Also known as Hen of the Woods, Maitakes are a fabulous treat.
Our dearest friends Christy and Grant, who were largely responsible for this blog coming to be, are inveterate growers of mushrooms. They have fine crops of quite a few fairly exotic and more-often-found as wild varieties growing on their northern Minnesota spread. All that said, they still like to forage, and yesterday, they happened on a real treat and a rarity in their neck of the woods, a 10 pound Maitake mushroom.
Take note – that’s a 16″ ruler!
If the Japanese name for these beauties doesn’t strike a chord, you may know it as Hen of the Woods, Rams Head, Sheeps Head, or the Signorina mushroom. They’re widely prized for eating by numerous cultures. Maitake and its close cousin, Chicken of the Woods, are two of my all time favorite fungi; they have a bright, savory taste profile that even folks who “don’t like mushrooms” will likely dig. Grifola frondosa is the formal name for Maitakes, which are native to the northeastern US and Japan. They grow in clusters at the base of trees, and are particularly fond of oaks. As with all fungi, you should forage only what you can 100% positively identify. Note that Maitakes, like many fungus, becomes just too tough to eat when they get long in the tooth.
Chris asked for some recipe ideas, which we’ll definitely do, but first, a few words on preserving. If you’re lucky enough to come upon a big stash of wild mushrooms like this, you absolutely must preserve some to enjoy in the dark months down the road. Freezing or drying are both viable options.
For either freezing or drying, thoroughly but gently wash each head until the rinse water runs clear.
Separate the heads into smaller, cauliflower-like stalks, and rinse the remaining stalks thoroughly again.
To freeze, allow the stalks to air dry. Arrange stalks on a cookie sheet with room for air flow around each. Place in your freezer overnight.
Frozen stalks can be vacuum sealed, or tossed into ziplock bags that you then suck the air out of. Frozen mushrooms will keep for 4 to 6 months frozen.
To dry Maitakes, place them in a dehydrator, or separated on a cookie sheet in an oven on warm, with the oven door opened slightly. Dry until the stalks are light, shriveled and snap easily without bending, even at their thickest points. Drying has the added advantage of making a big batch of mushrooms much easier to store. Well dried mushrooms will store for up to 12 months.
OK, ’nuff on preserving, let’s cook; here are three recipes that will work wonderfully with Maitake, or dang near any other wild mushrooms you like, solo or blended.
Mushroom Pho
FOR BROTH:
1 Quart cold Water
1 Quart Vegetable Stock
1 Pound Maitake Mushrooms
8-10 Ounce package Rice Noodles
1 Sweet Onion
1-2 Serrano Chiles
3-4 cloves Garlic
2 Tablespoons Mirin, (Rice Vinegar OK for sub)
2 Tablespoons Black Peppercorns
1 Tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
3″ to 4″ fresh Lemongrass (1-2 tablespoons)
2″ piece fresh Ginger root
10-12 sprigs fresh Cilantro
Soy Sauce to taste
For Garnishing,
Radishes
Fresh bean sprouts
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Mint
Fresh Basil leaves
Fresh Limes
Combine water and stock in a stock pot over medium high heat.
Rough chop onion and mushrooms. Fine dice chiles and lemongrass. Mince garlic, cilantro, and ginger.
Sauté onions and garlic with a little vegetable oil until they start to caramelize, then toss them into the stock pot.
Deglaze the sauté pan with rice vinegar. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce, allow to heat through. Add chiles, lemongrass, and ginger and sauté until the chiles start to soften. Add another tablespoon of oil and toss in the mushrooms. Sauté for about 5 minutes until heated through, then set mushrooms aside and toss the rest into the stock pot.
Combine peppercorns in a piece of muslin or a reusable tea bag. Toss them into the pot. Add the chopped cilantro and give everything a good stir. Add soy sauce if you need more; if it’s a bit strong for your taste, squeeze in half a lime instead.
Reduce heat to low and let simmer for two to four hours. Remove the peppercorns.
Boil the rice noodles in a separate pot per directions on the bag.
Thinly slice radishes, quarter the limes, rough chop cilantro, mint, and Basil.
Give every bowl a healthy dose of broth, mushrooms, and noodles. Everybody gets to add sprouts, radish, cilantro, mint, and basil as they see fit.
Serve with icy cold Singha Malt Liquor.
Savory mushrooms are incredibly delicious combined with wild rice and a delicate soufflé; the combination is sublimely flavorful and surprisingly hearty.
4 oz. Wild Rice
1/2 Cup Maitake Mushrooms
1 1/2 Cups Half & Half
1 Cup Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
4 Egg Whites
3 EggYolks
3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground Grains of Paradise
Prepare rice according to directions.
In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter, then add flour, salt and pepper. Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until you get a nice color to it.
