Classic Vinaigrette made from Oil and Vinegar

The days of shop bought salad dressings have long gone. There was a time when we were delighted to buy our salad dressings off the shelf but with the advent of so many healthy choices available to us we are no longer prepared to settle for anything that could be detrimental to our health and our taste buds. The availability of freshly prepared salad leaves and other healthy additions have made use mindful of keeping a healthy low calorie, low cholesterol diet and most of us are fanatical about choosing the best food products for ourselves
and our families. Food manufacturers, themselves, have capitalized on our endless quest to find the healthiest options available. This is completely evident if you are shopping for a healthy salad dressing and are faced with a confusing amount of choice that really doesn’t mean anything to you. There are so many varieties on display all making amazing claims, many imported from European countries and many more still endorsed by celebrities. All these different dressings expound the virtues of their creation process and use of exotic ingredients. At the end of the day the best salad dressing is the easiest to create. It is simplicity itself. The classic oil and vinaigrette has two basic ingredients and provided you use the best quality oil and vinegar you will find that this type of dressing is the best choice you can make.
Bearing in mind you should use superior quality products to make vinaigrette; two brands of vinegar are recommended as ideal and affordable for this recipe, Masserie di Sant’Eramo and Caroliva Reserve. Both are balsamic vinegars and will cost over $8, anything cheaper will not be of the same standard.

Not only can you use your classic vinaigrette as a dressing for salads, but it can be used to enhance other foods such as artichokes and asparagus, fresh seafood including lobster and scallops, or fresh and steamed vegetables.

To make an oil and vinegar dressing you need to be aware that the ratio of oil to vinegar is three parts oil to one part vinegar. However, you can adjust these proportions to suit your individual taste. You may wish to alter this ratio when using balsamic vinegar as it is quite intense and more oil, say one part vinegar to five parts oil may be preferable. You should also season with salt, pepper. Dijon mustard is another traditional ingredient and one teaspoon per half cup of dressing is the usual amount to create the right balance of flavor. Depending again on your personal preferences you may wish to add other ingredients to flavor the vinaigrette. Fresh herbs such as sage or chive, even root ginger can give your dressing an interesting boost.

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Healthy Vinegar in your cooking. Looking for something healthy and versatile? Add Vinegar to your diet. Vinegar is something that should be found in every single household. Vinegar is one of the oldest and most versatile staple there is in the household.

Some people have a great appreciation of vinegar that derives from the influences of African cooking, Asian cooking, Spanish cooking, and Italian cooking. If your looking to further the taste of your dishes by adding a dimension that is both sharp and clean, vinegar should be your choice. It has an aroma that works well with a variety of spices and herbs.

Vinegar comes from the word sour wine, which is a French word. This means that vinegar is an aged wine that has been fermented from alcoholic liquids. Vinegar is sometimes made from a variety of liquids such as red wine, white wine, champagne, or sherry. Vinegar is also considered healthy to those who count calories for use as a salt or a sauce.

If you are new to vinegar and looking for some tips in cooking with vinegar read further.

For tomato sauce and soups you can add a tablespoon or tow of vinegar while cooking, during the final five minutes.

When a recipe is calling for wine, considering substituting the wine with vinegar. You can do so by taking one pint of vinegar and diluting it with three parts water.

When your mayo jar is running low and down to its last bits, if you add just a small amount of vinegar and shake, you will have an easier time of getting the last bit of mayo out.

When cooking desserts and pies, if you add one teaspoon of vinegar, you will decrease the sweetness and increase the flavor.

Lastly, for a great marinade, consider mixing your favorite herbs with vinegar. Not only will you cook out the sourness of the vinegar, leaving you with the excellent flavors of a mixture of wine and herbs, you will also have very tender meat. Remember in choosing cooking vinegars, a balsamic vinegar is used for flavoring… normally you would not cook with balsamic vinegar.

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Oil and Vinegar is a staple in every kitchen. Even the simplest salads can be turned into a delicacy that is packed with loads of real flavor and nutrition. By using balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, you can do just that. When you are eating fresh and organic vegetables, it is well known that they are among the healthiest foods you can eat. The minute you pour those popular sauces and dressings upon them, the healthy eating stops there. These dressings are packed with chemical preservatives and trans-fat, that you are no longer eating as healthy as you thought.

That is the bad news, the good news is this, you do not have to eat unhealthy dressings any longer because the answer is some of the best and healthy alternatives to those dressings. Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. We use vinegar for a variety of cooking and cleaning purposes and extra virgin olive oil is called for in many different recipes.

What is great about these alternatives is that either one can be used for a variety of way in cooking, combined or alone they are both perfect for many foods. The problem with both balsamic vinegar and olive oil, are not readily available in the local store. The reason for this is that because many manufacturers use a variety of processing methods that have no benefit to your health. Even if you find something in the grocery store that states Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the name likely means nothing. The pureness of the olive oil depends upon the amount of processing it goes through. Therefore, because anything sold in grocery store has to go through specific processes it can be safely assumed it is not the real thing.

It is for this reason, among many others that both extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar are two of the most highly sought after ingredients all over the world. Some of the other reasons include:

Both are made from organic fruits derived from Mother Nature
Each enjoys the purity of being unprocessed and unrefined with no additives
Both are made using traditional and natural methods to ensure no nutrition value is lost
You can enjoy authentic flavor thanks to the aging processes
They have been awarded a seal of approval through a rigorous testing process to make sure you receive high quality.

It is easy to see why so many people are spending a good deal of time looking for balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil made from the finest organics. When used together these two ingredients create a combination that is flavorful, adds perfect texture, and works to improve your health, on almost any dish you can imagine.

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Do not heat balsamic vinegar, excessively. Do not “cook it”.
As a rule garnish, and splash with it.

What a gourmet chef would advise as an affordable way to great taste. Choose an artisan style balsamic vinegar processed in the traditional way but less aged or go for the commercial variety but ensure that it is made exclusively from grape must and aged wine vinegar. No too much is required a splash before serving will do wonders and most important, do not cook with it as the heat will destroy all the flavors. All this while, it important to know that every balsamico vinegar will taste different. Even different batches of the same producer will have a different flavor. Therefore the best way to choose is to sample different varieties and select according to one’s own preference.

The prominent flavor in all balsamic vinegars would be different. Generally younger vinegars have stronger flavors and need to be mellowed by the other cooking ingredients of the recipe. Regardless of everything else, genuine balsamic vinegar should have both sweet and sour notes that balance perfectly and just a dash should be enough to give a miraculous finish to the food. As a rule olive oil and balsamic vinegar should stored in a cool dark place in glass containers.

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