Dressing

There are several types of dressings that may be categorised under the following headings:

1. Vinaigrette
   
2. Mayonnaise
   
3. Dairy based dressings such as youghurt, cheese, cream and sour cream
   
4. Miscellaneous (Asian style, etc)

1. Vinaigrette

This is a mixture of oil, vinegar and seasoning. Vinaigrette is the basis of many derivatives and forms a temporary emulsion sauce; therefore the dressing needs to be stirred before serving.

Dressings of this nature may be split into 3 groups:

• Basic Vinaigrette - a temporary emulsion or suspension dressing
  
  
• Bound Vinaigrette - with an egg yolk
  
  
• Cooked Vinaigrette - using reductions such as red wine

2. Mayonnaise

This is a cold emulsion sauce whre vinegar, mustard, oil and seasoning are bound with egg yolks. As with all emulsion sauces the fat (in this case oil) should be added gradually to prevent the mixture from splitting.

Many derivatives may be made from this base recipe:

• Tartare Sauce - is a thick white sauce made from mayonnaise and finely chopped pickled cucumber, capers, onion and fresh parsley. It is usually used to season fried seafood dishes.






• Thousand Island Sauce - is commonly made of mayonnaise, ketchup and a mixture of finely chopped vegetables (pickles, onions, bell pepper, green oilves).







• Remoulade Sauce - is very much like the tartare sauce but it is more yellowish. Remoulade is often Aioli or mayonnaise based. It sometimes contains chopped pickels, horseradish, paprika, anchovies, and capers.

3. Dairy Based Dressings

• Yoghurt Dressing - provides a low fat alternatives. It is particularly suited to fruit based salads, seafood and warm salad such as Warm Tandoori Chicken Salad.


• Cream and Sour Cream Dressing - Acidulated cream ( cream with citrus juice) is common example and is usually combined with fruit type salads.

• Cheese Dressing - These can be used to provide added flavour. Usually white mould or blue vein cheeses are used. Simply push the cheese through a strainer and whisk in vinegar and oil and season to taste - finish with fresh herbs.

4. Miscellaneous Dressings

This types primarly cover the Asian style dressings such as soy bases, peanut bases -peanut dressing- as in Gado-Gado (Indonesia style salads), chilies or capsicums bases (Mexican or South American dressing).