Add the half & half, stirring constantly, until sauce starts to bubble. Add the cheese steadily in 1/4 cup batches, allowing each to melt completely before you add more. Once all the cheese is incorporated, remove from east and set aside.
In a chilled glass or stainless steel bowl, whisk egg whites until they hold a stuff peak. Set aside in the fridge.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they’re thick and lemon colored.
Gradually add the yolks to the cheese sauce, stirring constantly so egg yolks don’t curdle.
Add the rice to the blend and incorporate thoroughly. Cool the blend in hand fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Lightly butter and dust with flour a 2 quart soufflé dish or individual ramekins.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the rice mixture. Gently pour the mix into the soufflé dish.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the soufflé has risen and is golden brown.
Serve piping hot with a fresh green salad and a nice Chardonnay.
Finally, here’s a fantastic mushroom pâté that’ll blow your socks off, as well as your guests’.
1 Pound Maitake Mushrooms
8 Ounces Chèvre
1/2 Cup fine diced fresh Shallot
1/2 Cup dry White Wine
3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter
2-3 cloves fresh Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh Parsley leaves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh Lemon Thyme (1 teaspoon dried, any variety, is fine)
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black Pepper
Trim stems, wipe clean, and coarsely chop the Maitakes.
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté, stirring steadily, until they start to go translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté and stir until the Maitakes are wilted and starting to brown. Add the wine, thyme, salt, and pepper, and continue to sauté and stir until the wine is nearly all absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley and sauté for another minute.
Transfer everything to a food processor. Add the chèvre and process until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer to a glass ramekin or bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours to allow pâté to set.
Cut a fresh baguette into round about 1/2″ thick. Rub the rounds lightly with a clove of garlic and toast them on both sides.
Serve pâté with toast rounds and a nice, cold hard cider.
Howdy, fellow Whos!
If it seems we’ve been away if late, we have. Moving, being old and way sore, and no wi if at new digs have conspired to keep us away, but not for long…
Have a lovely but tiny kitchen and huge pantry to configure, then we’ll be back in business.
I’m the meantime, poke through our archives and try something you’ve never made before!
It might not surprise y’all to know that Monica and I pull out all the stops when it comes to camp cooking. Rather than see camping as a need to pare down and go simple, we take it as a chance to eat well in some of the prettiest places you’ll ever visit. If you’re car camping, or talking hunting or fishing camp, you not only can bring what you want, you should. You’ll want some form of flat top of course; a big old cast iron skillet is perfect. And make sure you include your Dutch oven, it’s a must for great camp cooking.
A Dutch oven is a must for great camp cooking.
Without a doubt, the most important meal of the day out there is breakfast; that’s where your fuel comes from for the fun to come later in the day. With the Dutch oven, baked eggs, quiche, frittatas, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, Dutch babies, and dang near anything else you like for breakfast is absolutely doable. Just do a bit of pre-prep at home, measuring and combining ingredients so that it’s a quick and easy job at the camp end of things. Here are a few tips to help you have a great outing.
There’s nothing finer than campfire cooking.
Make some genuine camp coffee. Pull the guts out of a percolator, or just use a pan if you like. Do it up right, on the fire or in the coals if you’ve ’em; a Coleman or camp stove will work just fine if you’re camping in a no fire area. Here’s the scoop.
10 tablespoons coffee
10 cups cold water
5 empty eggshells
Tiny pinch of salt
Use a nice, dark roast, medium ground, (a bit rougher than you’d use for a drip at home.) Crush your eggs shells and throw everything into the perc or pot and cover it. Bring to a full boil, then move the pot to lower flame or coals and simmer, covered, for about 6 minutes. Remove pot from heat and Let stand, covered, until the grounds settle, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour off coffee, leaving the grounds and shells in the pot. Even Fannie Farmer herself used this method; try it, you’ll like it!
Knowing and regulating the cooking temperature for a Dutch oven is the real trick. First things first, decide whether you’re going to use charcoal or wood. Charcoal will give you the most consistent heat and control, so that’s what I prefer.
Use high quality hardwood briquettes and avoid the self lighting crap; it burns much hotter and doesn’t last as long as the good stuff. Good charcoal will provide at least an hour of cooking: For recipes that take longer than that, pull expended briquettes and replace them with fresh ones. Keep in mind that the Dutch oven is already hot, so you only need to replace a few briquettes at a time.
Here’s the general rule of thumb for heat regulation with a Lodge or GSI Dutch oven. Note that briquettes are applied to both the bottom and top. To achieve 325° F, take the size of the oven, then use that number of briquettes less three for the bottom and that number plus three for the top. So, with a 12″ oven, you place 9 briquettes on the bottom (12-3) and 15 briquettes on the top (12+3). Adding one set of briquettes (one on top and one on bottom) will raise the temperature of the Dutch Oven approximately 25 degrees, (Conversely, removing one set of briquettes will lower the temperature by 25 degrees). Here’s a handy little chart that’ll help a bunch.
