Looking for a good salad dressing? It’s difficult to find a store bought brand that doesn’t contain refined vegetable oils ( corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, cottonseed, partially hydrogenated oil, or generic vegetable oil), fructose or high fructose corn syrup. Many supermarket brands includes those hazardous ingredients along with artificial colorings, flavorings, chemical preservatives, and sometimes MSG.
Salmon bellies with herbs, green salad with avocado and ZukayTomato Provencal Dressing. Photo by Chef Rachel Albert-Matesz © 2009
Very few companies are willing to pay what it costs to make dressings with pure, extra virgin olive oil. They use cheap vegetable oils that are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids that promote inflammation, suppress your immune system, and increase your risk for developing cancer and other degenerative diseases. Photo Zukay Foods
When I heard about Zukay’s Raw Fermented Salad Dressings on the Cheeseslave blog, I thought, “I’d like to try them.” So I contacted the company, told them what I do for a living, and asked them to send me a sample pack to test, which they did.
Cultured salad dressing?
These unique dressings are modeled on the practice of fermenting vegetables, fruits, and condiments practiced by traditional people around the world. If you look at the cuisines of China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Germany, and many others you will find picked or fermented foods. This practice was used to extend the shelf life and season of vegetables, to add flavor, add beneficial cultures (good bacteria) to the diet, aid digestion, and support health.
Very few people make cultured foods nowadays. It’s a lost art. I did it years ago when I was into macrobiotics, but I don’t do it now and haven't for many years. Who pickles garlic, onions, radishes, peppers, or cauliflower? Who makes sauerkraut, sushi ginger pickles, or natural dill pickles? Bottled version of these foods in stores are usually pasteurized, which destroys the live cultures these foods used to contain when people made them for local consumption, and many contain vinegar where salt and time were used the sour them in the past. Many more contain artificial flavorings and colorings.
Now you don’t have to make these probiotic products even if you want to enjoy the flavor of old fashioned fermented foods free of additives. Zukay Live Foods is located in rural, eastern Pennsylvania (luscious farming country; I think they have more farmers’ markets per capita than anywhere else in the U.S). The founders of the company, who have been conscientious natural foods shoppers and eaters for years, get their ingredients from as close to home as possible. They support family farms in their state and region. They use simple ingredients without chemical names and numbers to make products you could reproduce in your own kitchen–––if you had the time and inclination to do it.
Beef kafata kabob, blanched veggies w/Zukay Cucumber Mint Dressig & olive oil. Photo above taken by me, Chef Rachel Albert-Matesz © 2009
What no oil?Not only are these dressings made without refined vegetable oils, chemical preservatives, refined sugars, or additives, they’re also fat-free and oil-free. But this isn’t your typical fat-free salad dressing. These dressings are made to be mixed or served with other wholesome foods.
If you’re like me–––and you don’t follow a fat-free diet¬¬¬–––you can add extra virgin olive or avocado oil to the dressing in whatever ratio you like or you could serve the dressings over a salad tossed with sliced avocado, chopped olives, soaked and dehydrated or toasted nuts, or bacon. You can use the traditional 1 part acid (vinegar or lemon juice) plus 3 parts oil ratio (although I found that too dilute with these products) or mix Zukay salad dressings with 1 or 2 parts oil, which I thought came out just right.
Salt-free salad dressing
Since they’re made without added salt, you can add that to taste or leave it out. Try unrefined mineral rich sea salt (I like Celtic Sea Salt or Redmond Real Salt) or wheat-free tamari soy sauce (Eden or San J brand) or add some sea vegetable flakes to your favorite foods at the table.
Low carb dressing
Since these dressings don’t contain sugar or other sweeteners, you can use them even if you’re following a low carb diet. They contain only 1 or 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving (2 tablespoons), which amounts to only 4 to 8 calories before you add your favorite fat or oil source.
Carrot Ginger
Tomato Provencal
Cucumber Mint
Sweet Onion Basil
Red Pepper Cilantro
Tomato Pepper Pesto
I’m not sure which one I like best. This week I’ve been into Tomato Provencal. Last week I was keen on Cucumber Mint. The week before I preferred Sweet Onion Basil. Rather than add oil to each bottle, I have mixed a portion of a dressing with oil in a smaller bottle or poured the oil-free mixture over a salad and added avocado to my serving. I haven’t tried them as a marinade for chicken, but might try that next week. Not just for raw salads, I’ve used them over parboiled vegetables. Check out previous posts to learn this technique.
Photo right courtesy Zukay Live Foods.
If you’re not in the habit of eating cultured (naturally fermented foods) on a daily basis, it might take a few days or a week or two to get into the flavor. Your taste buds might need some time to adjust. Adding some unrefined sea salt can help. Once they do, I think you’ll really enjoy the dressings. I found that after a few weeks I liked the dressings even more than on the first or second try.Where to get these dressings
Zukay is a start up company. Right now their products are sold in limited areas. If you don’t find them in natural foods stores in your town or city, you can order them directly from Zukay online. You can also ask your local health foods stores to stock their products! They also sell fermented salsa and relishes. I haven’t tried them yet.
If you try these dressings, tell me how you like them.
