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Repairing Broken Vinaigrettes
By Jaclyn Pestka, Wayne Gisslen and Lou Sackett
Published 2010
No matter how powerful the agitation with which the ingredients in a vinaigrette are combined, the oil and vinegar will eventually separate and the vinaigrette will break, or come out of emulsion (see photo and drawing). Chefs call this a broken vinaigrette.
Fortunately, a broken vinaigrette can be fixed easily by any one of three methods (see Table 2.7).
Table 2.7
Methods to Fix a Broken Vinaigrette
Method 1 |
Place the room-temperature broken vinaigrette in a blender and blend at high speed. The powerful action of the blender blades in the tight confines of a blender jar will put almost any broken vinaigrette back into emulsion. (Food processors are less efficient in doing this because their bowls are larger and their action is not as strong.) |
Method 2 |
Start a new batch of vinaigrette and whisk the room-temperature broken vinaigrette into the new vinegar base along with the oil. Of course, this will result in having twice as much vinaigrette as you originally intended to make. Vinaigrette repair, Method 2 |
Method 3 |
If time allows, wait for the broken vinaigrette to come to room temperature and completely separate. Ladle off the oil and begin again. |