How to make a salad dressing

The ratio, and why it is a starting point

Three parts oil to one part acid is the classical vinaigrette. It is a starting point rather than a rule: a sharp vinegar wants more oil, a mild rice vinegar or lemon wants less, and a salad of bitter leaves or rich ingredients takes more acid than a delicate one.

Make it, taste it on a leaf rather than off a spoon, and adjust. Tasting neat dressing is misleading — it should taste slightly too sharp on its own, because the leaves dilute it.

The emulsifier is what stops it separating in the bowl. Mustard is the standard and the best; honey, egg yolk, miso, tahini and even a little of the salad's own soft ingredients all work.

The method

1. Put the acid, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl or jar and whisk or shake them together first. Salt dissolves in acid and not in oil, so this order matters.
2. Add the oil slowly, whisking constantly, or shake it hard in a sealed jar.
3. It should thicken slightly and turn opaque. That is the emulsion.
4. Taste it on a leaf. Adjust the acid, salt or oil.
5. Dress the salad at the very last moment, using less dressing than you think — the leaves should glisten, not swim.
6. Toss with your hands. It is far gentler and more even than any utensil.

Variations from the same base

Classic French

Red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, a chopped shallot.

Lemon

Lemon juice and zest, olive oil, garlic. For green salads and fish.

Balsamic

Use sparingly — it is sweet and heavy. Better with a neutral oil than a strong olive oil.

Honey mustard

Cider vinegar, wholegrain mustard, honey, rapeseed oil.

Asian

Rice vinegar, soy, sesame oil, ginger, a little sugar. Use sesame oil as a seasoning, not the main oil.

Creamy

Yoghurt or buttermilk with lemon and herbs. Lighter than a mayonnaise-based one.

Tahini

Tahini, lemon, garlic, water. It thickens dramatically as water goes in, then loosens.

Getting it right

• Use a good oil. In a dressing there is nothing to hide behind, and this is where a decent extra virgin olive oil earns its price.
• Do not blend olive oil hard. Shearing it releases bitter compounds — whisk or shake instead.
• A chopped shallot left in the vinegar for ten minutes before the oil goes in mellows and flavours it.
• Make it in a jar and keep it in the fridge. Most dressings keep a week, and separate on chilling — shake again.
• Dress sturdy leaves and vegetables ahead; dress soft leaves at the table. Salt and acid wilt tender leaves within minutes.
• Dry the leaves properly. Water on leaves dilutes the dressing and stops it clinging.

Common questions