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French Dressing
In a bowl or saucer put 4 tablespoonfuls of olive oil, ½ of a teaspoonful of salt and a little white pepper or a dash of cayenne. Stir for a moment to partially dissolve the salt, then add slowly, stirring all the time, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar; the latter may be plain or flavored with tarragon or other herb. When the mixture is well blended, it will be slightly thickened and have a grayish appearance. Use at once, as it quickly separates.
A plain 4:1 vinaigrette, mixed by hand in a saucer rather than shaken in a jar. Nothing here is dated except the vessel and the assumption that dressing is made minutes before it is eaten.
- The ratioFour tablespoons oil to one of acid is 4:1, sharper-tasting than it sounds because there is no mustard or sugar to soften it. Modern palates often prefer 3:1; adjust after tasting on a leaf, not off a spoon.
- Salt first, and whyDissolving the salt in the oil before the acid goes in is the one instruction worth keeping. Salt dissolves poorly in oil, so the stirring is really about distributing it; add it to the lemon juice instead if you want it fully dissolved.
- The grayish appearanceThat cloudy, slightly thickened look is a temporary emulsion of acid droplets in oil. It is the sign the dressing is properly blended, not a fault.
- Why it separatesWith no emulsifier, the emulsion breaks within minutes. A half teaspoon of Dijon or a little egg yolk will hold it for hours, though that departs from what is written here. Otherwise the advice to use it at once is literal.
- White pepperProbably specified so the dressing stays pale and unspecked, though the recipe offers cayenne as an alternative. Black pepper tastes much the same and is perfectly fine if appearance does not matter.
- Tarragon vinegarStill sold, and easily made by steeping a few sprigs in white wine vinegar for a week or two. Cider vinegar or plain white wine vinegar both work in the same quantity.
- YieldAbout five tablespoons, enough to dress a salad for four. Dress leaves at the table and toss thoroughly; the small volume is meant to coat, not pool.
This is the American understanding of "French dressing" before the term was captured, sometime in the twentieth century, by the sweetened, tomato-tinted bottled product that now carries the name in the United States. The entry earns its place by economy: oil, salt, pepper and a spoonful of vinegar turn a bowl of leaves into a course, and no cooking fuel is used. The insistence on olive oil is worth noticing, since it was generally an imported and comparatively costly item in American kitchens of the period.