Ich, a nasty dressing for strawberry salad

OK, there must be some here that have basically an oil based salad dressing history, smiling.

I made a horrible salad last night. This bothers me immensely as I paid some good money for some good supplies. That would be strawberries (yes, I know, did not implement the 100 mile diet, smiling), probably came from California, being imported, with not much flavour, but boy were they pretty. I also bought some spinach.

Thought I would make a most beautiful spinach salad with almond slivers on it.

Made the salad, in the fridge.

Made the dressing.

Poured the dressing on the salad and it was so horrible I couldn't eat mine. Husband will eat anything basically (well, except meat, he is lacto-vegetarian, will eat eggs, cheese, milk, honey, just nothing that has had a soul), and he said it tasted good. Blah!! I don't think so.

I was so annoyed it put me in a bad mood, eeks....ate the rest of my dinner, my head hung in shame. So what went wrong?

I use good ingredients, well I thought they were good. Paid some good money for cold pressed olive oil. I think that is what the bad taste was. Does this stuff get old? It is only been about 2 months since I purchased a very expensive olive oil. Is this it?

OK, this is how the recipe basically goes.

Vinegar
Olive oil
Sesame seeds
Sugar
Poppy seeds
Paprika
Cut up chives (yep, got enough of the pretty little greens poking up to put some in)

That's it. But it tasted horrible!! I think it was the olive oil.

So. Does olive oil taste awful?

I still have spinach, I still have almonds, I still have strawberries.

We were going to go down to our Daughter's home for dinner and I was going to make this salad. Something came up at the last minute and we couldn't go for dinner, they had to go and help a friend move his Mother's stuff from her home. Thankin' my lucky stars that I didn't bring this dressing down for the dinner table, they probably would never trust my salad again, sigh....

So. Tell me about olive oil pleeeeeze. I am not giving up, but think tonight I will make the dressing again, but use crisco vegetable oil instead. Unless I can hear something nice about olive oil. I know olive oil is good for you, but if it tastes that crappy, I don't want something that is good for me, it has to taste good, smiling that big smile.

Regardless, I am going to use vegetable oil, I know the brand of choice for me tastes...well....not much taste. Bring on comments about olive oil. I do not buy inexpensive stuff for my food table, so this was not a poor quality olive oil (well, that I know of anyways). Thoughts, help me out here, pleeeeze, and with that, have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Oh poor Cynthia, that's too bad! I wonder if the oil was rancid. Shouldn't be after 2 months though. I absolutely love olive oil. I buy first cold pressed extra virgen for things like salad dressings or dipping bread with basaltic vinegar ( yum!!) what kind of vinegar did you use? That can make a huge difference. Try this tonight: ev olive oil, basalmic vinegar, a touch of Dijon mustard and your lovely chives. Blend it well and taste to see if youike it before putting it on your salad. It is divine!

Give the olive oil a taste. I don't like the taste of olive oil. To me, it has a really floral taste and I don't like it. It shouldn't be rancid though. If it is the oil you don't like try making it with a different oil. I use grapeseed oil quite a bit as it has a very mild flavour and for flavour, I use sesame seed oil. Just a touch as it is strong. Keep the sesame seed oil in the fridge. When I make mine I make an orange vinegarette. I use the juice of an orange as the "acid" part, a little honey, some raspberry balsalmic vinegar, a mild oil like grapeseed or canola and some herbs. You can add poppy seeds if you like too. I hope you don't have any more salad disasters. Such a shame, salad dressings should be a work of art - different every time, and most enjoyable!!

Susan, ya I thought that perhaps the oil was rancid, but was so newly purchased, I thought unreal, unless it had been sitting on the shelf for a long time in the store. I had a very nice balsamic vinegar, it tastes yummy. Come to think of it, I used just white vinegar, but I love any type of vinegar, don't think it was the vinegar, but I will try it with balsamic instead, love that type of vinegar!! I am going to go to a health food store today and get a new bottle of the olive oil, I do get the extra virgin, cold pressed, I just think it may have been really old, for whatever the reason. I love also dijon mustard. I'll give it another whirl, really think it was the olive oil now...the more that I think about it. As an aside, is there ANY way to get the oil to mix with the vinegar? Doubt it, but maybe there is a trick to the trade I don't know about thanks for your input. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Yes Cynthia the Dijon mustard is the trick to emulsifying it! Enjoy

Flavour among olive oils varies greatly. Some are mild and non-offensive, some are peppery with quite a lot of bite.

Your salad sounds divine. But I find when I mix oil and vinegar, I usually get a disaster of some sort.

For my spinach salads I use a milk based dressing. I put a little milk in a small bowl and add a few tsps of vinegar, let it sour for a bit. Then I add a spoon or two of sour cream, to thicken and then toss in whatever else I want for flavour, everything you mentioned sounds wonderful! I like dill with my salads so I'd throw in dill too.

