Denise’s Vinaigrette Wisdom

At the AllSpice staff meeting earlier this week, our colleague Denise gave us some helpful rules-of-thumb for creating our own vinaigrettes at home (and in the store, yum).

We felt like it gave us such a great basis for jumping-off (basis-jumping! like base-jumping! a radical new sport!) and coming up with our own new dressings, we thought we should pass it along to you.

Vinaigrette Rules –

Classic (French) vinaigrette. When making a “classic” vinaigrette , the proportion or ratio should be: 3 parts Olive Oil : 1 part vinegar (Pair a plain olive oil like Picholine with Red Wine Vinegar for the most basic, delicious vinaigrette).

Balsamic vinaigrettes. Balsamic vinegar is an Italian ingredient (not French), so a different ratio applies to balsamic vinaigrettes:

• With White Balsamic Vinegars like Pineapple White Balsamic or Apricot White Balsamic, use 2 parts Olive Oil : 1 part White Balsamic.
• With Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, use a 1:1 ratio: 1 part Olive Oil : 1 part Traditional Balsamic.

Have any questions about homemade vinaigrettes? Have some tips and hints to share? Be sure and let us know!