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how to thicken salad dressing?

11K views 29 replies 9 participants last post by  dougl 
#1 ·
I'm interested in low-cal, no-oil salad dressings. Of course, the best are ones that are slightly clingy. There are at least two ways to achieve this clinginess, I understand. One is with cornstarch, heated with water to thicken, and another is maltodextrin, which is available (a little less conveniently, I guess) at brew supply stores. Of course, the latter is made from the former, and can be a bit sweet. Any information on which is best to use cooking- preservation- or taste-wise? For that matter, I have to assume that corn syrup would be an adequate dressing thickener. Commercially, I believe that low-cal dressings use maltodextrin by default. Why?
 
#5 · (Edited)
OK, so Xanthan gum works. But unless there is a reason to use that instead of the others, why should I? FWIW, it's more expensive than corn starch or maltodextin. I gather that the thickening power of Xanthan gum is the same as cornstarch. I'm looking for a comparative assessment of the various candidates.

Clearly one disadvantage with cornstarch compared to the rest is that you need to heat the stuff up. But my vinaigrette won't care about that.

Again, must be some reason why commercial low-cal dressings use maltodextrin instead of the others.

By the way, I've learned that prepared Dijon mustard is actually a good coagulant. So if you like the flavor, it's an excellent idea. I understand better now where the idea of honey-mustard dressings come from.
 
#10 ·
That's helpful, but it would be nice to see disadvantages as well as advantages. That list doesn't include corn starch, but the need to heat the cornstarch is inconvenient. The need for stability in acidic environments is important, and it looks like Xanthan might be noteworthy in that respect. But it is understood that Maltodextrin has decent acid stability, and it's use in acidic commercial dressings gives extra confidence. Also important is bacterial degradation, and e. coli grows just as well in all of them. Rice syrup solids is another interesting option, though it is a little sweet. That stuff is also available pretty cheaply in brewer supply stores. Yes, beer thickening is a big deal. Imperial stouts have a thick mouth feel, and this is how they get it. Gum arabic is pricey. That's off the table.

There is a substance called "Thick-It", marketed by Walmart that is an established food and beverage thickener. Not sure exactly what it is, but it is described as cornstarch-derived, and works in cold liquids.

I have to assume that with regard to these, the desirability pretty much comes down to cost. Coin flip time.
 
#11 ·
There are several formulations of Thick-It, each using a different ingredient. Google their site; the ingredients are disclosed. They are intended for short-duration use... long enough to get liquids down the gullet of medical patients with swallowing difficulties. Use for longer durations or in other food applications ... who knows?
 
#16 · (Edited)
That is true about HFCS that some commercial dressings are thickened with it. But not many. I just wish I knew the relative advantages and disadvantages of each of these thickeners. Kind of a coin-flip proposition. There may be ten different ways to thicken salad dressing, but the question is WHICH ONE is the one I want. Why should I use one instead of the other?

I'm looking for USE THIS BECAUSE ...
 
#22 · (Edited)
It would be nice to have a recipe for a nice, clingy vinaigrette that uses no oil, but with some added thickener. Take your pick. It actually takes a lot of corn syrup to thicken liquid. 2:1 vinegar:cornsyrup isn't that great, cling-wise.

It would be really helpful for someone with some expertise in thickening with maltodextrin or xantan to weigh in here. As to thickening liquid, rather than solidifying it (e.g. pudding).

In my experience, that's not true that Asian dressings just use sugar. Virtually all use sesame oil.
 
#24 · (Edited)
In my experience, that's not true that Asian dressings just use sugar. Virtually all use sesame oil.
Wow. To state that "virtually all Asian dressings use sesame oil" is such a broad statement that it can only be wrong. Asia is a vast continent with wildly varied cuisines. You've probably simply googled "Asian dressing" and found recipes authored by westerners trying to make a western style salad dressing (oil-vinegar base) only replacing the ingredients with what they deem to be typical Asian flavors. That's not Asian cuisine.

I have study many of the cuisines in various Asian countries (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian to name a few) and I can tell you that many of their dressings do not use oil, no sesame oil at all. For example, very typical Vietnamese dressing, Nước chấm, is based on fish sauce, lemon or lime juice and palm sugar.

Good luck with your maltodextrine corn syrup xanthan gum dressing experiences.
 
#29 ·
Low-fat mayonnaise, mustard and honey can make a good honey mustard, and this could be combined with vinegar for a honey-mustard vinaigrette. it's not fat free or calorie free, but it's still fairly low compared to most salad dressings. I think that's probably going to be your best bet in terms of taste and low cal/fat.

I think any of the starches/gums/etc mentioned would probably throw off the taste of something uncooked like a salad dressing.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Well, sorry to surprise you, but the ingredient list for lo-cal vinaigrette salad dressing OFTEN includes maltodextrin as a thickener. That's a fact. Go look.

So I got some pure maltodextrin and was playing around with it. The stuff is cheap. At a brewer supply store, I got a pound for a few bucks. The issues in my mind were whether it could actually thicken to an oil-like viscosity, and if it added some bad taste. The answer is yes, one can get a very nice oil-like viscosity, but it takes a lot of maltodextrin. Something of order 6:10 maltodextrin:liquid (the credible liquid being vinegar, of course). When you get past 4:10, mere shaking isn't enough to dissolve it. You need to heat the stuff up a bit. 110F seems to do the trick. That won't damage any flavorings. Just pop it in the microwave. No blender necessary. There is virtually no taste. (I did this test with water.) The taste of your salad dressing is pretty much precisely the other ingredients you put in it.

Now, as I said, maltodextrin is often used in making beer to add "mouth feel", which I believe must be viscosity-related. But your average stout will want only 1:100!

Now, it occurs to me that you could, in principle, do this thickening with cornstarch, though you'd need to boil it. You wouldn't want to boil your dressing ingredients, but you COULD boil vinegar with cornstarch to thicken, and THEN add flavorings when cool.

Lots of mythology around here. Hope I helped by providing some facts.
 
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