Written by Jack Rasmussen, American Author and Actor
Jack Rasmussen is a leader in the worlds of performance science, the food industry, religion, education, and entertainment. Growing up in Silicon Valley and studying Business, Cinema, and Journalism at the University of Southern California has allowed him to explore creative pathways to raise people's vibration and meta-awareness within their respective fields.
Salads are dressed in many ways, and many people need to realize the abundance of neat and suave dresses that a salad can wear. How can one keep up with the many tastes that top the salad, from light Italian to tangy Caesar to creamy Ranch or Blue Cheese to sweet Thousand Island? Where have all these dressings come from, and more importantly, which dressing is the best? Or is it even across the table? From the pure spotty white of ranch to the vibrant salmon of Thousand Island, dressings equally boast lovely flavor and color.
The quintessential sauces: The versatile OGs
Some salad dressings revitalize protein, crackers, and other food groups rather than only vegetables. These sauces have become omnipresent in dining rooms worldwide, adding a creamy texture and sweet or savory undertone or outer layer to food while brightening the plate.
Ranch (spotty white pearl)
Let us begin with the simple yet sophisticated ranch. Perhaps the most popular salad sauce today, known for accompanying fries, chicken nuggets, vegetables, and other snacks, is also a staple for lettuce. Doritos even created a flavor based on the taste: Cool Ranch. Ranch’s zestiness comes from a combo of buttermilk, mayo, sour cream, and herbs. According to The New York Times, a plumber named Steve Henson came up with the ranch in the 1950s, and he started to sell it after his close circle enjoyed it under the moniker Hidden Valley (Moskin, 2018).
Thousand Island (tangerine peach pink)
Next, the beloved Thousand Island, which is often my choice due to its sweet flavor and mysterious pinkish-orange color. It makes a salad a dessert. According to NPR, the name comes from the chain of islands between northern New York and Canada. One legend describes the creation as a happy mistake from Waldorf-Astoria owner George Boldt during lunch on a steam yacht with his wife, Louise Boldt. Because the Boldts’ chef forgot to bring dressing for their salad, curious George improvised with mayo, ketchup, relish, Worcestershire sauce, and a hard-boiled egg. Another origin story credits Sophia Lalonde with the original recipe, the former owner of The Thousand Islands Inn with her husband, George Lalonde. Because of the salad craze at the end of the 19th century due to the dawn of refrigerated train cars that could ship lettuce coast to coast, both Lalonde and Boldt likely concocted the dressing simultaneously. Russian dressing was also invented during the same period and is similar in flavor and color profile (Botero, 2016).
Honey mustard (golden hornet yellow)
Honey mustard is a homerun. The dynamic amber honey and yellow mustard duo will live on forever because of its sweetness and tanginess. According to SPICEography, pairing these two ingredients has been around since Ancient Egypt, when honey was utilized to soften mustard’s intensity. Ancient Rome was also an early home to honey mustard, as the Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria included a mustard sauce recipe with mustard seeds, honey, black pepper, and dill used for basting boar. Honey mustard also shows up in a 13th-century Arabic Al Andalus cookbook. In the mid-20th century, honey mustard became the base for several BBQ sauces, especially in Wisconsin and South Carolina. In the 1970s, a fine dining establishment in Los Angeles called Orange Hill garnered much press because of its novel honey mustard salad dressing. Usually, the sauce is equal parts honey and mustard to keep a balance. However, Britain enjoys a sharper mustard flavor, while France enjoys more subtlety (SPICEography, 2022).
Blue cheese (veiny blue-green oatmeal)
Many Americans choose blue cheese as the rich and cheesy option for a creamy salad or to dip their spicy buffalo wings or crudités. According to TasteAtlas, blue cheese, which combines cheese, milk, vinegar, sour cream or yogurt, mayonnaise, and garlic powder, was first discussed in Fannie Farmer’s 1918 cookbook and then again in Edgewater Hotel Salad Book in 1928. By the 1930s, the sauce had gained popularity due to The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer (TasteAtlas, 2017). Blue cheeses come in many forms: French Roquefort, Italian Gorgonzola, Spanish Cabrales, and Danish blue cheese. According to Chef Stephen Drezga (Chef Stef), Founder of Chef’s Mandala, Danish blue cheese (made from cow’s milk) is milder and less expensive than the other alternatives. In contrast, Roquefort is made from French sheep’s milk and has a distinct taste and texture. I recommend the Roquefort even though I am Danish. However, I tend to favor lighter vinaigrettes over blue cheese to enjoy the salad’s greens and other fresh ingredients (Chef Stef, 2023).
