it can vary according to the taste of the ingredients in the salad to be seasoned:

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt : 1/2 tablespoon jam

PASTE OF DRIED FRUIT

Flavor the condiments and replace the aromas of fruit vinegars:

• • Prepare it at home with the fruit you prefer, here is the link of my recipe “Paste of dried fruit” . The dose that I suggest you add to the basic emulsion is indicative, it can vary according to the taste of the ingredients present in the salad to be seasoned:

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt : 1/2 tablespoon of paste of dried fruit

JUICE OF AGAVE AND MAPLE

Flavor the condiments and replace the aromas of fruit vinegars:

• • They have a fluid consistency, the dose that I recommend adding to the base emulsion is indicative, it can vary according to the taste of the ingredients present in the salad to be seasoned:

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt : 1/4 tablespoon agave juice or maple juice

HONEY

Flavor condiments and replace aromas of honey vinegar:

• • It has a more viscous consistency, the dose that I recommend adding to the base emulsion is indicative, it can vary according to the taste of the ingredients present in the salad to be seasoned:

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt : 1/2 teaspoon honey

MISO

• • The miso, replaces the salt function, gives greater stability and consistency to the emulsions, changes the ratio of the basic ingredients of the condiments:

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil: 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon: 1 teaspoon of miso

HERBS

Smoothies with the rest of the ingredients with their fibers give greater consistency and homogeneity to the seasonings:

• • Soft-stemmed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, mint, coriander, dill) to be added just before serving the salad
  • Hard-stemmed herbs (sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme) should be allowed to be infused with all the seasoning ingredients for an hour or more.

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt : 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs

NUTS AND OILY SEEDS IN CREAM

• • Choose ready-made creams that have as a single ingredient oil seeds or 100% nuts, not toasted or salted
  • If you can prepare the cream of nuts and oil seeds at home, starting from the whole product, activating them, to be able to blend more easily with the rest of the seasoning ingredients

Containing an oily part they replace oil in part, making the emulsion stable:

2 tablespoons of oil + 1/2 tablespoon of fruits or oil seeds in cream : 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt

SAUCES

By adding ready-made sauces like mustard, the emulsion stabilizes:

 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil: 1 tablespoon of vinegar / lemon : 1/4 teaspoon of salt : 1 teaspoon of mustard

Here, find the raw mustard recipe, to be prepared at home in just a few steps.