A dressing is not a compote
A dressing is not a custard
It consists of pepper and salt,
Vinegar, oil and mustard.
~Ogden Nash
While olive oil has a long and storied past in the Ancient World, vegetable oil wasn’t a part of North American diets until the late 1800s.
Long before cooks had access to the overwhelming range of salad dressings available on a typical supermarket shelf, they were whipping up boiled versions like this old-fashioned one.
These simple cooked dressings use eggs and vinegar to create a smooth, tangy base with a texture like mayonnaise.
The sauce-like dressing is perfect warm or cold on salad, over potatoes and other cooked vegetables, or with coleslaw, eggs and chicken.
There are lots of variations: this one is adapted from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Coleslaw Dressing.
I reduced the sugar, used cider vinegar, added a touch of pepper, and reduced the sour cream while adding a bit of buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk available, you can use all sour cream.
This recipe for Old-Fashioned Boiled Dressing will keep in the fridge for about one week.
- 2 tablespoons / 30 mlsugar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons / 22.5 ml flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons / 7.5 ml dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml salt
- 1/4 teaspoon / 1.25 ml ground white pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml water
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml sour cream
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml buttermilk
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In a small saucepan, mix together sugar, flour, dried mustard, salt and pepper.
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Add egg and stir until mixture is smooth.
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Stir in vinegar and water until smooth.
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Place pan over medium heat and bring to boil. Stir continuously until mixture thickens. This should take about 3-4 minutes. (If it takes a bit longer, don't worry. It will start to thicken.)
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Remove mixture from heat and let cool slightly.
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Stir in sour cream and buttermilk.
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Serve warm or cold.
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Store dressing in the fridge.
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