The crucial components of any good salad dressing: Acid. Oil. Salt. And sugar.
Yes, sugar. Think about how a few drops of golden honey complete a peppery Dijon vinaigrette. Sugar is just like any other seasoning: when added in the right amount, it can balance out and mellow other flavors. Just as a squeeze of lemon can add a needed punch of flavor to a pan sauce, a spoonful of sugar (or agave or maple syrup) will make all of your salad dressings pop.
To get the proportions right, add a pinch of sugar or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon liquid sweetener for every tablespoon of vinegar in your dressing. How do you know which sweetener to use? Anything you have on hand will work, but here are some flavor-pairing suggestions:
Add just a drizzle of honey to your next mustard-based dressing to soften the condimentās bite. Combine it with citrus (orange juice is especially good) for a sweet and sour note thatāll definitely get you to eat your vegetables.
No matter how you feel about agave's much-debated nutritional value, thereās no denying its magic in a vinaigrette. With a milder flavor and easier solubility than honey, agave is a great all-purpose addition to any salad dressing.
Raw sugars, like demerara and turbinado, are more than just pretty stir-ins for your morning latte. They also work in a pinch (literally!) for adding sweetness to a salad. Since these sugars are usually coarserāand thus more difficult to dissolveāthan granulated sugar, add them along with the acidic element in a dressing and whisk until completely dissolved before drizzling in the oil.
Thereās a reason why buttery toast calls out for jam. The acidity and sweetness of the fruit lightens up the richness of the dairyāthe balance is addictive. Try the same principle in a salad dressing with the jam of your choice. Make a raspberry vinaigrette (yeah, 1997ās calling you), stir orange marmalade into a ginger dressing, or use apricot jam in your next blue cheeseāstudded salad.
Maple syrup is for more than just the breakfast table. It's a perfect accent for salads with earthy root vegetables, roasted ingredients, and toasted nuts. Maple syrup's flavor is stronger than that of agave or honey, so add it just to taste.
Want to get even richer than maple syrup? Add a drop of thick molasses to give a salad dressing extra complexity. (When the temperature dips, a deeply flavored dressing makes having salad seem just right.) Try a molasses-sweetened dressing with hearty grain or bean salads.
