There are certain substances, like oil and water, that, for a number of reasons, don’t mix. They have different densities, different polarities, and so on. Mixing them by physical agitation will keep them stable, but only for a few seconds. “Stable” or “unstable” in this context is the answer to the following question: after you apply physical force to the two substances to combine them, do they stay together (they’re stable) or do they eventually come apart again (they’re unstable). Let’s look at the easy case first: the stable world. Apple juice and water. Pour one into a glass and then the other, and they’ll immediately mix and stay there in that mixed state forever. Change the first substance to oil, and you have a phenomenon most of us probably first observed in third or fourth grade: apply all the physical force you want, but the oil and water won’t stay together. Creating an emulsion is fundamentally about answering the following question: what third substance can I add to two unstable substances that will interact with those two substances in a way that makes all three substances together stable?
Answering this question is as much art as it is science. Science because you have to pick the right kind of substance to be the mediator between the other two. Art because, from that class of substances you found, you now have to know what each one tastes like in isolation and when combined with your other substances, and so which of the possible candidates is best.
This recipe, to demonstrate proper emulsion, will teach you how to make a garlic-red wine-Dijon vinaigrette. This vinaigrette has four components: minced garlic, vinegar, mustard, and oil. Vinegar and oil don’t mix. It will ultimately be the job of the Dijon mustard to do what I’ll say suffices to call “chemical magic” to keep those two unfriendly substances together.
Begin by mincing 1 large clove of garlic, or two smaller cloves of garlic. Place the minced garlic in a wide bowl together with a tablespoon each of Dijon and red wine vinegar. Using a whisk, combine those ingredients. At this point, we’ve only combined ingredients that “like” each other—that is, those that don’t resist each other.
That was the simple stage. The complex stage begins now. Pick an oil. I would use extra virgin olive oil. If you can get one of those squeeze bottles where dressings and condiments come in at restaurants or when you’re getting your condiments at a place that makes sandwiches from scratch, that would be amazing. They have really narrow openings that are much easier to control than the average opening in an oil bottle. Without this equipment, the process is still doable, but it requires a lot more attention and control.
Begin streaming in the oil on the side of the bowl, literally drop by drop. As I said in some of my Mother Sauce explanations, DO NOT STOP WHISKING. Getting the first few drops of oil to incorporate is the hardest part of this process. After starting out drop by drop, you can increase your flow to a light, constant stream. As you do this and throughout this phase, DO NOT STOP WHISKING. You should notice that, paradoxically, as more (liquid) oil is added to your (liquid) vinaigrette, it will thicken ever more and behave more and more like a solid as its viscosity increases. After a few seconds at a thin flow, you can increase your flow even more—the more oil is incorporated, the faster the next measure of oil can be incorporated. Stop doing this when you have enough vinaigrette, but until then, NEVER STOP WHISKING. Once you have enough vinaigrette, add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Use this in a variety of applications: as a salad dressing; as a marinade for beef, pork, or poultry; or in any other context where a vinaigrette is called for.
This recipe, to demonstrate proper emulsion, will teach you how to make a garlic-red wine-Dijon vinaigrette. This vinaigrette has four components: minced garlic, vinegar, mustard, and oil. Vinegar and oil don’t mix. It will ultimately be the job of the Dijon mustard to do what I’ll say suffices to call “chemical magic” to keep those two unfriendly substances together.
Begin by mincing 1 large clove of garlic, or two smaller cloves of garlic. Place the minced garlic in a wide bowl together with a tablespoon each of Dijon and red wine vinegar. Using a whisk, combine those ingredients. At this point, we’ve only combined ingredients that “like” each other—that is, those that don’t resist each other.
That was the simple stage. The complex stage begins now. Pick an oil. I would use extra virgin olive oil. If you can get one of those squeeze bottles where dressings and condiments come in at restaurants or when you’re getting your condiments at a place that makes sandwiches from scratch, that would be amazing. They have really narrow openings that are much easier to control than the average opening in an oil bottle. Without this equipment, the process is still doable, but it requires a lot more attention and control.
Begin streaming in the oil on the side of the bowl, literally drop by drop. As I said in some of my Mother Sauce explanations, DO NOT STOP WHISKING. Getting the first few drops of oil to incorporate is the hardest part of this process. After starting out drop by drop, you can increase your flow to a light, constant stream. As you do this and throughout this phase, DO NOT STOP WHISKING. You should notice that, paradoxically, as more (liquid) oil is added to your (liquid) vinaigrette, it will thicken ever more and behave more and more like a solid as its viscosity increases. After a few seconds at a thin flow, you can increase your flow even more—the more oil is incorporated, the faster the next measure of oil can be incorporated. Stop doing this when you have enough vinaigrette, but until then, NEVER STOP WHISKING. Once you have enough vinaigrette, add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Use this in a variety of applications: as a salad dressing; as a marinade for beef, pork, or poultry; or in any other context where a vinaigrette is called for.
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