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I am very picky when it comes to salad dressings. Hard for me to find one in the grocery store I like. It's funny because I can have some in restaurants and love them and can't seem to find any in on the shelves I like. Any good recommendations for Italian type dressings? Or any different takes on oil/vinegar?
Wish Bone's Just 2 Good Italian - I don't miss the calories.
Seven Seas Red Wine Vinagrette (?) - tastes just like the homemade vinegar dressing my mom used for pickled (or sour) cukes. Yum!!!
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I will for sure try some. I love salads and there is 101 things you can do with them. I just need to find a good dressing. Thanks again!
I know what you mean.
I have no way of proving this, but sometimes I think restaurants put a bit of white sugar in their salad dressing! Canola oil has a very pure taste, maybe they use that too for sweet and sour dressings?
A lot of store-bought dressings will be cleverly packaged and *look* good but then you look at the ingredients and they are full of soybean oil or high fructose corn syrup.
Neither of those things are exactly disgusting, but they are not necessarily something I want in my salad dressing, especially the corn syrup.
Xanthan gum, found even in the most "natural" of supposedly natural products, does seem fairly harmless.
Anyway, I often just make my own dressings.
Believe it or not, one of my favorite olive oils is relatively cheap: Goya.
It tastes great and is very reasonably priced: $7.45 for 17 oz.
I like flavored vinegars and they are easy to make on my own.
For creamier dressings, like ranch-style, rather than make my own I'll tend to go with Paul Newman. The taste and ngredients are pretty good and I figure at least the money goes to a good cause. I've enjoyed Annie's, too.
I know what you mean.
I have no way of proving this, but sometimes I think restaurants put a bit of white sugar in their salad dressing! Canola oil has a very pure taste, maybe they use that too for sweet and sour dressings?
A lot of store-bought dressings will be cleverly packaged and *look* good but then you look at the ingredients and they are full of soybean oil or high fructose corn syrup.
Neither of those things are exactly disgusting, but they are not necessarily something I want in my salad dressing, especially the corn syrup.
Xanthan gum, found even in the most "natural" of supposedly natural products, does seem fairly harmless.
Anyway, I often just make my own dressings.
Believe it or not, one of my favorite olive oils is relatively cheap: Goya.
It tastes great and is very reasonably priced: $7.45 for 17 oz.
I like flavored vinegars and they are easy to make on my own.
For creamier dressings, like ranch-style, rather than make my own I'll tend to go with Paul Newman. The taste and ngredients are pretty good and I figure at least the money goes to a good cause. I've enjoyed Annie's, too.
Interesting idea about the sugar. Hum. Ranch is one that I can tell some restaurants do very different. It is sweeter. Lacking that real tart Ranch taste. I like it like that. A chef once told me that the Ranch taste I was describing is because of mayo being added. I'm not sure. But I always know the difference.
Another fan of "make my own". I keep a selection of oils on hand (olive, walnut, sesame....) and often improvise.
Once you make your own, it's hard to go back to store-bought. They seem too sweet (that corn syrup!) and they seem too viscous (that coated-tongue feeling, is that the xanthan gum ?).
I love Ken's Steakhouse dressings. I've never had one I didn't like Lots of flavor in their Italian-type dressings.
I buy more Ken's than anything else. My husband's favorite is the Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette; I like the Olive Oil or Balsamic Vinaigrette (both Lites). The Lite Bleu Cheese is also a good change.
For Ranch, I want the original Hidden Valley Ranch! I'll use less of it, but just can't beat the taste.
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Lots of flavor in their Italian-type dressings.
And lots of great flavors! They have a Tuscany Italian that is really good!
Thanks
