Homemade Salad Cream

Hooray for the warmer weather and salad season.   Salad cream is an ingredient which is used frequently over here in the UK, and quite traditional when it comes to salads.  You can buy it in jars and bottles at the shops.

 More often than not if you eat out in a medium priced restaurant, salad cream will be the only salad dressing on offer.  It also comes in little packets like the ketchup and vinegar and brown sauces. 

I often use it in Potato Salads, and coleslaw types of salads.  It is a lot tangier than mayonnaise and adds a really special touch.

It can be somewhat difficult to find in North America however and so today I am showing you how you can very easily make your own. In all  truth, I like the homemade salad cream much better than the storebought variety, but that is often the case with most things.

Its very simple to make actually.  I am betting you most likely have everything in your house right now that you need to use to make some for yourself.

It uses very simple ingredients. A bit of flour, white sugar, dry mustard powder, eggs and white wine vinegar,  whisked together and cooked over simmering water.

You might be surprise to know that there is actually real cream in it.  There is nothing artificial here!  It gets whisked into the thickened mixture after cooling it. A bit of lemon juice and some seasoning and Bob's your Uncle!  


You have the perfect mixture for all of your summer salad needs!  It will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and makes about 1 1/4 cups.  So no waste here either.

*Home-made Salad Cream*

Makes about  10 ounces or 1 1/4cup
(will last 1 to 2 weeks)

Printable Recipe 

This is delicious.  Perfect for drizzling over salads or using in potato and pasta salads, sandwiches, etc.  It is a bit tarter than mayonnaise. 

1 TBS plain flour

4 tsp caster sugar (finely granulated)

2 tsp dry English Mustard powder

salt

2 large free range eggs

100ml white wine vinegar (3 1/2 fluid ounces)

150ml of double cream (5 fluid ounces whipping cream)

a squeeze of lemon juice

Whisk the flour, sugar, mustard powder and a healthy pinch of salt together in a glass bowl.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.  Whisk in the vinegar.  Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. (Alternately you can put it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.)  Don't allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water.  Cook over the simmering water, stirring constantly until thickened and warmed.  This will take 5 to 6 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  Whisk in the cream and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as required.  Scrape into a jar and cover tightly.  Keep in the refrigerator.  Will keep from between one and two weeks.

And just to whet your whistle and let you know that it won't be a waste once you have it made, here are some of my recipes which use it. 

All of them are delicious and will serve to help you use up some of that delicous salad cream you have made.

Creamy Macaroni Salad 

As an adult I have come to love pasta salads, and none better than plain old macaroni salad.  There is so much you can do with it.  Macaroni is the perfect canvas on which to play with your favourite flavour combinations.

This salad is a combination of what I think are the best elements of any macaroni salad I have ever eaten.   Simple and delicious.

Mom's Potato Salad 

Some people add too much to their potato salad  . . .  it's like a free-for-all of potato and colour.  I don't think chopped peppers and the like add anything much to it . . .  nor do olives.  

When it comes to a great potato salad  . . .  simple is the best of all.  Just like mom's. And sorry folks, my mom's was the best potato salad ever. Oh how I miss her.

 

Baked Potato Salad   

Baked Potato salad has always been one of my favourite types of potato salad. I have a tried and true recipe that I have been making for years and years. It's very good and everyone I make it for just loves it. 

It's quite, quite delicious . . . but then you would expect a salad loaded with mayo, sour cream, cheese and bacon to be rather scrummy wouldn't you!  This is a lightened up version. You can find my original full fat recipe here.

Creamy Potato Gnocchi Salad. 

I am of the opinion that you can treat gnocchi in just about the same way as you would treat a boiled potato, or any other type of pasta. I love to stretch boundaries of cooking. 

I thought I would try turning it into a type of potato salad, except it would be a gnocchi salad, a creamy Potato Gnocchi Salad. It totally worked!

Enjoy!

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