How to Make a Simple, "Clean" Homemade Vinaigrette
Forget those processed bottles of dressing, OK?

Bottled salad dressings work in a pinch, but they tend to be loaded with extra sugar and salt. This is especially true for “light” or “reduced fat” dressings. Because the fat is removed, more sugar is added to improve the salad dressing flavor. This is the perfect example of why “light” isn’t always better.
For a cleaner approach to salad dressing, try making a vinaigrette yourself. Even without the extra sugar and salt, a homemade vinaigrette tends to have a bolder flavor if you start with fresh, quality ingredients. Plus, you can personalize your vinaigrette to your tastes by playing with the recipe and adding fun spices or aromatics!
For a DIY dressing, remember these three components: oil, acid, and an emulsifier.
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Oil: Your best choice for a flavorful and heart-healthy homemade vinaigrette is extra virgin olive oil. This oil is known for being a healthy fat, so a little in your diet has its perks. You want to pick “virgin” or “extra virgin” because these versions are less processed and have a stronger flavor than plain olive oil.
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Acid: Your acid could be either citrus or vinegar. Fresh lemon juice is a common choice, but other types of citrus, like blood oranges or grapefruits, can also make an exciting salad! When it comes to vinegar, choose wisely. Plain white vinegar, for example, will probably not make the best homemade vinaigrette. Most chefs stick to red or white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic vinegar. And know this: You don’t need to buy top-shelf vinegars, but you definitely get what you pay for when it comes to this ingredient.
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Emulsifier: An “emulsifier” means an ingredient that helps marry two opposing ingredients—oil and acid, in the case of vinaigrettes. This process involves a whole lot of chemistry, but here’s the short version: An emulsifier has properties that jive with both oil and water, so it helps bind the two together. Common emulsifiers are dijon mustard, egg yolks, minced or roasted garlic, and honey.
To make a homemade vinaigrette, whisk together the emulsifier and acid. Once the two are thoroughly combined, add just a touch of oil and whisk again. Once it’s incorporated, you can add a little more. (If you add it all at once, your vinaigrette will separate into layers of oil and vinegar—yuck!)
The last step in making your vinaigrette is to season it with salt and pepper. You can get creative here, too: Try adding finely chopped herbs, grated parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, or minced shallot!
Phoebe Lapine is a food and health writer, gluten-free chef, wellness personality, culinary instructor, blogger, recipe developer and speaker, born and raised in New York City, where she continues to live and eat.
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Store bought salad dressings
are convenient, but
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they also tend to be loaded with sugar.
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I'm Phoebe Lapine, and
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today I'm gonna show you how to make your
own incredibly easy homemade vinaigrette.
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Every vinaigrette has the same
three components, an oil,
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an acid and emulsifier.
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Today the emulsifier we're
using is Dijon mustard,
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which is very common in
French vinaigrettes.
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[MUSIC]
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And now I'm gonna used my acid,
in this case, white wine vinegar.
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And I'm gonna make sure it's
all incorporated into the acid.
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Now, you can use balsamic vinegar,
you could use lemon juice.
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You wanna make sure that it's thoroughly
combined with your emulsifier
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before you ever add the oil.
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Otherwise, you know what happens with
oil and vinegar, [SOUND] separate.
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I'm gonna add just a touch of oil and
thoroughly whisk that into my mustard and
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vinegar mixture.
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Once it's incorporated,
you can add a little bit more.
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[MUSIC]
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But remember, go slow,
because once a vinaigrette breaks,
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it's much harder to get it back.
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Once you've gotten it to your liking,
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you want to season it with salt,
some freshly ground black pepper.
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And if you like a little bit of sweetness,
you can add some honey, sugar.
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Now, your salad bowl has a beautiful
homemade vinaigrette, ready for
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whatever lettuce you're
gonna throw on top of it.
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[MUSIC]