As with many people,
salads are an important part of my low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF)
diet. While there are many commercial salad dressing that only
contain 2 – 4 carbohydrates per tablespoon, these extra carbs can
add up really fast. The type of salad dressing most often recommended
by proponents of the LCHF lifestyle are oil and vinegar dressings
known as vinaigrettes. In most cases, these vinaigrettes contain no
carbohydrates so you can use as much or as little as you want on your
salad. The added benefit is that because of their high fat content,
they help your body to feel sated thereby making you feel fuller and
less hungry.
Vinaigrettes as
mentioned are a combination of oil, vinegar, herbs and spices that
are mixed together to form a temporary emulsion. Because the emulsion
is temporary, and the oil and vinegar will separate, therefore it is
best if the vinaigrette is placed in a bottle or container that can
be shaken each time before use to mix the oil and vinegar together
again. In this article I will teach you how to make a basic
vinaigrette to use as a base so that you can add any number of herbs,
seasonings and or flavorings to suit your own personal tastes. In
addition to vinaigrettes there are a variety of creamed dressings
(avocado, blue cheese, and creamy garlic) that use the oil and
vinegar base with additions of heavy cream and other components that
are then pureed or blended together to form a creamy style
vinaigrette.
Basic Oil and
Vinegar Base Dressing (Yield: 1 cup)
Oil and vinegar
(vinaigrette) is the salad dressing most often recommended by those
following a LCHF, Paleo, or Keto eating regimen because it is
carbohydrate free and you can use as much as you want. Making a basic
vinaigrette is also one of the first salad dressings that everyone
learns to make in culinary school. A basic vinaigrette is a vinegar
and oil based dressing made with a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part
vinegar (3:1). There are some chefs that prefer a 4:1 or even a 5:1
ratio of oil to vinegar, my suggestion would be to start with a 3:1
and experiment later. Keep in mind that less oil will make the
dressing more tart, while more oil makes the dressing taste milder,
but has a heavier oil taste.
¾ cup vegetable or
olive oil
¼ cup wine or apple
cider vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white
pepper
Combine the vinegar,
salt, and white pepper in a small mixing bowl and stir until the salt
is dissolved. Then using a wire whisk, slowly add the oil a few drops
at a time. Gradually increase the the oil stream and continue to mix
until the oil is totally incorporated and an emulsion has formed.
Total Recipe –
Calories 988, protein 0 grams, fat 109 grams, carbs 4 grams
Below I have
included recipes for some of the more common vinaigrettes as well as
a few creamed dressings that you might find at a restaurant or on
your supermarket store shelves. This is by no means a complete list
as any one vinaigrette or dressing can have multiple variations. Feel
free to experiment and adjust the seasonings of the dressing to suit
your particular needs. Remember as long as you keep the oil to
vinegar ratio at 3:1, you will have a neutral flavor palate in which
to play with.
Asian Vinaigrette –
Substitute rice wine vinegar for the wine vinegar, for the oil use
1/2 cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons peanut oil, and 1 tablespoon
sesame oil. Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon lemon
juice.
Avocado Dressing –
Add ¼ of an avocado to the basic recipe or Herbed vinaigrette and
beat until smooth with a wire whisk or immersion blender.
Blue Cheese – Add
the to the basic recipe 1 ounce crumbled blue cheese or Roquefort
cheese and 1 ounce of heavy cream and beat with a wire whisk or
immersion blender until throughly combined.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
– In place of the wine vinegar, use 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
and 1 tablespoon wine vinegar (total of 4 tablespoons or ¼ cup).
Herbed Vinaigrette –
Add to the basic recipe or to the Mustard Vinaigrette ½ teaspoon
dried parsley, ¼ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon marjoram, 1
teaspoon dried chives
Italian Vinaigrette
– Use olive oil in place of the vegetable oil, add ½ teaspoon
minced garlic, ¾ teaspoon dried oregano, and 1 tablespoon freshly
chopped parsley. Another option would be to use 3 – 4 teaspoons of
dried Italian seasoning in place of the oregano and parsley).
Lemon Vinaigrette –
In place of the wine vinegar, use 3 tablespoons wine vinegar and 1
tablespoon lemon juice (total of 4 tablespoons or ¼ cup).
