Q: My girlfriend recently returned from a trip to Germany and Switzerland. While there she ate a unique salad dressing that was very light, milky, and had a slight taste of vinegar with a bit of sweetness, but no herbs. We’ve tried to make it ourselves and had no success. Can you help us?

Lynne: There’s a great love of sweet/sour, or creamy/tart flavors in that part of Europe. Perhaps they used crème fraîche, that very thick, naturally soured cream that has a slight tang and flavor of hazelnuts. It’s found widely in France, although not exclusively. If you add a little vinegar and maybe a bit of grated onion you would end up with an incredible dressing. Another thing to try would be a variation of vinaigrette dressing made with about 1/4 cup vinegar; a teaspoon or two of sugar; about 2/3 cup of cream, crème fraîche, or sour cream; oil, salt, and pepper to taste; and maybe some finely grated onion or shallot. It’s the sugar playing against the vinegar and cream that’s really flavorful.

Back to Boiling Water 101

Follow along as 15 bloggers from around the country commit to eating a local diet. Locavore Nation® will chronicle their ups and downs throughout 2008 as they try to make a difference through sustainable eating.
Follow the Nation!

Weeknight Kitchen® is a free weekly e-mail newsletter full of new recipes and tips from Lynne and our guests.
Sign up now!

The Splendid Table®, is now available for free in podcast form. Follow the Sterns as they travel the country, hear all our unique and wonderful guests and, as always, Lynne takes your calls, downloaded direct to your computer every week.
Get the podcast

Get our recipes delivered straight to your iGoogle account with our new Google Gadget. It's free. It's easy. Find out how you can install this new feature on your Google Homepage.
Learn More