Faith's wonderful post on My Favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette yesterday reminded me of vinaigrette question I've had for quite some time now. It involves an unusual vinaigrette technique that I've only seen on occasion, but whenever I have, the results were spectacular.
A good friend makes the best vinaigrette I've ever tasted, perfectly balanced and unctuous. What is her secret? She uses a touch of mustard, true, and has an excellent instinct for salt. But her real secret, according to her, is that she adds a tiny splash of water to the mixture.
This sounds counterintuitive, of course. Don't we painstakingly dry our lettuce to remove as much water as possible/ Don't we avoid gloppy ingredients to keep our salads from getting soggy? Why then would we add water, if even a tiny splash, to the dressing?
I've searched the internet for the answer to this question but have come up empty handed. I once heard someone refer to this as a 'chef-y' trick and wonder if the science of it is taught in culinary school. I can't find anything in Harold McGee, whom I usually rely on for these kinds of inquiries.
If I were to take an unscientific stab at it, I would say that the water opens up the dressing a little, cutting some of the intensity between the contrast of the unctuous oil and the sharp vinegar. It helps to balance everything out. I also wonder if this is a way to cut some of the tang of an overly sharp vinegar without having to add more oil (which would mess with the ratio) or sugar (which some people don't care for in their dressings.)
But like I said, this is just a guess. Is there anyone out there who has some more practical knowledge of this? Do you add water to your vinaigrette?
Related: Dressing Spring Salads: How to Make a Basic Vinaigrette
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My grandma always did this and I do it, too. She used the water, warm, to help dissolve the pinch of sugar she always put in her cider vinaigrette before adding the vinegar. (She exclusively made old school cider vinaigrette.) I add the same tsp of warm water to balsamic and dijon, or whatever else I happen to be mixing in. Love it.
I did this to my Applesauce Dressing (Applesauce Dressing, or, Apparently My Status as a T-rex Concerns No One) to thin it out for use the next day, and I was really happy with the results! I think it can depend on what you're using it for, but if you're at all concerned about the dressing overpowering the delicate flavors in your salad, it's a great technique. And some dressings call for juice, which is comparable in effect to adding sugar and water, so why the frick not?
Bad Mama Genny
I discovered this trick accidentally the other night. My ex-husband had joined us for dinner and we're all trying to get him to eat more vegetables. He'll tolerate salads but isn't a fan of bold flavors and claims that my regular vinaigrette is too "twangy". I made a separate dressing for him with a little less vinegar, a little more oil, and a healthy squeeze of agave nectar. It was still "twangy" so I added a little bit of water. What a difference! The flavor and texture were both improved significantly. I went on to add a splash of water to ours, as well. It didn't kill the "twanginess" that we like but made the dressing even that much better. Win!
I'm not sure of the why behind it, but I know that those salad dressing containers that you can buy at the store to make your own have a line for water as well as oil and vinegar. Since that was my first experience making salad dressing, I always add some now. Never knew it was weird until I read this!
ima wurdibitsch, it sounds like I'm a lot like your ex-husband. I'm good about eating my vegetables generally, but I can't stand "salad greens" by themselves, and I don't like any dressing I've tried. Vinaigrettes are definitely too twangy! I'll have to give this a try.
Interesting. I'll definitely have to try this, as I always feel like I can never get vinaigrettes just right. I like them definitely on the more-vinegary-less-oily side, but they often end up too tart, and then I don't know how to fix it because I don't like the taste of more oil either. Food for thought...
Adding a little water will help the dressing emulsify -- as does the mustard. And it does soften the vinegary edge!
I've been experimenting with oil-free salad dressing recipes lately and learned to add nutrional yeast and water (in equal parts) to cut the intense flavors of the other ingredients yet provide the consistency I'm used to.
It helps emulsify the vinaigrette, and mutes the sometimes harsh notes of certain ingredients (vinegar, mustard).
My mom always does this too... I always thought it was to stretch out the amount of dressing or to reduce the calories per serving. She makes excellent vinaigrette!
I can't wait to try this. Great tip!
I'm going to try this the next time I make a batch. Can't believe I've never thought of that before since a lot of the Vietnamese and Thai sauces I make have water in them for balance, it totally makes sense that it would work on vinaigrettes as well.
A lot of (alternative?) dressing recipes use water to thin the dressing out and dampen some of the assertive flavors. I'm thinking specifically of a few dressings on 101cookbooks.com, and also many Vietnamese dipping sauces are diluted with water.
Harold McGee wrote a piece for the NYT about adding more water to coffee and alcohol to get more flavor nuances out of them. Maybe this is the same premise? I have to say I've never thought of doing this, but since I have a salad for lunch every day I'm definitely going to try it!
I've always added water - I prefer a thinner dressing, and don't like to add too much oil, since it tends to taste overly oily.
i don't know if it's really a chef-y tip, but i've always added water to thin it out and mellow out the flavors. especially with strong vinegars (balsamic, etc). others, like champagne vinegar, probably don't need the extra water.
I add a tablespoon or so of warm water to my vinaigrette dressings to help them emulsify. And I also add water to dressings that seem a touch too thick or sharp or oily. It works beautifully and I never thought of it as chef-y move, just a useful one.
Adding water to a vinaigrette does nothing more or less than dilute the acidity of vinegar and thin the mix. It doesn't seem like any kind of special trick or secret to me.
Note that on virtually every bottle of white vinegar it says "diluted to 5% acidity". They produce it stronger, then water it down to an agreeable strength for sale.
Now find a tip that returns the thicker body and consistency after you add the water and you might have something...
Wow, who knew? Going to try this next time...
The ratio is 2/3 oil and 1/3 vinegar (or lemon juice or other watery substance). This ratio emulsifies easily. The water replaces some of the vinegar so it doesn't taste too acidic.