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Sour Cream Dressing
1 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon prepared mustard 2 tablespoons each lemon juice and vinegar Beat cream till smooth, thick and light. Combine other ingredients, and gradually add them to the cream, beating constantly. This dressing may be modified to suit different vegetables. Relishes may be used instead of mustard, etc.
A thin, tangy dressing of the type that filled the gap between boiled dressing and bottled mayonnaise. It comes together in a couple of minutes, and the only real technique is keeping the acid from breaking the cream.
- Add the acid slowlyLemon juice and vinegar dumped into sour cream all at once will make it grainy and thin. Whisk the seasonings and acid together first, then dribble that mixture into the cream while beating steadily, as directed.
- What "sour cream" meantIn older cookbooks this could mean sweet cream left to sour naturally, which was thinner and sharper than today's product. Commercial cultured sour cream works directly; full-fat holds up better than light or fat-free, which contain gums and starches that thin out when acid is added.
- Beating the cream"Smooth, thick and light" means whisked until it lightens in body, not whipped to peaks. Thirty seconds with a whisk or a few pulses with a hand mixer is enough.
- Prepared mustardThis means a smooth yellow or mild Dijon-style mustard from a jar, not dry mustard powder. If you substitute powder, use about a third of the quantity and let it stand ten minutes to lose its raw bite.
- Sugar and saltA tablespoon of sugar in a cup of cream reads sweet to modern palates, and the four tablespoons of combined acid are assertive. Mix, taste, and adjust both before serving.
- "Relishes" instead of mustardThe recipe does not specify which; sweet pickle relish, chili sauce or horseradish are plausible choices. Most will loosen the dressing, so add them last and by the spoonful.
- Yield and useAbout 1 1/4 cups. It suits shredded cabbage, cucumbers, cooked beets, potatoes and sturdy greens.
- KeepingRefrigerate in a covered jar and use within three or four days. It will separate slightly on standing; whisk again rather than adding more cream.