The Vinaigrette Ratio



Please welcome guest author Michael Ruhlman as he demonstrates how to apply a basic ratio to making vinaigrettes. ~Elise

First things first. I am a huge fan of Elise and am honored to be here on this blog. Elise, thank you!

Some of you know I’ve just published a book called Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. It’s all about proportions and how knowing proportions for fundamental techniques liberates you in the kitchen.

Here is a perfect example of a culinary ratio, one that’s fairly standard: The 3-to-1 vinaigrette, or 3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar.

That we are willing to pay three or four dollars for bottled salad dressing when a delicious vinaigrette costs just pennies to make yourself, is an example of just how far away from the kitchen our processed food system has taken us.

A ratio is just a baseline. Maybe you prefer a very sharp vinaigrette with just two parts oil. If you use lime juice as you acid, you may need more than 3 parts oil. I think the standard 3-to-1, though, is just right.

In the dressings below, I use a neutral oil so that flavor of the ingredients comes through. But if you have an olive oil you love, that works great too. It’s all a matter of what flavors you want.

Replace it with a tasty nut oil, and your vinaigrette is transformed again (replace the canola with walnut oil in the first recipe here, add some chopped walnuts and a dash of honey for a superlative walnut vinaigrette).

Embrace a single ratio, and you will walk away with a thousand vinaigrettes. Here are three examples, all based on mixing two tablespoons of sherry vinegar with six tablespoons of canola oil (for a half cup total), each one building off the other.

Remember the better your sherry vinegar, the better the vinaigrette (look for those produced in Spain).


The Vinaigrette Ratio



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