Sweet Balsamic Dressing

Is this the same as nutritional yeast flakes?

Yes it is. They are usually sold as "flakes." ~Ken

Can Onion Powder be used in place of Onion Granules?

Can you freeze this to use at a later date?

Yes, you can, Sandi. Upon thawing, there will likely be some separation...just reincorporate the ingredients and you will be good to go!

This is fabulous! Next time I'll cook my potatoes a bit longer, but still, it was soooooo good. And lots of leftovers so I'll bet it to be even better tomorrow. Thanks Chad and staff!

What is the shelf life on this dressing?

Hi Jim and thanks for your question. So the shelf life of salad dressings varies somewhat but generally speaking, vinaigrettes can be kept refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. I hope this helps! Thanks for learning with Rouxbe. Chef Kirk

Hi, Can I use a light soy sauce instead of tamari?

Kerri, yes, you can. The results are quite nice, but adjust the vinegar, as desired.

Having trouble getting tamari in Japan. Your comment above says I can use soy sauce, but what did you mean by adjust the vinegar? By how much? Thank you!

The vinegar, soy sauce, and sweetener are the biggest taste components, so achieve balance with the vinegar. The adjust, as you think it may be needed, is 'to taste'.

Are onion granules the same as onion powder?

Hi Fareen - great question, thank you. So you can use onion granules and powder interchangeably, for the most part. Essentially, onion powder is dehydrated, ground onion - the onion is ground into a fine, flour-like substance. Onion granules, on the other hand, while also ground, tend to be coarser - same great flavor however! Personal preference typically prevails here. I hope this helps! Chef Kirk

I cannot find nutritional yeast in Mexico, it says it is optional but what is the purpouse of this ingredient? Thanks

Hi Amelia - Thanks for your question. So you certainly don't need to include the nutritional yeast (or nooch) in this recipe. Nutritional yeast has become a fairly well used ingredient in vegan kitchens because, from a flavor perspective, it’s a nice substitue for chicken broth or cheese. But again, not necessarily required for this recipe. I hope this helps! Chef Kirk

How much of the fresh herbs, rosemary = , oregano = or chives = , would be appropriate for the quantity referred in this recipe. I understand that it is a question of taste but i haven't use fresh herbs and spices for that matter in my cooking and would need a bit of guidance. Is this a recipe that can be easily double using the same ratio? And finally, would you use this vinaigrette to marinate tofu or tempeh. Thank you your time.

Hi Daniel and thanks for your question. Your instincts are great - I'd start with a TBSP of each herb (minced or torn) and then adjust your flavor profiles from there. You can also mix it up a bit depending on what's on hand. For example, I've made this recipe with only tarragon before and it was excellent. And yes, you can marinate tofu or tempeh but I would suggest brushing it on - perhaps not submerging the product in the dressing - temper the amount until you find the right balance. I hope this helps and thanks for cooking with Rouxbe! Chef Kirk

I have a really nice caramelised balsamic vinegar, if I used this would I leave out the sweetener or maybe reduce the quantity of it?

Hi Sue, Caramelised or reduced balsamic vinegar makes a wonderful drizzle or finishing sauce, but because it's so potent, it should be used in moderation. I would not use it for this recipe because it is already very sweet and thick. Even if you leave out the sweetener, the result would not be a flavorful vinaigrette. I think it would be squandering your wonderful caramelised balsamic to use 1/2 cup of it in an experiment. Although the result might be usable as a drizzle, marinade or finishing sauce, you might not like it. Please use a good aged balsamic vinegar for this recipe and save your really nice caramelized reduction for special applications.

Hello, Can Braggs Amino be used instead of tamari?

Hi Erna, Absolutely. Tamari and Braggs have slightly different flavor profiles but are pretty interchangeable as they both have an earthy, salty quality. I have used Braggs for this recipe before and found it to work well. Lauren

Hello Chef I’m allergic to vinegar so is lemon juice compatible with this recipe or orange juice ? Thank You

Hi Davina. Thanks for your question. I think this recipe would be great with lemon juice in place of vinegar. Let me know how it goes! Lauren

Thanks for these helpful questions and replies. Looking forward to making this today. If it's only half as good as the dijon potatoes on yesterdays menu, I'm gonna love it! So excited with this cooking course - all the tips and fabulous recipes!