That said, you do want to vary the ratio of briquette placement on the top and bottom of your oven, depending on what you’re cooking. Here are some guidelines.
* For simmering food, place 1/3 of the total briquettes on the lid and 2/3 under the oven.
* For baking bread, rolls, biscuits, cakes, pies, and rising cobblers, place 2/3 of the total briquettes on the lid and 1/3 underneath the oven.
* For roasting meats, poultry, casseroles, quiche, vegetables, and non-rising cobblers, use an even 50% on the lid and underneath the oven.
Heat placement around the Dutch oven is crucial to yield the best cooking results. Briquettes placed under the oven should be arranged in a circular pattern right under it and come to no less than 1/2″ from the outside edge of the oven. Briquettes placed on the lid should be spread out in an even checkerboard pattern. Avoid bunching briquettes; that’ll cause hot spots.
The Golden Rule of Dutch oven cooking is this; Go Easy With The Heat! You can always do things to get the oven hotter, but if you burn the food, it’s game over.
If you’re cooking over a camp fire, you can still use charcoal. Get the briquettes started in the coals of your fire and then cook with those. Again, it’s just a whole bunch easier to accurately regulate cooking with charcoal than it is with coals, unless you’re a real pro.
Keep in mind that environmental factors, (Air temperature, humidity, altitude, wind), all influence how much heat is generated by burning briquettes. Cool air temperatures, high altitudes, shade, and high humidity will decrease the amount of heat generated by briquettes. Hot air temperatures, low altitude, direct sunlight, and wind will increase the amount of heat generated by briquettes. In real windy conditions, briquettes will burn faster due to increased air flow, and they won’t last as long.
Here are a couple of our favorite recipes for you to try on your next outing.
Spanish Frittata
6 large Eggs
2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Jalapeño Chile
1 Tomato
2 Yukon Gold Potatoes
5-6 sprigs Cilantro
1 clove Garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Pepper
At home, mix eggs, milk, sour cream, cheese, salt, and pepper, and blend well. Store refrigerated.
At camp, stem, seed, and core tomato and jalapeño, then fine dice.
Mince Cilantro and garlic.
Dice potatoes.
Combine all ingredients. Add to a preheated Dutch oven. Follow the ratio for roasting, (50% – 50%), and cook for 45 minutes, then check dish. When eggs have risen about double height and the frittata is firm in the center, it’s good to go. Serve with salsa, more sour cream and toast.
Dutch oven roasting with a 50%-50% coal mix
Here’s a great French Toast Casserole, perfect for the first morning in camp. The initial prep can be done at home, then set up for breakfast the night before in camp.
1 Loaf Sourdough Bread
8 large Eggs
2 Cups 1/2 & 1/2
1 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
Pinch of Sea Salt
Maple Syrup
In a mixing bowl at home, combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk by hand until thoroughly blended. Store blend in a Tupperware container with an airtight lid.
In camp the night before breakfast, slice the Sourdough about 1″ thick. Arrange the slices, overlapped, in a large Tupperware container or bowl with a snap lid.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are evenly covered. Lift the slices and make sure the batter gets all around the bread. Keep in a cooler until morning.
On breakfast morning, carefully transfer the bread to a well buttered Dutch oven. Pour all the remaining batter in as well.
Follow the briquette ratio for baking, (1/3 on bottom, 2/3 on top), and bake for 45 minutes, until the casserole has puffed up and turned light golden brown. Serve with warm maple syrup and butter.
I see a bunch of new visitors, and we like that indeed: Thank you for checking us out.
If you poke around the archives a bit, you’ll get the gist of what we do here. UrbanMonique is designed to bring a bit of the professional Chef’s craft to your home kitchen. Whether it’s tried and true recipes, a little food science and history, or tips and tricks behind the operation of a professional kitchen, I believe you’ll find something to be inspired by. We strive to make sourcing, cooking, growing and preserving food fun, and maybe even interesting.
Please consider signing up via email to get notified when a new post comes out; we put up new threads weekly, and often enough more frequently than that.
And finally, we’d love to do something special up for y’all. If you need a custom recipe, are stumped by a food or process, or bored with the same old thing, leave a message and we’ll get right back to you. Just this week we’ve worked up puréed broccoli, a custom bacon cure, and a house made piña colada. What can we do for you?
Homemade dressings taste, feel, look, and are better for you.
Who knows what evil lurks inside?