I can't imagine your oil is rancid, just maybe the wrong flavour to meld peacefully with your other ingredients.

Apparently there's a HUGE amount of fraud in olive oil processing and labelling. There was a discussion on CBC radio a while back that basically convinced me to never buy olive oil. One thing I remember is that the "real" (i.e. extra-virgin, top of the line) stuff does, apparently, have quite a strong and peppery taste. If it's bland, it's been doctored, the expert said.

Cindi, we make all our dressings with olive oil. I'm a huge fan of it and we use extra-virgin but we don't buy the cheapest kind but somewhere in the middle.

My humble opinion includes three points:

There is a vast difference in flavour between white vinegar and balsamic. I use white vinegar for cleaning my house and keeping my dogs ears yeast-free. Most other vinegars we use for dressings, especially Apple Cider and Balsamic.

Secondly, use honey instead of sugar in your dressing. It makes a big difference because honey has a lovely subtle flavour as well as is sweet. White sugar is just sweet.

And lastly, before you add any additional ingredients to your dressing, get the oil/vinegar ratio right first...not too oily, not too tart.

uno wrote:Flavour among olive oils varies greatly. Some are mild and non-offensive, some are peppery with quite a lot of bite.

Your salad sounds divine. But I find when I mix oil and vinegar, I usually get a disaster of some sort.

For my spinach salads I use a milk based dressing. I put a little milk in a small bowl and add a few tsps of vinegar, let it sour for a bit. Then I add a spoon or two of sour cream, to thicken and then toss in whatever else I want for flavour, everything you mentioned sounds wonderful! I like dill with my salads so I'd throw in dill too.

I can't imagine your oil is rancid, just maybe the wrong flavour to meld peacefully with your other ingredients.

When the lettuce and radishes are ready from the garden I do something similar for a dressing, but I use cream and vinegar. Let it sour and add fresh dill, salt and pepper. This is my very favorite dressing! Simple and perfect!

So Bowker and Uno, does the dairy replace the oil in your dressings, or do you still put oil in?

For me, dairy replaces oil. If I use milk I tell myself it's calorie reduced, right until I add a glop or two of sour cream. Bowker, that's how my mom did it too, fresh lettuce or radishes with some soured milk or cream, slightly sweetened and dill. Perfect and light (or not, if you use cream, but man isn't it good?)

Cynthia, I make them up as i go, i like fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice, honey and grated fresh ginger, maybe a bit of garlic or chives, or shallots, it's usually quite yummy I don't see the need for oil

My mom did the sour cream, a touch of sugar, vinegar and dill

Excellent, with the salad months coming up, we are becoming learned about different salad dressings. Thanks everyone for your little tidbits of wealths of knowledge that has been shared. I am a copy and paste freak. Now for others to easily read the comments that have been made about some pretty good tasting ways to create dressings, I have compiled all or parts of many of the conversations here and made a little document, you will find it in the quoted section below, smiling that big smile. There was some such lovely information that I learned that I thought it would be cool to have it all ready in a little wordy type document. You will notice who you are and what you wrote in the little quoted section and remember (or not, smiling) typing the words to help make a beautiful post. I am really wondering now if I even really need to use any kind oil for a dressing base. Can someone please tell me why oil is so commonly used in salads, think I am not understanding that concept. Beautiful days to us all, CynthiaM.

Salad dressings

Try this tonight: ev olive oil, basalmic vinegar, a touch of Dijon mustard and your lovely chives. Blend it well and taste to see if you like it before putting it on your salad. It is divine. the Dijon mustard is the trick to emulsifying it! Enjoy

If it is the oil you don't like try making it with a different oil. I use grapeseed oil quite a bit as it has a very mild flavour and for flavour, I use sesame seed oil. Just a touch as it is strong. Keep the sesame seed oil in the fridge. When I make mine I make an orange vinegarette. I use the juice of an orange as the "acid" part, a little honey, some raspberry balsalmic vinegar, a mild oil like grapeseed or canola and some herbs. You can add poppy seeds if you like too

Flavour among olive oils varies greatly. Some are mild and non-offensive, some are peppery with quite a lot of bite.

Your salad sounds divine. But I find when I mix oil and vinegar, I usually get a disaster of some sort.

For my spinach salads I use a milk based dressing. I put a little milk in a small bowl and add a few tsps of vinegar, let it sour for a bit. Then I add a spoon or two of sour cream, to thicken and then toss in whatever else I want for flavour, everything you mentioned sounds wonderful! I like dill with my salads so I'd throw in dill too.
There is a vast difference in flavour between white vinegar and balsamic. I use white vinegar for cleaning my house and keeping my dogs ears yeast-free. Most other vinegars we use for dressings, especially Apple Cider and Balsamic.

Secondly, use honey instead of sugar in your dressing. It makes a big difference because honey has a lovely subtle flavour as well as is sweet. White sugar is just sweet.

