What's in that salad dressing?
Many commercial salad dressings drown your fresh, delicious and nutritious food in water and corn syrup. Not only do they waste your money, but they convert your salad to a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This morning, I stopped at the local supermarket to look at the ingredient lists on four popular brands of salad dressing. You will be very interested to learn what I discovered. The first product I picked up was Wishbone Italian dressing. Its first ingredient is water. Seems like a very expensive way to buy water. And surprising, too, given that Italian dressing is traditionally made from olive oil and vinegar. Not this Italian dressing, though. After the water, its ingredient list contains soybean and canola oil, distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, dehydrated garlic and onion and red bell pepper, maltodextrin, xantham gum, spices, autolyzed yeast extract, EDTA, natural flavor, lemon juice concentrate, caramel color, and annatto, which colors the dressing yellow, more like olive oil, which it does not contain.
The second product I picked up was Hidden Valley Fat-Free Ranch. Like the Wishbone Italian, the ingredient list starts with water, followed by corn syrup, maltodextrin, sugar, and modified food starch (usually made from corn or wheat, whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase). These are four different ways to say “sugar,” which, of course, significantly raises the amount of insulin required to metabolize your food. The 6th ingredient is protein-rich buttermilk, of which there must be very little since the nutrition information lists 0 grams of protein.
Next I checked Kraft Catalina, a sweet, French-style dressing. The first ingredient was high-fructose corn syrup, followed by water and tomato paste (called “tomato puree”), soybean oil, vinegar, salt and 12 more ingredients that constitute less than 2% of the total. These include red dye 40, yellow dye 6, and blue dye 1, which probably account for the unusually deep orange color of the product. Two tablespoons of Catalina salad dressing contain 10 grams of carbohydrate, most of which (9 grams) is sugar. It’s a lot like pouring pancake syrup on your salad.
The last dressing I examined was Kraft Balsamic Vinegar. Once again, the first ingredient was water. Then came “vegetable oils” (further defined as “canola, soybean, extra virgin olive oil”), followed by “balsamic vinegar” (wine vinegar, grape juice, water), and the usual long list of ingredients each of which constitutes less than 2% of the total. I have a much better, simpler recipe. Mix 3 tbsp. of olive oil with 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar. Toss over washed lettuce greens just before serving.
So what’s the alternative? I picked out a few of my favorite salad dressing recipes for you to try. The directions for all of them are the same: Combine ingredients in a small bowl, mix or whisk until blended, and refrigerate. All of these dressings are flavorful and nutritious. If you are sensitive to salt, just skip it. There is plenty of flavor with or without the salt.
1) Balsamic Vinaigrette (a bit more involved than the very simple recipe above) is made with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 3 garlic cloves mashed to a pulp with 1/2 tsp coarse salt (use a fork or a mortar & pestle), and fresh ground pepper to taste.
2) Tahini Salad Dressing (one of my long-time favorite salad dressings, and really delicious on a Lebanese salad composed of 2 small diced cucumbers, 2 small diced tomatoes, 3 diced radishes, 1 sliced green onion, 10 sliced mint leaves, and 1/3 bunch parsley, chopped) is made with 1 minced clove of garlic, 3/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste, available everywhere), 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 2 tbsp olive oil, with salt to taste. This dressing will only stay fresh for a few days.
3) Classic French Vinaigrette is made with 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp prepared Dijon-style mustard, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp minced garlic, and 1 cup olive oil. Adding 2-4 drops hot sauce is also an option, although it will no longer be a classic french vinaigrette.
Try one or more of these and let me know what you think.
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: salad dressing corn syrup water
I think you have hit on one of the features of bad practice in food. Certainly an area where it is easy to make your own. However, Classic French (or other) salad dressing is not sweet. I would leave out the (high-fructose) honey. Also, I think classic vinaigrette has higher oil:vinegar ratio. Also good and simple is adding salsa and a little vinegar to mayonnaise. The amount of salsa to taste and amount of carbs you want (the salsa has 2-4 grams/tbsp) depending on the brand.
Reply to this
I tip my hat to Dr. Feinman, who is right about classic french vinaigrette -- it does not contain any sweetener. Nevertheless, this is a good recipe for someone who is making the transition from commercial salad dressings, and for anyone who chooses to include a bit of sweetener in their dressing. It appears to me that Dr. Feinman is an advocate of lowering one's carbohydrate intake as completely as possible. Whereas that may be necessary in the case of certain diabetic patients who are otherwise unable to control their blood sugars, or certain formerly obese patients who are otherwise unable to control their weight, I do believe that many people can tolerate a moderate amount of carbohydrate, particularly the carbohydrates with low or moderate glycemic indices. Remember that all carbs are not the same, as I discussed several weeks ago in my post entitled "Grains are not Beans are not Fruit are not Vegetables: All Carbohydrates are not Created Equal."
Reply to this
My mom used to make a very simple home-made salad dressing. She would put barely a 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and lots of black pepper in a small bowl and stir together. Then "tossed" with the salad in a large bowl (family style serving). The pepper dressing should be just enough to moisten the salad - you don't want to overpower the yummy tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.
You could always add more pepper - my Dad usually did.
Reply to this
I did not try one of your suggestions, yet. However in an attempt to avoid bad dressings I was introduced to "Garlic Expressions." It is marketed as a 100% natural classic vinaigrette. The ingredients are: Cider vinegar, Canola oil, Sugar, Fresh Garlic Cloves, Salt, Spices, and Xanthan. This is the only dressing I use and it doubles as a marinade; great with chicken and turkey burgers as well. I love that it actually has whole garlic cloves so there is a surprise at the end. What is most interesting to me is that it is not in the salad dressing or marinade aisles, so you really have to hunt for it. I think it is definitely worth trying if the ingredients are indeed natural.
As a side note I want to personally thank Dr. Sukol for all of the great advice and research. I have lost 15 lbs just by making a few simple changes and I even joined a gym this week. Keep up the Good Work, It is Greatly Appreciated
Reply to this
I'm sorry to say that canola oil is far from natural. It goes through a heavy refinement process rendering it far from healthy and quite damaging to your health. Check out the Weston A Price website for an article titled The Great CONnola. Unfortunately this is one of the most used oils commercially. And more than 90% of the canola in US has been genetically modified. I hate to tell you this but unless your dressing there is certified organic, you are pouring GMO's all over your food.
Reply to this
Good post! I stopped eating commercial salad dressing years ago, mainly to avoid soybean oil, but reading about all that other cr-p just reaffirms my decision.
Making it fresh before each salad is what I do. My favorite is a mustard vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper
1 tablespoon mustard
I whisk the above together then drizzle in about two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, whisking it in as I go. It doesn't separate and it tastes fab!
Reply to this
I agree with possibly leaving out the fructose, but a little won't kill you either. I would use stevia and/ or xylitol or erithritol mixed. Only need a bit and works like a charm.
Reply to this
I just don't get adding sweeteners to a salad dressing, perhaps an occasional bit of honey, maybe it's an American thing. What is hard about mixing good EVO [extra-virgin olive oil], a good vinegar, a bit of Dijon, a clove of garlic ,salt & pepper? Make up 500 mls and you always it on hand.
Reply to this
Nice post , thank you for sharing .........
I am little curious to know more about it.
Reply to this