I have a running food joke; it’s, “I love salad bars, because you can get all sorts of bad stuff and still pretend it’s good for you.” The reality here is that the one ingredient that’s truly not good for you nine times out of ten is dressing. The reason? Because most of the time we’re using commercial dressing. Just the other day, I urged y’all to read the ingredients on something as simple as a can of black beans. Reading the label on the vast majority of store bought bottled dressing is anything but simple.
You’re going to find stuff in 99% of the commercial dressing out there that you probably don’t want to eat, even if they say ‘Organic’, ‘Natural’, etc.; big agribusiness figured out that a lot of us like foods that are better for us these days, and they’ll do anything and everything to not lose our business, including trying to make themselves look like they’re onboard the healthy food train.
The main culprits in the You Don’t Wanna Eat That pantheon are the additives. Sure, the FDA says this stuff is safe in small quantities, but there’s a couple of problems with that. First off, the FDA has a serious track record of approving stuff that turned out to not be good for us, and secondly, even if they were safe, they might well be nutritional bad juju. Remember my piece on corn a while back, how we outlined varieties that aren’t used for eating straight away, but are used in a lot of processed foods? That choice isn’t made because of superior quality. Processed food is rife with substandard, cheap ingredients because making a profit is job one. The vast majority of commercial salad dressings contain way too much fat, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, salt/sodium, unhealthy oils, and way, way too many unpronounceable chemicals.
Reading the label prompted this harangue. M checked out a bottle of Famous Label Ranch: Let’s have a look at what she found. This is not gonna be an exciting post, but it’s important; what you’ll learn here will apply to the stuff in 90%+ of the processed food out there. If it scares you, that’s good.
Commercial ranch dressing; what’s in there?!
First ingredient, (and therefore, the greatest percentage of the overall recipe), is profit, with a pinch of advertising, bottling, and production; that is, uber alles, what we’re buying, right?
Second ingredient, water. That’s the dominant note in actual ingredients. I’m not thrilled about paying $3 to $4 for water, and while we’re at it, I’d kinda like to know what water; from where, processed or filtered how? Hmmm…
Next comes soybean oil; got any of that in your pantry? No? Soybean oil is a highly refined, high heat processed fat. Soybeans don’t give up their oil easily. Far and away the most common extraction method is to employ the industrial solvent Hexane, a highly toxic petroleum byproduct. After being treated with hexane, the oil is heated enough to remove the toxin, or so they say. Next, the oil is treated with hydrogen, (hydrogenated), so that it will blend with water and not spoil quickly. Hydrogenated oils are synonymous with the term ‘Trans Fats’. Let’s just be perfectly clear that this process is done to save money and increase profit; it’s not good for us in any way, shape, or form. Trans fats increase bad cholesterol, (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL), and decrease good cholesterol, (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL). Furthermore, they block the production of chemicals that combat inflammation and benefit our hormonal and nervous systems, while simultaneously allowing chemicals to work that increase inflammation. Finally, soy is higher in phytoestrogens than just about any other food source. Phytoestrogens mimic estrogen in our bodies, and that propensity is known to be a leading cause of breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, infertility, and low libido. In other words, we really aughta avoid this shit like the plague.
Next comes buttermilk, but again, who made it, from what source? Buttermilk is great, but it’s kinda back to the corn argument vis a vis quality, I think.
Next we have maltodextrin; this is a polysaccharide, an artificial sweetener manufactured by applying acids or other enzymes to cornstarch. Unlike simple, natural sweeteners, maltodextrin does not provide any long-term energy benefits that a natural complex carbohydrate will. Those contain vitamins and minerals that help your body use the carbs as energy; maltodextrin doesn’t. It’s also a very large molecule, so your body has to use up a chunk of its own supply of vitamins and minerals to assimilate it. The end result of eating this stuff is that it leads to depletion of important vitamins and minerals. There are also potential side effects to ingesting maltodextrin, including allergic reactions like rashes, asthma, itching and difficulty breathing.
Next two ingredients are sugar and salt, and again, I ask, what sugar and what salt and from where. Care to bet they’re not super high quality stuff?
Now we get to the rest of the things this dressing is made of, all of which are prefaced with ‘Less than 2% of’. Among the ingredients we’ll explore further, you’ll find reasonably good things like garlic, egg yolk, celery purée, carrot purée, dried onion, vinegar, onion purée, and corn oil. All of these could be good stuff for a dressing, but they’re here in tiny amounts and once again, we have no idea of the provenance or quality. Given we’re talking Big Agribiz, chances are very good that the quality sucks.
