I'm sure that it isn't normal to only eat homemade salad dressings, but that is how it was in my house. My mother had a lot of dressing recipes that she got from her mother and grandmother, and I hardly remember ever buying the store bought kind when I was younger. My mother always made really good salad dressings. I didn't start to buy salad dressing until I was in high school. I prefer homemade to the store bought kind, but I've noticed that some of name brands are almost as good as my mothers. She still makes her salad dressing and only buys the dressing if she runs out of ingredients. She makes a really amazing Italian, Buttermilk Ranch, and Bleu Cheese dressing. Do any of your make your own salad dressing? I've tried some of my mothers recipes and they aren't that hard. Or do you prefer to buy it already made?
I do! It is so easy and affordable. It is so much cheaper to make your own salad dressing and it only takes a few minutes. I'd rather make it myself than pay up to $5 for a bottle. Does anyone else make dressings in bulk? I started making my own dressings and sauces this year. They're easy if you make them in large batches and freeze. Your freezer is your friend!
I do too. I save money and I like the fresher taste much better. I don't even enjoy creamy dressings out of the bottle any more such as ranch or blue cheese. They just don't taste very good to me now that I've gotten used to fresh ones. I make 1000 Island and have made French and Italian as well. For Italian I don't mind bottled dressing sometimes, as some of it is pretty good. Store bought French lasts a lot longer than the homemade version does.
I make my own vinaigrettes at home. It is cheaper than buying it and way more flavorful. I only make enough for 3-4 days at a time and keep it in the refrigerator. I have never tried making ranch because I don't eat it that often but I have made bleu cheese. It was really good and easier than I thought it would be. I put it on a buffalo chicken salad.
I really enjoy making my own salad dressing. I make a really good honey mustard salad dressing. It's surprising easy to make too. The only bottled salad dressing that I eat is Newman's Own ginger sesame vinaigrette. I'm sure I could save money by making that one too. I haven't gotten around to figuring out how to duplicate it.
I haven't bought any salad dressings for many years. I don't really like the added sugar, preservatives and other taste enhancers, so I make my own dressings at home. Actually, I love experimenting with preparing all kinds of dressings and sauces. Some of my favorite basic ingredients are apple cider vinegar and various vegetable oils, such as olive oil, sesame oil, apricot kernel oil, walnut oil, and mustard seed oil. I like to make dressings that have a creamy texture and include avocados, tahini, and mashed chickpeas. The list goes on. The only limit to creating your own delicious dressings is your own imagination.
Depending on the type of dressing I am in the mood for, but yes. I really dislike most commercial Italian Dressings on the market. They put too many chemicals and stabilizers in them to try and keep them from separating, but they end up making the dressing look really artificial and have a slimy consistency to them. Also I dislike dressings that are made with corn syrup, so I will make those home made as well. I also hate how many commercial dressings are loaded with MSG, such as Hidden Valley Ranch and other ranch style dressings. I will admit though, I've found it hard to make a good tasting Ranch dressing from scratch though - they usually come out quite bland, and can be quite expensive to make at home by the time you buy all the fresh herbs needed. Blue Cheese dressing is very easy to make, and I like it even more home made because it doesn't have that weird chemical taste the bottled varieties usually have and you can control the strength and the runny-ness of it to your liking. Some times I am in the mood for a lighter looser variety that is easy to toss with the salad, while other times I want a thicker dressing.
