Salad dressing, also known as mayonnaise, named from the phonetic translation of Mayonnaise, which can also be referred to as salad dressing, is a lubricious, sweet and savory dressing.

Nowadays, salad dressing has become a favorite sauce for people all over the world, especially by the youth.

Generally we buy salad dressing is semi-solid state, is made of vegetable oil, eggs (or egg yolks), salt, sugar, spices, vinegar and emulsifying thickeners, etc., through the mixing, emulsification, homogenization, filling and other processed semi-solid compound seasoning.

One of the vegetable oil in Europe is mostly used olive oil, while in Asia is generally used soybean salad oil. Oil and egg yolks after sufficient mixing, emulsification occurs, it becomes a delicious salad dressing.

And a small amount of vinegar is mainly antibacterial, so the salad dressing generally does not contain preservatives, can be regarded as a kind of “green food”.

The process of salad dressing

The process of salad dressing is relatively simple, but for the ability to maintain freshness and good condition for a long period of time, it is necessary to have high requirements on the selection of materials and production environment.

Characteristics of the main raw materials of salad dressing

1. Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil with low stearic acid content (not more than 0.12%) is generally used to prevent the product from solidifying and crystallizing during low-temperature storage, which may affect the quality of the product by breaking the stability of the emulsification system of the salad dressing. Vegetable oils are generally colorless or light-colored salad oil, such as cotton oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil or olive oil. The most commonly used is refined soybean oil, and the best is olive oil.

2. Egg

The main function of eggs or egg yolks is emulsification, in which the substance that plays the role of emulsification is lecithin in eggs, which is a natural emulsifier. As we all know, oil and water are immiscible, but lecithin has both oleophilic and hydrophilic groups that can be combined with oil and water, in the process of emulsification of salad dressings, through external mixing, homogenization and grinding processes, lecithin allows water and oil to be closely combined together to form a stable emulsification system – a homogeneous mixture of salad dressings.

3.Vinegar

Another main raw material of salad dressing is vinegar, traditional salad dressing uses western-style vinegar (brewing fermented white vinegar), acetic acid acidity 3%-15%. Vinegar has a double role in salad dressing: one is to inhibit the growth of microorganisms together with salt in the product, and play the role of preservative to improve the storage capacity of the product and prolong the shelf life; the other is to be used as a flavor agent to improve the flavor of the product.

4. Spices and seasonings

Spices are mainly used for salad dressing seasoning, increase product flavor. Commonly used mustard, pepper, garlic, onions, chili peppers and so on. Spices can be in the form of granules, powder or essential oils. Seasoning can be used according to personal taste needs or product taste positioning of the appropriate amount of sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence, etc., to play a role in seasoning the salad dressing, salt and sugar to a certain extent and vinegar synergistic together with antibacterial and antiseptic, stabilizing the role of product quality.

5.Other auxiliary materials

(I) Thickening agent

In the process of salad dressing production, in order to ensure that the product has a certain viscosity, in line with the expected use of requirements, you can add a small amount of modified starch and xanthan gum and other thickening agents.

For some cold-processed salad dressings, it is suitable to choose some pre-gelatinized instant acid-resistant modified starch (such as acetylated double starch adipate or hydroxypropyl diastarch phosphate), to prevent the starch from clumping in the process of use, which will affect the viscosity, appearance and taste of the salad dressing.

During the modified starch input process, a small amount of vegetable oil can be used to disperse the starch before putting it into the mix.

A small amount of xanthan gum can also be used, which has the rheology of high viscosity at low concentration, as well as resistance to heat and acid, and is not affected by amylase. However, when too much is used, it will affect the delicate and smooth state and texture of the salad dressing.

In the new salad dressing formula design, you can consider modified starch and xanthan gum compound use, you can maintain a certain viscosity of the product, but also to control the cost, to maintain the good appearance and taste of the product.

(ii) Acidulant

In order to adjust the sour taste of salad dressing and control the pH value of the product, some acidulants other than vinegar can be added according to the needs of the product, such as malic acid, citric acid, lactic acid or phosphoric acid.

Various acidulants produce different acidity, acuity and speed of flavor development due to their different chemical structures.

For example, citric acid produces a pleasant, partially cool sour taste that disappears quickly from the palate; malic acid produces a slightly bitter sour taste that develops and disappears more slowly than citric acid; lactic acid has a soft, post-acidic acidity and, in combination with acetic acid, provides a soft flavor and improves microbial stability; and phosphoric acid, which is an inorganic acid, produces a high intensity of sour taste.

In the salad dressing recipe setting process, you can use a separate acidulant or a variety of acidulants compounded according to taste needs.

(iii) Stabilizers

Ordinary salad dressings generally have an oil content of more than 50%, the oil is easy to oxidize and depletion, affecting the shelf life and taste of the salad dressing.

In order to ensure that the salad dressing in the whole shelf life of good taste, can be in the process of making salad dressing degassing and appropriate amount of added stabilizer / chelating agent – EDTA – disodium.

Disodium EDTA is insoluble in fats and oils and cannot be used as an antioxidant for fats and oils, but it is a very effective antioxidant in emulsified systems such as mayonnaise and salad dressings, stabilizing the quality of salad dressing products.

The main factors affecting the flavor of salad dressing

1. The influence of raw materials on the flavor of the sauce itself

(A) The characteristics of the raw materials themselves

The oil content in salad dressing is between 30-40%. Most domestic manufacturers are using refined soybean oil, but because of its own soybean flavor, especially different refining level, its fishy flavor varies greatly. In particular, its soybean smell with storage, the flavor is more obvious, especially after steaming the soybean smell is more obvious.

Egg liquid is an important ingredient of salad dressing, the amount of 2-6% between its egg fishy flavor, heat-resistant egg liquid fishy flavor is more obvious.