Onward; next we get ‘natural flavor (Soy)’. Sounds pretty harmless, right? No such luck. Manufacturers these days are acutely aware that a whole bunch of us don’t want Monosodium Glutamate, (MSG), in our food. Even if they say ‘No MSG’ on the label, they well may be lying to us flat out. Why? Because MSG is cheap, and very effective at adding umami taste, that mysterious savory note. Unfortunately, MSG just ain’t good for ya. Side effects can include burning sensations, weakness of the limbs, headaches, upset stomach, and hives or other allergic reactions. Ingredients labeled like the one we found here, as well as ‘yeast extract,’ or ‘hydrolyzed soy protein,’ are nothing more than MSG in disguise. And there’s another example of things the FDA lets manufacturers get away with that they maybe shouldn’t.
Next up on the rogue’s gallery, Modified Food Starch. This stuff is made by physically, enzymatically or chemically altering starch to extend its shelf life, and little else. The most common types of modified food starch are made from corn, wheat, potatoes, and tapioca. Half way decent labels will tell you what kind you’re about to eat, reading something like ‘Modified Corn Starch’. The kicker is that, unless it is derived from one of the top eight allergens as determined by the FDA, they don’t have to tell you from whence it came. You don’t need it or want it in your diet, and that’s a fact.
Next comes Soy Lecithin, which is incredibly pervasive in processed foods. It’s an emulsifier used to help blend disparate ingredients. In other words, it’s something used solely to keep things looking like they should for longer than we aughta be comfortable with. To make soy lecithin, soy oil is ‘degummed,’ mixed with water until the lecithin is hydrated and separates out. It’s then dried, and sometimes bleached with hydrogen peroxide. See above about soy, and ’nuff said.
Then we have Carrageenan. This stuff is an extract of seaweed, and the refining processes are not particularly nefarious, so this should be OK, right? Not necessarily. Although it’s allowed in almost everything over here in America, it’s restricted in the EU, due to possible health concerns regarding inflammation, gut irritation, and even cancer. It’s in here as a thickener, which I’ll point out, we wouldn’t need if they were making this stuff from real, wholesome ingredients.
On to Phosphoric Acid; got a bottle of that on your pantry shelf? It’s in this dressing to make stuff taste tangy, which real vinegar and buttermilk in proper proportion do just fine all on their own. Why is it here? Because it’s a ridiculously cheap, mass-produced chemical. It’s also commonly used for rust removal, by the way. Some Phosphorus is good for you, and fortunately, compounds containing it occur naturally at very low concentrations in milk, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and egg yolks, (AKA, stuff you might add to real dressings if you were of a mind). Phosphoric acid, on the other hand, has been linked to lower bone density in some epidemiological studies. There are also studies that refute those claims, (Those ones were funded by PepsiCo, FYI…)
Next comes Artificial Flavor. That’s it, just ‘artificial flavor’. Neat, huh?
Next comes Disodium Phosphate, which is made by treating phosphoric acid with a sodium compound. It’s in our dressing here to enhance texture and increase shelf life, (Is that shelf life thing starting to sound like a broken record?) In addition to enhancing your dressing, it’s used in cleaning products, pesticides, and as a corrosion inhibitor.
And then we get Xanthan Gum. This fermented corn sugar polysaccharide sweetener gets its name from a strain of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris, which happens to be the exact same bacteria that causes black rot on broccoli, cauliflower and leafy vegetables. The bacteria forms a slimy substance which acts as a natural stabilizer or thickener. Combined with corn sugar, you get a colorless goo used to increase viscosity and generate a quality known as ‘pseudoplasticity.’ That means that when the product is shaken, it will thin out, and then thicken back up after you stop shaking it.
Next we have it right there in black and white, Monosodium Glutamate; that makes a double dose.
Artificial Color is next, and again, that’s it, just ‘artificial color’.
Next, we get Disodium Inosinate, the first cousin of the Disodium Phosphate above. This junk is used to enhance the effect of MSG. It’s an artificial ingredients there to enhance another artificial ingredient.
Then we got the second cousin, Disodium Guanylate, a chemical additive that intensifies savory flavors. AKA, another artificial to enhance artificials.
Finally, we have Sorbic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, and Potassium Sodium EDTA, ‘as preservatives.’ Sorbic acid occur naturally in many plants, and is also made synthetically; the second ingredient is a salt of the first. Both of these are effective at inhibiting certain strains of yeasts and molds, but they’re not that effective against bacteria. The third member of this troika, Potassium Sodium EDTA, is another story. First off, it’s made from formaldehyde, sodium cyanide, and Ethylenediamine, none of which you should be thrilled about. Secondly, the EDTA part is short for Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, a chemical salt used to separate heavy metals from dyes and other industrial substances. Beyond that concern for human ingestion, EDTA breaks down in the environment into ethylenediamine triacetic acid and then diketopiperazine. Diketopiperazine is a persistent organic pollutant, similar to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT). Heard enough? Wait, there’s more… See, although your FDA has deemed this stuff safe, it has also put it on a priority list of food additives to be studied for mutagenic, teratogenic, and reproductive effects, AKA, the FDA wants to study it further to see if it is associated with birth defects, cancer or reproductive problems. This ingredient has potential side effects including cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, low blood pressure, skin problems, and fever. Too much of it can do irreparable liver damage. There, now you’ve heard enough.
