Hot Vinaigrettes

Because vinaigrettes are relatively unstable emulsions, they have been little used as hot sauces for fear they will separate on a hot plate—even though vinegar and oil have long appeared separately as condiments on Mediterranean tables. For vinegar and oil to remain combined, it is necessary to have an ingredient that will stabilize an emulsion of the two. Mustard is the emulsifier most often used, but it is too aggressive to use with delicate sauces and oils. Vegetable purées and herbs, combined using a blender or with a rotor stator homogenizer just before serving, can also emulsify vinaigrettes, but most of these are imperfect emulsifiers and are better when augmented with compounds such as propylene glycol alginate, xanthan gum, and lecithin. Because the flavor of extra-virgin olive oil is distorted when the oil is worked in a blender or rotor stator homogenizer, it is often necessary to use another type of oil for the first stage of the blending and then to stir in extra-virgin olive oil by hand.