Mustard Vinaigrette
– Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of yellow prepared or Dijon mustard to the
basic recipe.
Picante Vinaigrette
– Add to the basic recipe ½ teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon
paprika, and 2 teaspoons finely minced or pureed onion.
Choosing Your Oil
When it comes to
choosing an oil for your vinaigrette, almost all of the nutritional
values are the same as you can tell by the comparison below. I
realize that I may not have listed every conceivable oil you can use
in a vinaigrette, but the oils listed will compromise 99% of all
the oils that most people will use to create a vinaigrette dressing.
The oils listed in this article are considered all-purpose, and
should have a mild, sweet flavor. While some strong flavored oils
(peanut, walnut, and sesame oil) can make excellent salad dressings,
they should be used sparingly and are not generally appropriate for
every type of salad.
Canola, Cottonseed,
Grapeseed, Safflower, and Soybean Oil – These oils are all nearly
tasteless, and some would say have a bland flavor profile.
Corn Oil – Has a
light golden color and is nearly tasteless, but has a slight
cornmeal-type flavor profile.
Vegetable Oil –
Sometimes called 'salad oil' it is the most common oil used in the
restaurant for making vinaigrettes. Vegetable or salad oil is a blend
of oils and is popular because of it's neutral flavor and relatively
low cost.
Olive Oil – Has a
unique flavor profile that is somewhat fruity and greenish in color.
Because of it's strong flavor profile, olive oil is not an
all-purpose oil, and should generally be used only in specialty
dressings. In theory, the best olive oils are labeled 'virgin' or
'extra virgin', which means they are made from the first pressings of
the olives. In practice, many companies mis-label their olive oil as
'virgin' or 'extra-virgin' when it is really not. Something to think
about when you go to the store to buy olive oil, if the bottle is
less than $7.00 for 16 ounces, it is probably not extra-virgin, no
matter what the label says.
Chef's Note: My
recommendation is too buy standard olive oil and move on. The bottom
line, most of us cannot taste the difference of the quality of the
olive oil when it is used in a vinaigrette as the spices and
flavorings change the flavor profile.
The following is a comparison of the nutritional values of all the common oils listed in this article for the use of making vinaigrette dressings.
Canola Oil (1 Cup) –
Calories 1927, protein 0 grams, fat 218 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 16 grams, polyunsaturated 61 grams, monounsaturated 138
grams
Corn Oil (1 Cup) –
Calories 1962, protein 0 grams, fat 218 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 28 grams, polyunsaturated 119 grams, monounsaturated 60
grams
Cottonseed Oil (1
Cup) – Calories 1927, protein 0, fat 218 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 56 grams, polyunsaturated 113 grams, monounsaturated 39
grams
Grapeseed Oil (1Cup)
– Calories 1927, protein 0, fat 218 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 21 grams, polyunsaturated 152 grams, monosaturated 35 grams
Olive Oil (1 Cup) –
Calories 1910, protein 0 grams, fat 216 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 30 grams, polyunsaturated 23 grams, monounsaturated 158
grams
Safflower Oil (1
Cup) – Calories 1928, protein 0 grams, fat 218 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 14 grams, polyunsaturated 31 grams, monounsaturated 163
grams
Soybean Oil (1 Cup)
– Calories 1663, protein 0, fat 218, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 33 grams, polyunsaturated 99 grams, monounsaturated 24
grams
Vegetable Oil (1
Cup) – Calories 1984, protein 0 grams, fat 224 grams, carbs 0
Fat Breakdown –
Saturated 32 grams, polyunsaturated 74 grams, monounsaturated 112
grams
So there you have
it, a quick run down on the most common varieties of oils used to
make vinaigrettes. I realize that many
of you are probably shocked that the lowly common vegetable (aka.
salad oil) is the most common oil used to make vinaigrettes, and
believe it or not, as an all-purpose oil it is the workhorse of the
restaurant industry. Not all of the oil choices available to you are
listed here, but the goal was to list the most common oils that many
of us a familiar with. So the big question that I often hear is which
oil is the best choice for making salad dressings? If you are just
starting out on a LCHF diet, the simple answer is the oil with the
most amount of monounsaturated fats, that has a decent amount of
healthy saturated fats. With that in mind here are my top four
choices.