There you have it. For the record, ranch, cheesy, or creamy commercial dressings are generally the worst offenders when it comes to artificial ingredients, because all that crap is needed to keep something ranchy or creamy way longer than it should be. Don’t even get me started on the fat free or reduced fat stuff; those often have more artificial ingredients in them than the regular versions. Suffice it to note that those versions will not help your body absorb all the nutrients in a fresh salad at all, which natural fats can and will do. What about those dressings kept in the refrigerated section; are they better than their shelf-stable companions? Short answer, you gotta read the labels. Several of the most popular brands are made with soybean oil and still contain a bunch of artificial crap.
To be fair, there are artisanal and organic dressings out there made with good expeller-pressed vegetable oils like canola or sunflower. Expeller-pressed means those oils are mechanically derived instead of extracted via the use of nasty chemicals. The companies that use them usually make a point of putting it on the label, so, as with all things commercial, if it doesn’t say expeller pressed, it probably ain’t.
Granted, not all food additives are bad; salt, sugar, and other naturally derived substances have allowed us to preserve and store food safely for thousands of years. I suppose that some of the artificial stuff we’ve just outlined have a place, given the worldwide food distribution system and the need for folks to eat something when they have nothing; on an occasional basis, bad food is better than starving. I believe wholeheartedly that the majority of issues folks have with food intolerance is due to the ubiquity of all this crap in processed foods. The popular thing these days is to blame everything on gluten, and fact is, that’s probably bullshit. Less than 1% of us are actually gluten intolerant. It’s not the natural stuff, gang, it’s all this artificial crap, and you can take that to the bank.
The fact remains that the whole ‘Green Revolution’ we began foisting on the world back in the middle of the 20th century has been largely a catastrophic failure. Powered by fossil fuels and chemistry, increased yields have lead to large scale poisoning of the earth, us humans, and myriad other critters. The backlash against processed food and unsustainable agricultural practices is needed every bit as much in second and third world countries, where a lack of nutritional content can mean not just obesity, but life or death.
The answer is to take back control of our food. Buy with intelligence. Buy locally when you can. Always buy quality. Make and grow everything you can at home. Not only is this absolutely much better for you, it tastes, smells, looks and feels better. Add nutrients, flavor, and health benefits, instead of taking those things away. Here’s how.
Dressings are emulsions, an acid suspended in an oil with some herbs and spices. That utter simplicity is the beauty of a good dressing. As with all things good to eat, the fresher and higher the quality of your ingredients, the better the final product. Start with nothing more than great oil and vinegar, and you’ll have amazing dressing, guaranteed. Change the oils and vinegars, and you’ve got variety right there.
First off, the good oils. We’re looking for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated varieties, and there are a good few out there. Canola, sunflower, safflower, and walnut oils are all polyunsaturated. Olive and peanut, (yes, peanut, my fave frying oil), are monounsaturated. Olive oil all by itself offers a wide variety of flavor profiles; you can and should spend years just exploring those. Use the canola, safflower, or sunflower for dressings when you want other flavors to speak louder than the oil. Opt for good extra virgin olive oil when that flavor note will contribute to the finished dressing. Naturally, you don’t want to use a highly flavored, pricy finishing oil in a complex dressing recipe.
Poly and Mono Unsaturated Oils
Next, comes vinegar, and there are once again a myriad of varieties and infused options to try. And of course you can and should make your own, too. Among the common varieties you’ll find, distilled white vinegar has a sharp flavor profile that goes nicely with delicate herbs and spices. Cider vinegar has a sweet tang that compliments fruit and vegetables with a sweet note of their own. Red Wine vinegar is a bit heartier and blends well with vegetables. Malt vinegar is one of my faves, with a great balance of tang and sweet. Rice vinegar is a lighter, more delicate taste if you prefer things a bit less zippy. Balsamic vinegar is a world unto itself, enough for a future post, in fact; its richness and depth prompts me to say that you really don’t want to mix it with much more than good oil and a little salt and pepper. For daily use, a moderately priced balsamic will do just fine.
Vinegar varieties run wild, and so should you!
By the way, there are plenty of other acids to use for house made dressings. Citrus is a great alternative, so try lemon, Meyer lemon, lime, orange, blood orange, as well as pink and white grapefruit. Other tangy fruits with a dominant acidic note will work as well. Mango is one of my favorites, but tomato, tomatillo, kiwi, strawberry and blackberry are also stellar. Squeeze and strain citrus, or purée and strain the others to use them as a dressing base with your favorite oil. With flavorful options like these, you may find yourself not wanting to add much of anything else.
