What is a vinaigrette?
A. A vinaigrette is a slightly thickened salad dressing, usually made from oil, vinegar and seasonings. Traditionally olive oil is used, but other oils such as sunflower or walnut are sometimes substituted or mixed with it. The vinegar is usually wine based – red, white or balsamic, but lemon juice is occasionally used instead. The term is mostly used to describe a type of dressing where the oil and water (vinegar) components separate out over time- often because they have little or insufficient stabiliser (see also the entry on Xanthan Gum below). Such dressings can be easily recombined by shaking the bottle. Just make sure the bottle cap is firmly on!
