Week 29 - Emulsification

The Week 29 challenge was announced as emulsification, and although I'd heard the word before, I have to admit that I didn't actually know what it meant in terms of cooking. A quick search for "emulsification recipes" led me to a Fine Cooking article on making emulsion sauces, from which I learned that emulsion sauces included mayonnaise, hollandaise, and vinaigrette, sauces combining two elements that don't really mix with one another, like fat and water, by using a substance like mustard or eggs. Apparently those substances, called emulsifiers, are "made up of big, bulky protein molecules," and that's what helps the sauce hold. I need to learn more about the science of cooking, because it's truly fascinating.

Anyway, once I read the intro there and learned that vinaigrette would qualify for the emulsification challenge, I went looking for a recipe for vinaigrette, which I found on Cookie + Kate. I stuck fairly close to the recipe there, both in terms of ingredients and steps, and it worked out wonderfully. (As a side note, the reason I mentioned that I read the intro only on Fine Cooking is because, as I read it now after the fact, they mention all these tips for keeping an emulsion sauce together, none of which I actually did, like an order of ingredients or adding oil slowly. Luckily, it still worked!)

Ignore the cashew butter... Not part of this, just a crowded counter

The ingredients for our vinaigrette were:

- 1/2 cup olive oil ($0.80)

- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar ($0.21)

- about 1 tbsp dijon mustard ($0.21)

- about 1 tbsp honey ($0.23)

- one spoonful of minced garlic ($0.10)

- a few grinds of salt and black pepper ($0.03)

Coming in at about $1.58, the vinaigrette itself wasn't more expensive than buying salad dressing at the store, and at home, you have the benefit of knowing exactly what's in it and being able to customize it yourself. It made more dressing than we needed for a pretty big salad, so it goes a long way, especially if you dress your salads lighter than we do (we love dressing).

The steps for the recipe I followed were simple. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and stir it up well with a fork. When I first started stirring, all the ingredients were still really separated, and I had a sinking feeling that I had no idea what I was doing and that it wasn't going to work. But with some time spent vigorously stirring with a fork, the sauce just came together. It was like magic (except actually science). I was amazed that it actually worked, but so happy!

The recipe also gave suggestions for what to do once you tasted the vinaigrette and needed to make adjustments. It tasted a little acidic to me when trying it, so the recommendation was to add more olive oil or honey. I added a little bit of both, and it turned out just right on a second taste.

Usually we'd mix the onions in with the rest of the salad, but it was B's first time having raw red onions and we didn't know if he'd like them. Turned out he loves them as much as we do!

The vinaigrette became the dressing for a salad of grape tomatoes, chickpeas, red onions, and feta cheese, and it was delicious. Light, delicate, but also so flavorful. We ate it alongside Gardein chipotle black bean burgers, and it was a great vegetarian dinner. We liked this vinaigrette so much that I've made it again and even added it to our cookbook!