Tahini (light beige to deep brown)
Tahini is a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean classic. According to Adeena Sussman, an acclaimed food writer, it is pure ground sesame seeds with a light and nutty taste. I often see it drizzled on a pita sandwich or served with a hummus platter. When used as a salad dressing, tahini is paired with lemon juice, garlic, and water. Tahini is known for being healthy (vegan) and very versatile, fit for chicken, shrimp, tofu, or simply a bowl of grilled greens (vegetables) (Swift, 2016).
The quintessential sauces of salad: The classic crew
When you think exclusively of salads, salad menus, and salad bars, a few sauces seem inescapable and offer a light counterpart that does not overpower the salad.
Caesar (light nutty yellow)
The first of these go-to sauces is Caesar, a sauce synonymous with salad. Caesar salad dressing is one of my all-time favorites, next to Thousand Island and balsamic vinaigrette. It features beautiful anchovies. Anchovies (salty forage fish) are combined with Parmesan cheese, raw eggs, olive oil, garlic, black pepper, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce drizzled atop Romaine lettuce with croutons. Despite some thinking that the Roman emperor created the dish, it was created very far from Rome in Tijuana, Mexico, by a local restaurant owner named Caesar Cardini. The first concoction was made from leftovers on July 4th, 1924, because of the nonstop business that day. Cardini’s daughter, Rosa, kept the legacy, and Caesar’s Restaurante-Bar continues to run as the ‘Home of the Legendary Caesar’s Salad’ (Gora, 2019).
Vinaigrette (light golden to dark brown)
Vinaigrette is a light classic sauce that has been iterated many times with its oil base to season a salad slightly and healthily. The simple sauce is a combination of oil and vinegar. According to The Association for Dressings & Sauces, Babylonians used oil and vinegar to dress their precious greens almost 2,000 years ago. Many European Monarchs enjoyed eating salads, so dressing formulas cascaded as time passed. In the twentieth century, Americans began using these timeless ingredients (oil, vinegar, lemon juice, spices) to make numerous iterations of the vinaigrette. Today, we see dozens at every grocery store or market. For example, one of my favorite vinaigrettes is balsamic vinaigrette, made from balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil (The Association for Dressings & Sauces, 2018). According to Gourmet Blends, Balsamic vinegar is an aged reduction of sweet white grapes that are boiled to a syrup. Originally used as a disinfectant in the Middle Ages, the first reference of balsamic vinegar was in 1046 when a bottle was given to Emperor Enrico III of Franconia as a gift (Roberto, 2012). Many U.S. restaurants will serve bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for guests to create their desired balance.
Italian (deep orange)
Italian dressing is often a staple on the salad menu, next to ranch, Thousand Island, and blue cheese. It has become the favorite vinaigrette in the United States. According to TasteAtlas, the delicate sauce is created with water, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, bell peppers, sugar, and herbs such as garlic, dill, fennel, and oregano. The dressing dates to 1941 in Massachusetts, when Florence Hanna, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, created it for her husband’s restaurant, The ‘41 Cafe (TasteAtlas, 2017).
French (pale orange or vibrant orange red)
French dressing is a mysterious orange vinaigrette known for its high oil content and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restrictions. Grouped initially with classic vinaigrette in the 19th Century, American diners adapted the recipe to include Worcestershire sauce, onion juice, ketchup, paprika, tabasco, and sugar, creating a brighter red color by the 1920s (Foodicles, 2024).
