Add Buttermilk to Your Next Vinaigrette
Many people use buttermilk powder to make a ranch herb mix, which they then use to make their own ranch dressing. This is perfectly reasonable – even desirable! – but ranch isn’t the only salad dressing that benefits from a little dehydrated dairy.
Adding buttermilk powder to a simple vinaigrette gives it texture, creaminess, and a rounded milky pungency that is slightly different from the taste you get from acetic acid (the acid in vinegar) or citrus juice.
You can add powdered buttermilk to any vinaigrette recipe, but there are some flavor characteristics that it pairs with a little more easily than others. It works great for the maple-Dijon situation, but might not pair well with the soy-ginger dressing, so try a few different recipes. The process to make your vinaigrette creamier and a little dreamy is simple: collect the dressing ingredients as usual, ideally in a jar, then add the powder, a teaspoon at a time, shaking the jar to mix it with the dressing. and tasting after each addition.
I made a simple dressing using this template , with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon each of maple syrup and Dijon mustard, and a little salt. I shook it all up in a mason’s jar, then added the powdered buttermilk (shaking in between additions) until it reached the level of creamy consistency I was looking for, which ended up taking a whole tablespoon. The dressing still had the harsh flavor I look for in a vinaigrette, but it was slightly more substantial, rich and rounded. This worked especially well with the steak salad I ate for dinner (with leftover steak and side sauce , of course).