Challenging the oil-to-vinegar ratio

[opqdan]

I always start with 3:1, but then I keep adding acid until it tastes right to me. I would suspect that I end up pretty close to 1:1 in the end.

I don't use extremely high quality olive oil, so that might be part of it. While I enjoy the flavor of EVOO, I tend to find it too bland and oil for salads. I want something sharp and tangy. I've been know to just use straight balsamic, or lemon juice with no oil at all sometimes.

[Soupcon]

I have no idea what ratio I use. I coat the leaves lightly with evoo and then add lemon juice/vinegar to taste, toss, season with s & p, add what ever garnish I choose, toss again and serve. I never make "salad dressing" and find that the bottled mixes my children buy eventually are thrown out as I find them so sweet they detract from the flavours of the salad ingredients which is really what salad is all about.

[Susie Q]

Like others. 1:1 is what tastes best to me.

If I'm wanting a "beefier" dressing I'll even go 1/2:1 (O/V) adding crumbled cheeses to bring up the fat component.

[purplewiz]

Marcia, when you say it's too raw and sharp, are you talking about tasting it alone, or on a salad? One of the things I've found is that what tastes good on its own isn't necessarily what's best on a salad, because when you put a thin coating of dressing on a salad you get it in a diffuse form. Or are you already factoring in the salad?

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A little of both. It's sharp on it's own, and I still get too much vinegar when it's on a salad. I find this a lot with bottled dressings, too - many of them are very sharp in the bottle, and retain that sharpness to me even when tossed with greens. I think it may be a factor of the vinegar used in addition to the ratio of oil to vinegar.

I completely agree that you do need to taste a vinaigrette on a salad to properly assess the ratio and strength.

Marcia.

[paulraphael]

I always start with 3:1, but then I keep adding acid until it tastes right to me.  I would suspect that I end up pretty close to 1:1 in the end.

That's about what I do too. How much vinegar I add depends on the acidity and flavor of the vinegar, the depth of flavor of the oil, and probably what mood I'm in. I'm sure a lot of the time the final ratio is close to 1:1, especially if the vinegar is tasty and not too strong.

[ghostrider]

I suspect that I am some kind of supertaster when it comes to the sour element. I would find a 1:1 dresssing inedible. At many restaurants I have to shake as much dressing off the salad as possible to get the stuff down.

I'd go into my loathing of capers & pickles but that would be off topic. Judging from the responses on dressings here, I think I really do have an extreme sensitivity to sour flavors.