Just made, so easy! will taste on potatoes in a little bit : )

Made it today. Wow did we enjoy the rich, aromatic flavors. I used maple syrup and included the nutritional yeast.

Hello, I recently purchased stainless steel mixing bowls with lids. I planned to prepare recipes (such as balsamic vinegar) and store them in the bowls in the fridge. I came across something online that said you shouldn't use anything acidic (vinegar, lemon or lime juice, etc.) in a stainless steel bowl because it will make the food taste funny and corrode the bowls. Is that correct? Or is it okay to prepare foods with acidic ingredients in the bowls and just not store them in the bowls? I really appreciate your help! -Whitney

Hi Whitney! I am not sure how helpful I will be here. Personally, I have stored high vinegar content food in stainless for a day or two and found it to be totally fine. When doing some research for you on this topic, I have found that most trusted sources say true stainless steel is able to hold up to vinegars but some sources say not to use it for long term storage. My advice would be to use your stainless containers for most food but if you have something that is incredibly acidic like tomato sauce or vinegar, you might choose a glass container. Lauren

Hi Lauren! Thank you very much for looking into this for me. I really appreciate it! Just to clarify, the problem is food storage, not using the stainless steel bowl to quickly mix up something that has vinegar (like a recipe for baked goods that has a tablespoon of vinegar) or to whisk a dressing, correct? They should be fine to use for food preparation (even with vinegar) as long as they are not used for food storage? Whitney

Hi Whitney. My pleasure. Yes, you are correct. You can absolutely prep food in stainless. Lauren

Oh my goodness, I just made this and it is delicious! I made it with rosemary from my garden. I had to replace fresh basil with dried because I could not get any right now with covid 19. However it did not hurt the flavor at all. I can't wait to make it again but with fresh basil. I am so thankful I am taking this course. I have learned so much already and we are not quite a quarter of the way through. This will be a favorite and I love I can make the sauce ahead of time. Husband said it was very good. That is what this course is all about...finding foods my family will love and turning me into a great plant based chef at home. So looking forward to cooking through all the recipes.

I enjoyed this dish quite a lot. However, I am finding a lot of these recipes too sweet. I wonder if in the UK taste is not quite as sweet as in America? I will hold back on all added sweetness (date paste in this case) in all recipes from now on and only add if I really think it needs it. It's strange as I do have a very sweet tooth, but to eat this as part of a main meal, I could only have a little, but that little bit, I did enjoy! I couldn't find any fresh basil, which was a shame, but the flavours were rich without it.

Hi Sophie. Thank you for commenting here. We love student engagement! You can totally dial back the sweetener here. If you know that you generally prefer less sweetness, you can move forward with that in mind. There is a place for sweet in bringing balance to many recipes but if it is heavy handed, it can have a negative impact. Lauren

Thanks Lauren, yes, balancing flavours is important. I think I've got so used to foods without too many dressings or sauces that I'm having to adjust my taste buds! I'm learning so much about my taste with this course. Because I haven't had cream for so long, I am finding the use of cashews almost too much - too rich! So great to learn these recipes to feed my family though.

Do you have a recommendation for what to serve along side this dish?

Hi Patrice. This can be used as a simple salad dressing or you can use it as a marinade for a bean salad, a potato salad or to toss veggies in before grilling. It's applications are pretty broad. Enjoy. Lauren

Can I use regular potatoes? Or do I need the baby potatoes for this recipe?

Hello, I want to make this dressing but I've never tried aged balsamic vinegar and find it to expensive. Can I use regular balsamic vinegar with no added sugars? Or maybe any other vinegar? Thank you in advance, Paloma

Hi Amber: the new potatoes have a lovely texture, but I have used baking potatoes (skin on) cut into cubes, and they work well. Hope this is helpful to you. Thank you, Char

Hello Maria paloma: You can go to any grocery store and find aged Balsamic for under $4.00 a bottle. You can look for brands like Colavita, Pompenian, Rachel Ray, etc. If you are a Costco shopper, you can get a bottle of the Kirkland brand, and that is also very good. The balsamic salad dressing is really delicious, and from my experience, it works best with a balsamic. I hope this helps and I cannot wait to hear about your reaction to the dressing! Thanks for writing, Char

The steaming process and preparing the dressing went very smoothly and I found the dressing really enhanced the flavor of the steamed baby potatoes.

