09/10/2026
When your mustard maker tells people how to use mustard in their cooking, she always, always, always recommends putting it in salad dressings. Often I harvest question marks. But in my kitchen, almost no salad is made without mustard in the dressing.
Apart from the fantastic taste, here is another reason why:
We’ve all been there. You try to make a vinaigrette, but the oil and vinegar refuse to mingle. They act like bitter exes at a party, instantly separating into their own corners. What they now need is a peacemaker.
In chemistry, oil hates water and vinegar is basically water's best friend. To force them together, you need a miracle.
Mustard seeds contain natural molecules that are beautifully two-faced:
• One side loves water (the vinegar, in this case)
• The other side loves fat (your oil)
When you whisk a teaspoon of mustard into the vinegar and oil mix, you get a velvety vinaigrette that actually sticks to your lettuce. That’s a little bit of science that tastes so very good!
Are you already using mustard as the ultimate secret agent in your dressings and vinaigrettes?
