Condiment of the Week - Salad Dressing

Sauces for salads are often called "dressings". The concept of salad dressing varies across cultures.

A dish of American-style Italian dressing.

In Western culture, there are two basic types of salad dressing:

Vinaigrette;
Creamy dressings, usually based on mayonnaise or fermented milk products, such as yogurt, sour cream (crème fraîche, smetana), buttermilk;
Vinaigrette /vɪnəˈɡrɛt/ is a mixture (emulsion) of salad oil and vinegar, often flavored with herbs, spices, salt, pepper, sugar, and other ingredients. It is also used as a sauce or marinade.

In North America, mayonnaise-based Ranch dressing is most popular, with vinaigrettes and Caesar-style dressing following close behind. Traditional dressings in France are vinaigrettes, typically mustard-based, while sour cream (smetana) and mayonnaise are predominant in eastern European countries and Russia. In Denmark, dressings are often based on crème fraîche. In southern Europe, salad is generally dressed by the diner with olive oil and vinegar.

In Asia, it is common to add sesame oil, fish sauce, citrus juice, or soy sauce to salad dressings.
The following are examples of common salad dressings:
* Blue cheese dressing
* Caesar dressing
* Extra virgin olive oil

Thousand Island dressing on a salad

* French dressing
* Ginger dressing
* Honey Dijon
* Hummus
* Italian dressing
* Louis dressing
* Ranch dressing
* Russian dressing
* Tahini
* Thousand Island dressing
* Vinaigrette
* Wafu dressing