Making your own salad dressings was the topic for the first meeting of the Healthy
Home Cooking Club at the Rourke Library in Shallotte. The purpose of this group is to
gather people together who share a passion for cooking and eating. The focus will be
healthy cooking and eating at home.

This Healthy Home Cooking Club is coordinated by the Family Consumer Science team from the N.C. Cooperative Extension here in Brunswick County in cooperation with the Rourke Library. The team is lead by Avery Ashley, Family and Consumer Science Agent and Extension Master Food Volunteers.  Ashley introduced the program by saying that “if you want to eat healthy you really
need to be cooking and eating at home.” It’s difficult to eat healthy in restaurants, at
fast food or with processed foods.

Each month the program will focus on a specific topic. There will be a short educational program, usually including a food demonstration and sample tasting. The atmosphere is casual and the participants are encouraged to bring ideas, photos and recipes on the topic of the month to share.

The January topic was homemade salad dressing and Ashley shared basic details on how to make your own. Dressings made at home are much less expensive than store bought and you have control of the ingredients. They can be adapted to have less sodium and won’t contain preservatives. All dressings are a variation on the classic vinaigrette. The standard ingredients are simply an oil and a culinary acid of your choice.  Olive oil works well in dressings and is considered the healthy oil of choice. But olive oil is expensive and may have a strong flavor that might overpower other ingredients in some recipes. If olive oil isn’t an option in your house, canola oil will also work.
The culinary acid can be any type of vinegar such as Balsamic, white, apple cider or rice vinegar. Fruit juices such as orange, lemon or lime are also considered culinary acids.  Any of these acids will give their unique favor. The cook should choose the acid they use on the flavors desired in the final product.

Classic vinaigrette uses a ratio of two parts oil to one part acid. But this can vary, too.
For a sourer flavor use more acid. To help cut calories, reduce the oil to one-to-one.
Other ingredients may also be added for flavor and emulsification. Optional ingredients include sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup. Seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic, and herbs are also good. Mustard is frequently added because it adds flavors and helps the vinegar and oil to mix together.

Olive oil and vinegar alone are both shelf stable ingredients and can be stored without
refrigeration. But, once you start adding other ingredients to the mix such as juices,
garlic, onion, sour cream, yogurt and seasonings, food safety must be considered and the product should be kept in the refrigerator and used within 7 days.

Extension Master Food Volunteers Jane Kulesza from Oak Island and Margarete O’Leary from Supply assisted by demonstrating how to make four different dressings.  These included a Classic Vinaigrette, Basic Honey Mustard, Ranch (which used Greek yogurt in place of the oil) and a Soy Sauce and Peanut Butter Dressing using sesame oil and apple cider vinegar. The participants were then encouraged taste sample.

Basic Honey Mustard Dressing
¼ cup oil
1 Tablespoon vinegar
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ Tablespoon honey
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Combine and mix all ingredients thoroughly. Serve immediately or save for up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

Note: Ashley suggested using canola oil and white vinegar in this recipe because they
have neutral flavors that won’t dominate the honey mustard. Feel free to change the
amounts of ingredients up or down to suit your personal tastes.

The Healthy Home Cooking Club will meet the final Tuesday of each month from 3-4
p.m. at the Rourke Library in Shallotte. The next topic will be Grazing Boards on
February 24. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the library.

Syracuse is a Family and Consumer Science team member and can be reached at NC Cooperative Extension, Brunswick County Center 910-253-2610 or by email at clsyracu@ncsu.edu