Fire and Knowledge

NPR : Stop the Madness: Make Your Own Salad Dressing

A fun and interesting way to stop purchasing stuff you can do yourself (namely, making salad dressing). This is also a good way to know what goes into what you are eating. Too bad they didn’t list a ranch recipe, though. An excerpt:

In a country where people routinely purchase premade versions of easy-to-make foods like croutons (seasoned toast), pancake mix (flour and baking powder) and even pre-buttered garlic bread, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they also unthinkingly squander money on sugared-up, bottled salad dressings.

Look at the labels of brand-name dressings and, almost invariably, a prominent ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup.

Making your own salad dressing is embarrassingly easy — and cheaper than buying it in the store. Of course, preparing vinaigrette every day could become a nuisance, especially, if, like me, you often forget to make it until the last minute when hot food is already on the table. My solution: Make big batches of the stuff and store it in wine bottles or mason jars.

(via Paulo)