Hi Randall: thanks for writing. Glad that you liked the balsamic dressing. It goes very well with the new potatoes, and gives a new meaning to "potato salad." Nice work. -Char

I have a question about the herbs, do we use all of them or select one? I like strong flavors, but I am not sure if I should use all three of them?

Hi Mirna- Thanks for writing. Good question. When I make this dressing (which is often), I like a blend of fresh herbs, but as a matter of choice, many people use one herb to their preference. Hope this helps. Hope you enjoy this dressing. Rouxbe on, Char

I just made this and it was so delicious!!! The dressing was perfect, not too sweet and not too sour, just right and no oil involved!!! What a great way to dress up a potato and the roasted pepper gave it an extra sweet flavor!!

Hi Joan! The balsamic dressing is the perfect blend of herbs and spices. I often use it to baste roasted vegetables, and the dressing caramelizes beautifully. Thanks for sharing your experience with us! Cheers, Char

It was a fun recipe to make. I did not have onion granules, so I left them out. I added pink salt in place of the onion granules. I decided to put it into the refrigerator to let the flavors meld together and taste it tomorrow. It looks appetizing! Lindy C.

Hi Lindy, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the process. I hope it turned out as you desired. Be careful adding salt to a recipe that has tamari, since tamari is a salty element in the balance of the ingredients. Just remember to always taste as you adjust so you can get it just right. You can always add more, it is really hard to remove salt once it is in there though! Cheers!

How come the list of ingredients doesn't have fruit paste but the first thing in the method is to make fruit paste? I understand the fruit paste has its own recipe but this recipe doesn't even tell you how much fruit paste to use? How much fruit paste goes in this? Am I supposed to use fruit paste AND maple syrup?

Hi Kyle, The recipe requires 3 tablespoons of date (fruit) paste OR maple syrup. If using maple syrup, there is not need to make the fruit paste. I hope that clears things up! Cheers, Sandy

Where do you all like getting your spices from? I read about the non-irradiated spices in the first unit. Do you have a preference on websites or stores that sell these. Thank you!

This balsamic dressing was the best I have ever tasted! I have used it on other vegetables and salads. Definitely a keeper. Thanks Rouxbe!

Steamed potatoes successfully. Dressing is delicious, but too sweet. I'll cut the maple syrup by half next time. I look forward to tasting tomorrow. It seems possible that my first assessment could change. Stay tuned! Directions for steaming the potatoes were flawless! Thank you!

This is great! I was wondering how all these flavors would go together and taste good with potatoes, but I was pleasantly surprised! My taste buds were dancing!

Can applesauce work in place of the fruit paste?

Hi Leone, sure! Give it a try and see how you like it. Eric

Love the dressing! I should have steamed my potatoes longer. Curious what else you use the dressing on?

Hi Eileen- The dressing can be poured over salad greens, used as a marinade from mushrooms to tofu, as well as being simmered and reduced to a thick glaze that you can drizzle on top of a wide range of roasted vegetables and fruits (ie, pineapple). The possibilities are quite wide. Enjoy!

Hi, can coconut aminos be used instead of tamari in this recipe?

Hi Nundye-- Yes, the coconut aminos can be replaced. It is gluten-free and soy-free. Enjoy making the dressing.

Hi, I’m having trouble finding tamari. Could miso paste be used instead?

Nader, tamari is a version of soy sauce. Perhaps, this is easier to find...? Otherwise, if you are curious about miso paste, give it a try and see how you like it! ~Eric

All I got to say is very easy, delicious, and simple….. wow

I made this recipe this evening and it is restaurant-quality good! I’m so excited to see what’s ahead in this course! The flavors are so delicious, it feels like it hits many different flavor spots! I saw someone ask if they should use reduced balsamic vinegar and now I wonder if I picked up the regular kind or if it is reduced (it is sweeter and a bit thicker). It’s Napa Valley Oak Wood Aged Balsamic Vinegar Grand Reserve. I’m not sure how to tell if it’s reduced though. Thanks for any help you can provide! ️

Hi Serena- Aged does not been reduced. To reduce a balsamic vinegar, creating thicker viscosity and sweetened taste, simmer over low heat. Reduce by half and it coats the back of a spoon. Buon appetito!