Acidic fruits make great dressings
Likewise, you can use booze or tangy dairy in place of vinegar. The inherent smoky wood and sugar notes of bourbon, or the sweet tang of rum make fabulous dressings. You can use booze straight away, or do a quick flambé to flash off the alcohol and concentrate the flavors. And frankly, there’s nothing like a creamy version made with fresh, local yoghurt, or genuine homemade buttermilk ranch. Contrary to popular belief and its name, buttermilk has less fat and is lower in calories than whole milk. The natural tang comes from lactic acid produced during fermentation. The curdling process also makes buttermilk thicker than milk, which is perfect for dressing.
Booze in dressing? Oh my, yes! Buttermilk & Yoghurt make fabulous creamy dressings.
Adding fresh herbs and spices yields yet more variety, as well as providing a little shot of nutrients and antioxidants with virtually no calories. Try what you like, and then branch out; sage, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, thyme, cilantro, and so on. Here again, think of the varieties of just one of these you can grow, like thyme or basil; each of those will give a totally unique finished dressing.
Don’t miss out on fresh veggies in your dressing either. Garlic, shallot, sweet onion, green onion, cilantro, parsley, lemongrass, peppers, chiles, even puréed root vegetables will make spectacular dressing. Like beets? Try my vinaigrette made with ’em.
Finally, dressings are a perfect showcase for all those varietal and smoked salts and peppers I’ve been yammering at you about. In a small batch of fresh dressing, just changing these will be a whole new ball game as well.
Finishing salts and peppers at custom zing to house made dressings.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started. With all of these versions, it’s best to blend with a fork or a whisk and then let the finished product sit for 30 minutes or longer to allow flavors to develop and marry. These are scaled for two to four folks to enjoy fresh, which for my mind is the way dressing aughta be done; if the volumes seem small, that’s because they are. Dressing should compliment the flavors of a salad, not drown ’em.
Fresh salad and dressing; hungry yet?
Dijon Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Pinch of Sea Salt
Variant: Add 1/2 teaspoon of good local honey or agave nectar.
Citrus Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice and zest of 1-2 fresh navel Oranges
Juice and zest of 1 fresh small Lime
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variant: sub Meyer Lemon for oranges, add 1 teaspoon local honey or agave nectar.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Creamy Vinaigrette
1/2 Cup plain Greek Yoghurt
3-4 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
Juice and zest of 1 small Lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried Dill
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variant: Add 1 teaspoon Poppy Seed
Mediterranean Vinaigrette
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Tomato Purée
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed Lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon granulated Garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried Basil
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variants: Add chopped capers, or sun dried tomatoes.
Smoky Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon Malt Vinegar
1 Tablespoon minced Sweet Onion
1 teaspoon local Honey
1/2 teaspoon Sweet Smoked Paprika
Pinch Alderwood Smoked Salt
A few twists of Smoked Pepper
Garlic Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed Lemon juice
2-3 cloves freshly pressed Garlic
1/2 teaspoon BasPinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variant: Add 1 Tablespoon Tomato purée.
Veggie Vinaigrette (For marinating or sautéing veggies)
Juice and zest of 1 large or 2 small Lemons
1/4 Cup canola Oil
1 Tablespoon Malt Vinegar
1 Tablespoon minced Sweet Onion
1 clove minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Sweet Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
A few twists fresh ground Pepper
Blend all and refrigerate for at least an hour prior to marinating or sautéing. Really nice over hot vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, or green beans.
Raspberry Vinaigrette
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons puréed fresh Raspberries
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed Orange Juice
1/2 teaspoon Agave Nectar
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variants: Sub blackberries for raspberries, lime juice for lemon. Sub blueberries and orange juice.
Beet Vinaigrette
1/2 Cup Beet Purée
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon creamed Horseradish
1-2 drops Vanilla extract
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variants: try any of your favorite roots veggies in place of the beets.
Add 2 Tablespoons of buttermilk for a creamy dressing.
Honey Mustard
1/2 Cup plain Greek Yoghurt
3-4 Tablespoons Safflower Oil
1-2 teaspoons dried Mustard
1 Tablespoon local Honey
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Buttermilk Ranch
1/2 Cup fresh Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Crema (creme fraîche or sour cream is OK too)
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon minced Celery Leaf
1 clove freshly pressed Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Malt Vinegar
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Shot or two Tabasco Sauce
Whisk all like you were making whipped cream. Refrigerate in glass with an airtight lid for at least an hour and up to overnight before serving; like great potato salad, it’s actually better the next day.
Bourbon Vinaigrette
4 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1 tablespoon Bourbon
1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon real Maple Syrup
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Variant: Add 1/4 cup plain Greek Yoghurt for a creamy alternative.
