What is Caesar Vinaigrette?
Caesar vinaigrette is a salad dressing commonly used in Caesar salads and other dishes. It combines ingredients such as olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and anchovies and whisking or blending them together to create a creamy emulsion. Caesar vinaigrette has a tangy, salty, and slightly umami flavor, often enhanced by adding Parmesan cheese and black pepper. It can be used as a salad dressing, a marinade for grilled chicken or fish, or a dip for vegetables or bread.
What does Caesar Vinaigrette Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Sour is one of the five main tastes. It is tart and bright, sometimes with a mouth-puckering quality. Sour is a naturally occurring flavor found in many foods, including citrus, vinegar, various dairy products, and certain fruits. Sour is used to enhance a dish or drink and is used as both a main and complimentary flavor.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Olive oil is extracted from the fresh olive, which grows on a tree. Many olives are needed in the extraction of the oil. This is done by a mechanical process and sometimes by a chemical process, though the mechanical method is highly preferred. Olive oil is a golden color and changes slightly due to whether it is extra virgin, or first cold pressed. The flavor of olive oil depends on how it was processed. Lower quality oils will taste mild, while high quality olive oils will have a robust flavor that is green, or may have a spicy quality. Extra virgin and first cold pressed or preferred. Olive oil lends a depth of flavor to any savory dish.
White wine is an alcoholic beverage made mainly from green, white or yellow grapes. Red grapes are occasionally used. The wine goes through a fermentation process before bottling and potentially aging. Common white wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. White wine is a pale yellow color and varies in shade, depending on the kind of wine. The flavor is milder than red wine and has less tannins. White wine can be sweet or dry and range across many flavors, including fruity, citrusy, floral, minerally and oaky. The ABV hovers between 12.5% - 14.5%. It is best served cool.
Parmesan, also called Parmigiano-Reggiano is a type of aged cow's milk cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano must be made in Italy and is the authentic real deal. Parmesan is extremely similar, but made outside of Italy and may use slightly different methods, depending on the maker and brand. Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano is aged for an average of two years and comes in a wheel shape that is cut into smaller wedges. It has a golden color and a texture than is hard and grainy. The flavor is intense, salty and extremely umami. It perks up many savory food items.
True balsamic vinegar is a non-alcoholic vinegar made from cooked grapes. It has a rich, dark red/brown color and a flavor that is tart, fruity and strong. True balsamic vinegar is slightly thick, though many balsamic vinegar brands are thin and paler in color and made from wine vinegar rather than traditional methods. Balsamic pairs well with many foods from salad dressings, to fish, meat vegetables and even dessert.
Dijon is a French city from which this popular mustard originated. In the Middle Ages this area of France was known for mustard making. Dijon is now produced in many countries and has a muted yellowy/beige color. It is a smooth textured mustard, without whole mustard seeds and has a robust flavor that is strong, with a good heat and a hint of pungency. Mustard is spread onto sandwiches, used in sauces and has a number of delicious applications.
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar is extracted from the juice of both plants and refined into the granulated substance known as sugar. Sucrose, the sweet substance of sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. White sugar is composed of tiny white, dry granules. The flavor is sweet and neutral. Brown sugar is brown and has more moisture, with a richer flavor that hints at molasses. Sugar is used in both sweet and savory foods.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
Lemon zest is used in dishes to brighten the flavors and add a lemon flavor that is floral, citrusy, and anything but sour. Lemon zest comes from the yellow skin of the lemon. When using zest, none of the white pith underneath should be used, as it tastes bitter. The skin is shaved off in tiny pieces and this is what is called lemon zest, which also refers to the small size. The zest contains aromatic lemon oil and not juice. The small size of the zest makes it easy to incorporate into dishes such as pasta or into a cake batter.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Italian seasoning is an herb blend used in many Italian or Italian-American dishes. The flavors lend themselves well to the hearty and often rich flavors of Italy. This blend is composed of dried and ground herbs, including oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil and rosemary. These flavors create a sweat and spiced blend of peppery and and mildly sharp tastes. The spice is a mix of muted green colors.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
