French Dressing for Fruit Salads

A five-ingredient vinaigrette from a corn-products company booklet, which explains why two of the five carry brand names. It still works, with a couple of notes.

• MazolaCorn oil, then as now. Any neutral oil behaves the same here; olive oil will dominate the fruit.
• Karo, Red LabelKaro was sold in several labelled grades, and the red label appears to have been a more strongly flavoured, less clear syrup than the crystal-white bottle, though the grades are described inconsistently in period sources. A tablespoon of corn syrup, light or dark to taste, is the closest current match; honey or maple syrup work but shift the flavour.
• The odd salt measureA third of a teaspoon is awkward to measure with modern spoons; use a scant half teaspoon and taste.
• RatioEight parts oil to three parts lemon juice is sharper than the classic three-to-one vinaigrette, and deliberately so: fruit is sweet and needs the acid. Taste before dressing and add oil if your lemons are aggressive.
• "Beat until thoroughly blended"This is a temporary emulsion with nothing to stabilize it beyond the syrup. Shake it in a screw-top jar for thirty seconds, dress the fruit immediately, and shake again if it has been standing.
• PaprikaAn eighth of a teaspoon is for color, giving the dressing a faint rose tint against pale fruit. Use sweet paprika, not smoked or hot.
• YieldAbout three-quarters of a cup, enough for six to eight servings of fruit salad. It keeps a week refrigerated; let it come back to room temperature before shaking.