Buttermilk Rum Dressing
4 Tablespoons Safflower Oil
1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
1 Tablespoon Malt Vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed Lime juice
4-5 sprigs minced Cilantro
1 clove fresh pressed Garlic
1/4 teaspoon Habanero Chile Sauce
Pinch of Sea Salt
A few twists of fresh ground Pepper
Infused vinegars can be made safely and easily at home, and as with most things house made, they’re far superior to the commercial alternatives.
Chile infused malt vinegar
Vinegar has truly come into its own these days. Not so long ago, you might find white, cider and maybe some red in most stores; Now you can find a truly amazing assortment of varietal and infused vinegars. Here again though, its caveat emptor. Many commercial vinegars, like most other processed foods, contain stuff you don’t want or need to put in your body. Then there’s the price; typically I see $4 to $8 for 12 ounces or so of a flavored vinegar.
Here’s my guarantee; buying what you need to make these will cost a tiny fraction of that kinda dough. Make them yourself at home. Plain old white vinegar is great for making your own infused varieties, though you can and should try some others as well. Decent jugs of white, red, cider, and even wine can be bought quite inexpensively and mixed at home. Keep in mind that wine and rice vinegars contain protein that provides an excellent medium for bacterial growth, so proper storage and FIFO practices are critical when using them for home infusion.
With the recent interest in home fermenting, you may even decide to make your own vinegar at home, (But that’s a later post).
Fact is, Infused vinegars can be made safely and easily at home, and as with most things house made, they’re far superior to the commercial alternatives. There are, of course, a couple of very important caveats.
1. They are best stored in the refrigerator, and
2. Garlic, vegetable, and herbs in vinegar can still support the growth of C. botulinum bacteria.
For these reasons, vinegars should be made fresh in relatively small batches, refrigerated and used within a couple of months; no great burden there. Here’s the scoop to safely make your own at home.
Use only crack and Nick free glass jars with a good seal for infusing.
Wash your hands and other equipment well before starting any food preparation work. I like good quality, wide mouth canning jars for their ease of loading and unloading.
Sterilize your jars in a pan of water at a rolling boil for five minutes. Remove jars to a clean paper towel to dry. Fill your jars while they’re still warm. Caps and stoppers should be dropped into boiling waters, then immediately taken off the heat. Leave them in the hot water until you’re ready to use them.
Herbs and spices need to be blanched; this will help keep them safe and also makes them look downright lovely in your jars. Use only the best, freshest, cleanest leaves and flowers with no brown spots, wilt, or other lesions. Picking fresh herbs first thing in the morning is a best practice. Prepare a pan of water at a rolling boil, with an ice bath, (50% ice and water), along side. Plunge your herbs I to the boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer I’m immediately to the ice bath for about 30 seconds. Remove from ice bath and place on clean paper towels for use. A good general ratio is 3 tablespoons of herbs to a pint of vinegar; start there and adjust as you see fit.
Fruit is wonderful in an infused vinegar; strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, citrus, pears, mangoes and kiwis are all great candidates. The peel, (no white pith) and meat of a citrus fruit, or 1 cup of other fruit per pint of vinegar is a good starting ratio.
Veggies like onion, shallot, garlic, ginger, tomato, chiles, make great infusions as well. Of course you can always follow the Rule of Three in this pursuit as well. Garlic-Lime-Dill, Lemon-Jalapeño-Cilantro, or Juniper-Pepper-Kiwi anyone?
Try threading fruits and veggies into a thin bamboo skewer for easy insertion and removal. Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables with clean water and peel, if necessary, before use. Small fruits and vegetables may be halved or left whole; large ones will need to be sliced or cubed.
When choosing a vinegar for infusion, consider the flavor profile of the variety and what you want to infuse. Cider vinegar goes great with fruit. Distilled white works best with delicate herbs and spices. Red and white wine vinegars work well with garlic and tarragon. Malt or cider works very nicely with veggies.
When you’re ready to infuse, sterilize the jars or bottles you’ll use to store your vinegars in as you did the infusing jars above. I reuse hot sauce bottles for this and they do quite nicely, but new bottles are not pricy, and are a nice treat if you’re making this stuff for gifts.
Heat your vinegar to 190° F, then carefully pour over the herbs and cap tightly, (A canning funnel will come in really handy for this process.) Allow your vinegars to stand for three to four weeks in a cool, dark place for full flavor development.
Infused vinegars resting, building flavor
When they’re ready, strain the vinegar through damp cheesecloth over a colander, chinoise or double mesh strainer. As you would with house made stock, continue to filter until the vinegar runs clear. Discard whatever you used to infuse with. You can add a fresh sprig of herb, fruit, etc in the bottle if it’ll fit, but follow the ingredient prep directions above if you do. Seal tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
UrbanMonique 