Acetic acid and vinegar are common sources of acidity in salad dressings. The right level of acidity can extend the shelf life of the product, but it can also bring an irritating sour flavor.

Modified starch is an indispensable thickener in sauces, ranging from 3-5%, and can impart an acetic or chemical flavor.

Spices, even certain fresh fruit particles, etc., have a noticeable off-flavor or unfresh, steamed taste when heated, affecting the flavor of the product.

In tasting the salad dressing without flavoring, often tasted several off-flavors:

1, soy flavor

2, vinegar flavor and in order to adjust the acidity brought about by acidity

3, syrup or sugar alcohol flavor (may also be modified starch or whey protein powder flavor)

Of course, these odors in actual production can be suppressed or covered by different means.

(B) can enhance the bottom flavor of food accessories

In order to enhance the taste of the sauce, you can actually add some common raw food accessories, which can be used to cover up the off-flavors or enhance the underlying flavor and the sense of thickness.

Milk: The use of pure milk (whole milk powder) can enhance the base flavor of various dairy products, as well as add a sense of thickness in the development of cereal-based products.

Butter: Adding a little butter to a product can increase the thickness of the product, and for some products that choose to have a heavy creamy texture, a little oil ester gas makes the base flavor fuller.

Cheese: Cheese has a milky and fermented cream cheese flavor, which can add to the base flavor of plain yogurt products, and is also perfect for some savory pairings.

Condensed Milk: Usually has a caramelized sweet aroma, which adds sweetness to the product and makes the flavor rich and prominent.

2. Factors affecting the emulsification stability of salad dressings

Salad dressings with a normal oil content (more than 50% fat): the emulsification mechanism is mainly determined by the yolk content of the egg. Generally speaking, if we do not add other emulsifiers and use egg yolk as natural emulsifier, the higher the oil content of the product, the higher the demand for egg yolk, the higher the yolk of the salad dressing emulsification stability is stronger, and we can use the right amount of eggs or egg yolk according to the taste requirements of the product.

Low-fat dressings (less than 50% oil): The requirement for egg yolks is not as high, and the lower the oil content, the less egg yolks can be used. This type of salad dressing, because of the larger water-phase part of the content, less oil content, relying solely on the emulsification of egg yolks, the formation of the product viscosity state is relatively thin, the product is unstable, you need to use some additional thickening agent, such as modified starch or xanthan gum, which can enhance the stability of the product’s emulsification and prevent the phenomenon of water, and to give the dressing should be viscous, easy to spread the use of the state.

The emulsification state of general salad dressing is also subjected to various changes in external environmental conditions, resulting in the destruction of emulsification and the emergence of different degrees of oil-water separation. It is mainly affected by vibration, cooling, heating or high temperature, pressure and transportation conditions.

When vibration, the emulsified fine particles contact each other, fused into large oil droplets, thus destroying the emulsification, resulting in local separation;

Low temperature cooling (below 0 ℃) conditions, because of water freezing, the emulsification balance will be broken, will destroy the emulsification, the product is put to room temperature will cause a large number of oil separation, in the family use in contact with frozen food or dry ice, or the refrigerator local temperature is too low may be related to the cooling of the separation phenomenon;

When heated or at high temperatures, the emulsification is destroyed as the eggs in the heated salad dressing will denature and solidify and lose their emulsifying power;

Of course, in the last 5-10 years there has been a new line of heat-resistant, bakeable salad dressings on the market, which use special formulas and special ingredients to make the products heat-resistant.

Even when heated, emulsification is not significantly affected and no separation occurs.

Emulsification can also be damaged by external pressures, such as over-squeezing and excessive force during use, which can cause localized separation of oil and water.

In addition, in the long-distance transportation process, the oil particles in the salad dressing will carry out physical movement, coupled with the vibration will destroy the emulsion film, and then destroy the emulsification state.

3.The main factors affecting the viscosity of salad dressing

Salad dressing as a semi-solid all-purpose western seasoning, in addition to the delicate texture and a variety of characteristic flavors and tastes, suitable and stable viscosity state is a very important physical properties.

The source of viscosity shaping is determined by the design of water-oil ratio in the formula, the strength of emulsification and the amount of thickening agent.

Viscosity and its stability are affected by many factors. For general salad dressings (products with more than 50% oil content), products with high oil content and high egg yolk content are relatively more viscous; on the contrary, products with low oil content and low egg yolk content will have thinner viscosity.

Thinner viscosity of the product, not easy to use, adhesion is not enough, you can use the appropriate thickener, such as modified starch and xanthan gum, in the case of other factors basically unchanged, the more the amount of modified starch or xanthan gum added, the higher the viscosity; but the use of the amount can not be too high, otherwise it will lead to too much water absorption, emulsification is not stable; and the use of too much, but also affects the appearance of the product state, which may lead to the non-smooth delicate, or left in the mouth feeling when consumed. It may not be smooth and delicate, or it may not be smooth in the mouth when you eat it.

In the process of producing salad dressing, the sauce after grinding and homogenizing by homogenizing pump is more viscous than the salad dressing after pre-mixing and mixing only, the state is more delicate, and the emulsification is more stable; in the process of filling, we should try to reduce the speed of the pump of the sauce delivery and reduce the number of bends, which are also factors affecting the viscosity of the product.

In addition, low-fat salad dressings should pay attention to microbial contamination because of the use of eggs, modified starch and spices. For example, modified starch is susceptible to amylase brought in by other raw materials in the environment, so that the viscosity of the salad dressing product that was just made good is slowly hydrolyzed during the preservation process, resulting in the product in the shelf-life range of the viscosity of the sharp decline, or even to the point that it can not be used.