Russian (creamy pink)
Russian dressing is like a near and dear relative of the pink Thousand Island, basking in the glow of the powerful white and red duo of mayonnaise and ketchup. However, Russian dressing has a twist: chili sauce, horseradish, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. The Washington Post declared that James E. Colburn, from Nashua, New Hampshire, invented the nifty bright sauce in the 1910s and made enough money from selling to retailers and hotels nationwide to retire in 1924. Some believed he called it “Russian dressing” because black caviar was said to be an early ingredient. In contrast, others believe it was because it was supposed to top the Russian-inspired Salad Olivier. Although Thousand Island has eclipsed Russian dressing in today’s world, some companies like Ken’s Steak House Dressings still produce both varieties. Tom Murphy, the brand manager of Ken’s, describes the slight variation in Russian compared to Thousand Island: deeper orange tinge and spicier (Holl, 2014).
Green goddess (sunny green)
The Green Goddess was named after the play The Green Goddess, which starred George Arliss. While in San Francisco in the mid-1920s, Arliss stayed at The Palace Hotel and challenged Chef Philip Roemer to create something new—and voila! The dressing is mayo-based, with herbs stirred into it: parsley, tarragon, chives, and green onions. Over the following decades to today, the salad has built a small yet steady reputation, landing in Helen Evans Brown’s The West Coast Cookbook, Marion Cunningham’s Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Friends and Family, Jessica Battilana’s Repertoire: All the Recipes You Need, Martha Stewart’s Appetizers, Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home, and Melissa Clark’s Kitchen (Quaint Cooking, 2021).
Newer concoctions
Some newer exotic mixes have entered the sauce ring. Several are iterations of the velvety vinaigrette that has satisfied salad-eaters for decades.
Some examples of popular vinaigrettes include Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette, Texas Barbecue Sauce Vinaigrette, Honey-Lemon Dressing, Citrus-Scallion Dressing, and Smoky Orange Vinaigrette (Kautzmann, 2024).
Other rich and creamy options include Sweet and Tangy Mustard Dressing and Alabama-Style White Barbecue Sauce Dressing (Kautzmann, 2024).
Whatever humans eat, the sauce is a necessary addition to any plate. A salad is complete with the dressing, and there is a saucy option for all five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Happy salad serving and greens gobbling!
Jack Rasmussen, American Author and Actor
Jack Rasmussen is a leader in the worlds of performance science, the food industry, religion, education, and entertainment. Growing up in Silicon Valley and studying Business, Cinema, and Journalism at the University of Southern California has allowed him to explore creative pathways to raise people's vibration and meta-awareness within their respective fields. He is the award-winning author of Fine Dining: The Secrets Behind the Restaurant Industry (2022) and Yin Yang: The Elusive Symbol That Explains the World (2023). He has worked with the National Science Foundation, California food banks, and international directors to help alleviate food waste and teach cultural literacy, among other expressions of his storytelling interests. He wants to continue to help serve and inspire global citizens to explore the unexplored and become more cognizant of and comfortable with their authentic presence through sharing his own. His artistic aim stays true: spread thought-provoking peanut butter and connective jelly.
Works cited:
Angela, and Admin. “French Dressing & Italian Dressing, Not Actually from France & Italy.” FOODICLES, 13 Jan. 2024, foodicles.com/french-dressing-italian-dressing/.
“Blue Cheese Dressing: Traditional Dressing from United States of America: Tasteatlas.” World Food Atlas: Discover 17089 Local Dishes & Ingredients, TasteAtlas, 30 Aug. 2017, www.tasteatlas.com/blue-cheese-dressing.
Chef Stef. “Food Fight!! Cheese - Denmark vs. France.” Chef’s Mandala, 28 Mar. 2023.
Gora, L Sasha. “The Surprising Truth about Caesar Salad.” BBC News, BBC, 22 May 2019.
“The History of Green Goddess Dressing.” Quaint Cooking, 8 Oct. 2021.
“History of Salad Dressings.” The Association for Dressings & Sauces, 17 Oct. 2018.
Moskin, Julia. “Ranch Nation.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2018.
Roberto, Leonardo E. A Brief History About Balsamic Vinegar, 17 Feb. 2012.
SPICEography. “Honey Mustard: An Ancient Dipping Sauce.” SPICEography, 21 Feb. 2022.
Swift, Sally. “A Brief History of Tahini.” The Splendid Table, 21 July 2016.
