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In
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Salad Dressing Comes to the Rescue by Linda Joyce Forristal, CCP, MTA
You can search the Web and find information about the history of salad dressings. They go back to ancient times and in their simplistic form contain oil and some acid like vinegar or lemon juice. Oil and vinegar, which normally repel each other, are whisked together into an emulsion, i.e., one is suspended in the other, called a vinaigrette (from the diminutive of the French term vinaigre, meaning vinegar). Salad dressings are usually spiced up with other ingredients like garlic, salt and pepper or to make them a little tastier and then poured over the top of greens like chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce. However, I don’t think the taste they impart to greens is the reason humankind created them. I believe it is because somewhere down the road of collective human history someone figured out they felt better when they consumed greens served up with acidic salad dressings. Why? Their natural acidic nature from the vinegar or lemon juice kills parasites on the greens. About five years ago, I started not being able to eat salads in restaurants anymore. After a trip to the salad bar or a Cobb salad, my stomach would churn for a couple days with what I called massive indigestion. It felt like something was alive and trying to take hold in my gut. Occasionally, before I put two and two together, and stopped eating salad-bar salads, I would get diarrhea. At home, I thoroughly wash all greens and then religiously put them in bath of vinegar water for a minimum of five minutes. I speculate this kills both parasites hanging onto the leaves from the fields and from any human contact. I know, nowadays many packages of greens say they are “triple washed.” But these bother me, too, unless they are soaked in the vinegar solution. From talking with alternative healthcare providers, I have learned that as we age, we start to lose some of the enzymes and hydrochloric acid in our digestive system. Hence, as a substitute vinegar is killing some of the parasites and unwanted critters in our food supply that ample hydrochloric acid in our stomachs would normally take care of. How to clean your greens so they don’t make you sick:
By the way, I occasionally want a salad in a restaurant so much that I will resort to the following: I ask the waiter for a side of lemon slices—at least eight—and squeeze the lemon juice onto the whole salad, then turn it with a fork to fully coat each piece. I let it sit for five minutes before consuming. This usually works—but I do look a little obsessive! As for the vinegar used to wash the greens and make salad dressing, I recommend white distilled vinegar for washing the greens and apple cider vinegar for dressing. Distilled vinegar is markedly cheaper than apple cider vinegar and you are eventually going to pour it down the sink, so that's why I recommend it for soaking the greens. However, when it comes to something you are going to ingest, I recommend old-fashioned apple cider vinegar that contains the "mother," i.e., remnants of the culture the apple juice was fermented with. Basic Vinaigrette This is a oil/vinegar salad dressing recipe slightly modified from one in one my favorite cookbooks, Cooking with Michael Field. 3 Tbsp. good-quality olive oil 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Use a whisk to emulsify the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. **I would love to hear from you if you have had trouble with digesting greens and if this method works for you.
First posted January 7, 2007. |
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