And lastly, before you add any additional ingredients to your dressing, get the oil/vinegar ratio right first...not too oily, not too tart
When the lettuce and radishes are ready from the garden I do something similar for a dressing, but I use cream and vinegar. Let it sour and add fresh dill, salt and pepper. This is my very favorite dressing! Simple and perfect!
So Bowker and Uno, does the dairy replace the oil in your dressings, or do you still put oil in?
For me, dairy replaces oil. If I use milk I tell myself it's calorie reduced, right until I add a glop or two of sour cream. Bowker, that's how my mom did it too, fresh lettuce or radishes with some soured milk or cream, slightly sweetened and dill. Perfect and light (or not, if you use cream, but man isn't it good?)
I make them up as i go, i like fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice, honey and grated fresh ginger, maybe a bit of garlic or chives, or shallots, it's usually quite yummy I don't see the need for oil

My mom did the sour cream, a touch of sugar, vinegar and dill

Cynthia, I hate, hate, HATE the taste of olive oil!

It is apparently good for you if raw, but not so good if heated above a certain temperature. I much prefer canola or sunflower in a dressing.

If it wasn't rancid, then perhaps you just don't like it.

I also don't like the way it solidifies and becomes unpourable if stored in the fridge.

Cindi I have a big bottle of grapeseed oil and when you come for dinner on Saturday you can try a taste. If you like it, I will share!

farmchiq wrote:Cindi I have a big bottle of grapeseed oil and when you come for dinner on Saturday you can try a taste. If you like it, I will share!

Your on, peach salsa (I still have bottles of it left, gotta use it up before peach season, smiling), bbq pork chops, a salad made with grapeseed oil and of course, the huge baker potatoes, with all the fixings, what else? Smiling that big smile. Ummmm, you must have lived in that bottle of peach salsa I brought over and it got all eaten up, from the inside out . Think of another veggie....parsnips? Got lots of those in the freezer still, parsnips and carrots all mushed up? Lots of butter, still got some dill i my freezer too, smiling. Oh, oh, this was supposed to be about my nasty salad, guess it still kind of is though eh? Sue, I bet it is just the taste of olive oil, from the sounds of it, that is the clue.....Beautiful days, CynthiaM.

ChicoryFarm wrote:So Bowker and Uno, does the dairy replace the oil in your dressings, or do you still put oil in?

Yup, no oil in a cream dressing. It is a thin dressing. The more FRESH dill the better. When you think about it, it is really not that bad. One tablespoon of Ranch dressing has 8 grams of processed fat and 80 calories. One TBSP of real cream has 5 grams of natural fat and 45 calories. I will take the real food myself. The kids prefer the ranch. Everything in moderation.....including moderation. If you eat that fat with a big helping of vitamin rich, fiber dense vegies, I think it is a good balance.

Bowker Acres wrote:

ChicoryFarm wrote:So Bowker and Uno, does the dairy replace the oil in your dressings, or do you still put oil in?

Yup, no oil in a cream dressing. It is a thin dressing. The more FRESH dill the better. When you think about it, it is really not that bad. One tablespoon of Ranch dressing has 8 grams of processed fat and 80 calories. One TBSP of real cream has 5 grams of natural fat and 45 calories. I will take the real food myself. The kids prefer the ranch. Everything in moderation.....including moderation. If you eat that fat with a big helping of vitamin rich, fiber dense vegies, I think it is a good balance.

It's sounds great and does remind me of Ranch dressing, which my partner's grandchildren prefer as well. I totally agree about moderation. I'm a big believer in whole foods and not extracting fat out but eating good fat and in moderation. Look at North American society and the obesity problem we have and so much on the grocery shelves is low fat, low cal, low salt, etc. Whereas the French are all about whole fat and foods and eat in moderation.

ANd, you know what your dressing would taste great on? A large wedge of iceberg lettuce fresh from the garden with your dressing drizzled all over it. I've changed my attitude towards iceberg lettuce after tasting our's from the garden. I use to loathe it having been raised on it, when it was pale and full of water. My partner grows all kinds of lettuces, with iceberg being one of them. A great 'hot summer day' iceberg wedge salad with your dressing - Mmm, mmm!

I use a raspberry vinegar with olive oil and some dijon mustard then mix it up with the fresh spinach and throw strawberries pieces on top Mmmm in fact I had to get hubby to pick up the spinach and strawberries on his way home last week because it had just been too long since I'd had it
I also get a raspberry balsamic (a little lighter flavour). I'm not a fan of french fries but occasionally I will slice potatoes into wedges and put them on a baking sheet with olive oil and just a bit of sea salt, when wedges are almost done I pull them out of the oven drizzle raspberry balsamic vinegar on them and then put them back in oven for a few minutes. The balsamic vinegar will thicken onto the wedges and when they come out of the oven mmmm yummy