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The Kitchn’s Jan Valdez says a sweet onion is the inexpensive ingredient she now adds to homemade salad dressing. In a recipe inspired by Sheldon Simeon’s cookbook, the blended onion helps bring the oil and vinegar together and adds natural sweetness; this is a recipe writer’s account, not a controlled comparison with bottled dressings.
The Kitchn’s Jan Valdez reports that adding a whole sweet onion to homemade salad dressing can help create a creamy texture and a sweet-tangy flavor without mayonnaise or yogurt. Her account, inspired by a recipe in Sheldon Simeon’s cookbook Cook Real Hawai’i, offers a low-cost alternative for home cooks, though it is a personal recipe experience rather than a formal comparison or test.
Valdez says the recipe caught her attention because it called for an entire onion rather than the smaller amounts of shallot or garlic she had previously used in vinaigrettes. She tried the dressing and wrote that she had not looked at bottled dressing the same way since. The source does not provide a price comparison, so the ingredient’s affordability is not quantified.
The recipe calls for a sweet onion, such as Maui, Walla Walla or Vidalia, blended with neutral oil, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, Dijon mustard and celery salt. Valdez says the onion helps emulsify the oil and vinegar, producing a creamy consistency, and contributes sweetness. She describes celery salt as a savory note that complements the vinegar and sugar.
Valdez says she substituted olive oil for neutral oil and liked the result. She also suggests trying other kinds of mustard or replacing some sugar with honey or maple syrup. Those options are her serving and ingredient suggestions; the source does not give measurements or nutrition information in the supplied material.
A Whole Onion Changes Dressing
The report offers home cooks a practical idea for changing the texture and flavor of a basic vinaigrette with a familiar ingredient. If the blended onion brings the oil and vinegar together as Valdez describes, it can make dressing feel creamier without relying on mayonnaise or yogurt. Its sweetness may also reduce the need for additional sweetener, although the source does not say how much sugar the recipe uses or whether the suggested swaps change the nutritional profile.
Valdez recommends using the dressing beyond a simple green salad: she tried it with kale and apple and suggests it for a Cobb salad, spinach with apples and walnuts, cabbage slaw, roasted vegetables or a grain bowl. These are serving ideas, not reported results for every combination. The recipe may appeal to people looking for a homemade dressing, but the article does not establish that it is cheaper, healthier or more popular than store-bought alternatives.
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From Simeon’s Cookbook to Salad
Valdez says she came across the sweet onion dressing while browsing Cook Real Hawai’i by Sheldon Simeon, whose other recipes she had previously made. Her experience in recipe publishing and test kitchens is described in The Kitchn contributor biography, which says she has 10 years of experience in research-and-development test kitchens and at food publishers. That background identifies her role, but the dressing account remains a first-person report rather than a published controlled test.
The source frames the onion as a departure from the usual smaller additions of minced shallot or grated garlic in vinaigrette. It gives examples of sweet onions—Maui, Walla Walla and Vidalia—but does not specify whether another onion variety would produce the same flavor or texture. The supplied report also says product links may earn The Kitchn a commission, while stating that prices were accurate at the time of publication; it does not identify a price for the onion or the finished dressing.
“I haven’t looked at bottled dressing the same way since.”
— Jan Valdez, The Kitchn associate recipe producer
Recipe Details Still Missing
The supplied source material does not include the full recipe, ingredient quantities, preparation instructions, yield or storage guidance. Readers therefore cannot use this account alone to reproduce the dressing precisely. It also provides no blind taste test, laboratory analysis or cost breakdown to establish how the dressing compares with bottled products or other homemade vinaigrettes.
Valdez’s statements about emulsion, flavor and texture describe her experience with the recipe. The source does not specify how long the dressing stays emulsified, whether it separates during storage, or whether different onion sizes and varieties produce consistent results. It does not give nutrition information or address potential food-safety and allergen considerations for the complete recipe.
Check the Full Recipe
The next step for readers interested in trying the dressing is to consult the full recipe in Cook Real Hawai’i or the original Kitchn article for its proportions and method. Valdez’s account suggests experimenting with oil, mustard and sweetener, but those adjustments should be made to taste and may affect the finished balance.
No follow-up test, recipe revision or additional reporting is included in the source material. Whether the dressing holds its texture over time, how long it can be stored, and how its cost compares with ready-made options remain unanswered.
Key Questions
What is the inexpensive ingredient in the dressing?
It is a whole sweet onion. Valdez names Maui, Walla Walla and Vidalia onions as examples.
What does the onion do in the dressing?
Valdez says blending the onion helps emulsify the oil and vinegar and gives the dressing natural sweetness and a creamy texture. Her article describes her experience rather than a controlled test.
What other ingredients does the recipe use?
The supplied report lists neutral oil, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, Dijon mustard and celery salt alongside the sweet onion. It does not provide quantities or complete instructions.
Can I change the oil or sweetener?
Valdez says she used olive oil instead of neutral oil and liked the result. She also suggests trying different mustards or replacing some sugar with honey or maple syrup; these are her suggestions, not tested comparisons in the supplied report.
What can I serve the dressing with?
Valdez says she tossed it with kale and apple. She also suggests Cobb salad, spinach with apples and walnuts, cabbage slaw, roasted vegetables and grain bowls.
Source: thekitchn.com
