Garde Manger I: Oils & Vinegars

Oils

• Walnut oil: nice nutty flavor (obviously), great as a finishing touch with a garnish; great for dressings; I really enjoyed the flavor of this oil and hope to use it more in the future
  
• Truffle oil: interesting aroma and taste - probably a preference type thing; drizzle a few drops to finish off a salad, soup or appetizer. For example, one chef recommended finished a salad dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing with a few drops of white truffle oil
• Vegetable oil: blend of oils - typically corn and/or sunflower; used in cooking, not typically used for dressings
• Canola oil: made from turnips; high smoke point so useful in pan frying or deep frying
• Peanut oil: made from peanuts; high smoke point so great for deep frying if allergies are not an issue
  
• Olive oil: rumor has it that color indicates quality, but color actually indicates ripeness or species of olive used; the process of making the oil presses the olives 2x or 3x and heat or chemically treats the olives and oil; chef prefers olive oil from the southern region in Italy based on taste; look for an acidity of 1% or less to find a nicely flavored oil
  
• Extra virgin olive oil: this oil is about the flavor; oil obtained after first press of olives; not great for sauteing; very low smoke point
• Flavor oils: often used in place of dressing; if you make a garlic flavored oil - MAKE SURE TO REFRIGERATE IT as you don't want to get botulism.
  

Vinegars

• Rice vinegar: you can buy a sweet or sour rice vinegar. The sweet version is rice wine vinegar and works very nicely in salad dressings; chef recommended aged rice vinegar if you want to use it; you can sweeten regular rice vinegar by adding sugar to it
• Balsamic vinegar: true balsamic vinegar is aged in Italy from 4 to 50 years through wood casks and is often rather pricey; it tastes like reduced balsamic vinegar that we make in the states and is never used as a dressing, just as a garnish to finish off a dish
  
• Wine vinegars - red wine, white wine, sherry wine are all options for dressings, sauces, etc. depending on your flavor profile; if you need to use white wine vinegar and do not have it on hand... use 2 parts white wine to 1 part distilled white vinegar and VIOLA!
  
• Apple cider vinegar - used in dressings, sauces, etc. just depends on flavor profiles

Making a Vinaigrette Dressing

• When making a vinaigrette dressing, remember this rule of thumb... one part acid/vinegar to three parts oil. You don't want your acid/vinegar to overpower the salad.
• If using herbs, use fresh herbs if possible; If only dry herbs available, rehydrate or cook them to bring out flavors
• Chef recommended honey, mustard, fresh herbs and oil as a very basic vinaigrette - maybe a touch of rice wine vinegar