Vinaigrette facts for kids
Vinaigrette dressing on a chopped salad
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| Type | Salad dressing, sauce, or marinade |
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| Place of origin | France |
| Main ingredients | Oil (soybean oil, canola oil, olive oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, pumpkin seed oil, avocado oil, or grape seed oil), vinegar, optionally herbs and spices |
Vinaigrette is a tasty mix of oil and a mild acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. People often add salt, herbs, or spices to make it even better. It's most commonly used as a salad dressing. You can also use it to marinate (soak) foods before cooking.
Traditionally, vinaigrette is made with three parts oil and one part vinegar. These are mixed together to form a stable emulsion. An emulsion is when two liquids that don't usually mix, like oil and water, are spread evenly throughout each other. Sometimes, vinaigrettes have different amounts of oil and vinegar, or they might separate quickly if not mixed well.
Contents
What's in a Name?
The word Vinaigrette comes from French. It's a smaller version of the French word vinaigre, which means "vinegar." In the 1800s, people often called it "French dressing."
How to Make Vinaigrette
To make vinaigrette, you usually mix three parts oil with one part vinegar. You whisk them together until they form an emulsion. This makes the dressing smooth and creamy.
People often add salt and pepper for flavor. You can also add herbs or shallots, especially if you're using the vinaigrette on cooked vegetables or grains. Sometimes, a little bit of mustard is added. Mustard helps the oil and vinegar stay mixed together and adds a nice taste.
Different Kinds of Vinaigrette
You can make vinaigrette with many different kinds of oils and vinegars. Common oils include olive oil and other vegetable oils like soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, or grape seed oil.
Different vinegars create unique flavors, like raspberry vinegar. You can also use lemon juice or even alcohol, such as sherry, instead of vinegar.
- Balsamic Vinaigrette: This popular type is made by adding a small amount of balsamic vinegar to a simple mix of olive oil and wine vinegar.
- Brazil: In Brazil, a mix of olive oil, alcohol vinegar, tomatoes, onions, and sometimes bell peppers is called vinagrete. It's often served with Brazilian churrasco (barbecue). It's quite similar to the Mexican pico de gallo salsa.
- China and Japan: A similar dressing in these countries uses sesame oil or sesame paste with rice vinegar. In northern China, mustard might be added for extra flavor and texture.
- Northern France: Here, vinaigrette might be made with walnut oil and cider vinegar. It's often used for Belgian endive salad.
- Southeast Asia: In this region, rice bran oil and white vinegar are common. Fresh herbs, chili peppers, nuts, and lime juice are often added.
- United States: Vinaigrettes in the U.S. can have many extra ingredients. These include lemon, truffles, raspberries, sugar, garlic, and cherries. Cheese, like Parmesan or blue cheese, is also a common addition. Store-bought vinaigrettes might contain emulsifiers like lecithin to keep them from separating.
How Vinaigrette is Used
In classic French cooking, vinaigrette is used as a salad dressing. It's also served as a cold sauce with cold vegetables like artichokes, asparagus, and leek.
Russian Vinaigrette
The word "vinaigrette" also gave its name to a salad in Russian cuisine called vinegret.
See also
In Spanish: Vinagreta para niños