-
Olive Oil (1 cup) – 30 grams saturated fat, 158 grams monounsaturated fat
-
Safflower Oil (1 cup) – 16 grams saturated fat, 163 grams monounsaturated fat
-
Canola Oil (1 Cup) – 16 grams saturated fat, 138 grams monounsaturated fat
-
Vegetable Oil (1 Cup) – 32 grams saturated fat, 112 grams monounsaturated fat
Remember, you have
to decide what is best for you, obviously some oils have more
beneficial fatty acids (omega 3, omega 6, linoleic acid, vitamin E
etc…). The goal of this article is not to argue about oils
made with 'genetically modified seeds', or how 'free radicals' get
into your food, but about making better choices. Obviously you can
look at the references for this article and you can see that the
ranking of these four oils (canola, olive, safflower,and vegetable)
may appear in a slightly different order, but any of these will work
well for you. If all you have and or can afford is vegetable oil, then by all means use it. You can always decide to upgrade your oil choice at a later date. Using a vinaigrette made with vegetable oil may not be the best choice, but it is a better choice than using a dressing that is loaded with carbohydrates.
Choosing Your
Vinegar
Just as different
oils have different flavor profiles, so do vinegars. Most often in
the restaurant we used a wine vinegar as a base for all of our
vinaigrette dressings. At home my personal taste preference is the
use of apple cider vinegar as I like the slightly fruity flavor
profile of the vinegar. In this section of the article, we will be
examining the slight differences in the flavors of the more commonly
used vinegars to make vinaigrette dressings.
Apple Cider Vinegar
– Sometimes simply called 'cider vinegar', is made from apples and
has a distinctive brown color and a slightly sweet apple taste.
White Vinegar –
Also known as 'distilled vinegar' is vinegar that has been distilled
and purified so that it has a neutral flavor, generally white vinegar
is made by fermenting and distilling corn. This is common vinegar
that you find on supermarket shelves generally labeled as 5%, which
means it contains 5% acetic acid.
Wine Vinegar – Is
vinegar made from red or white vinegar which leads it to have a winy
taste.
Sherry Vinegar –
Is a special wine based vinegar that has a distinctive, somewhat
bitter wine flavor.
Balsamic Vinegar –
The type found in most supermarkets here in the United States is made
from wine or wine vinegar and caramelized sugar, which gives it a
sweet taste. I may or may not be aged in wooden barrels which
contribute to it's dark brown color.
Chef's Note: True
balsamic vinegar is made from white grape juice not wine, it is then
aged in wooden barrels for a minimum of 10 years and as long as 50
years per Italian law. Because it is only made by small artesian
producers and the ageing process is so long, it is simply to expensive
to be mixed with salad dressings. It is said that the flavor is so
intense that it is used as a condiment in Italy measured out in mere
drops.
Obviously there are
a number of other vinegars such as rice wine, malt vinegar, and a
variety of specialty fruit vinegars (raspberry, strawberry,
blackberry, etc...). In addition, there are a number of flavored
vinegars which incorporate a variety of herbs such as garlic,
tarragon, and rosemary. Having said that, when it comes to making
vinaigrettes, white, apple cider, and wine vinegars are the most
common.
Conclusion
The bottom line,
making your own vinaigrette and creamy salad dressings is fast and
easy, and it allows you to add some healthy fat to your diet without
adding any carbohydrates. Understand that I am not the food police, I
will not chastise you for your choice of the oil or the vinegar that
you use in your dressings. Rather it is my goal to give you all the
information that I can so that you can make the best decisions that
suit your particular needs and or desired outcomes. Going back and
looking at this article I may have went into overkill mode and
listed more information here than was necessary, but that is the way
that I research my food choices based on both cost and nutritional
analysis.
I have also included a link in the references on how to make your own flavored vinegars so that you can add additional flavors to your salad dressings without adding any additional calories or carbohydrates for those who might be interested. As always, I hope that this article was informative and has shed a small amount of light on the sometimes controversial subject of making healthy salad
dressings. As always, if you have found this article informative, we
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References
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