What is salad cream? Most people would think of mayonnaise right away. However, they are two different types, and salad cream even came before mayonnaise. But it is alright if you don’t know about this since many people have the same query.
Like other dressings, salad cream helps your dish become more flavorful. Nevertheless, there is additional exciting information about this condiment. You can obtain many health benefits by consuming it, but it also contains risks.
By knowing salad cream thoroughly, you can make better choices for your health. And fortunately, this post is here to help you with that!
Salad cream can bring both benefits and drawbacks to your health.
Things You Need To Know About Salad Cream
Salad cream first appeared in 1914 and was sold predominantly in the United Kingdom. As its name suggests, it was initially made for use in salads. Today, this condiment has expanded its popularity and uses worldwide.
While mayonnaise is the most popular condiment in America, salad cream is Britain’s favorite. What makes it so special to gain that much love? Let me walk you through it!
Ingredients
Salad cream is a mixture of oil, egg yolks, vinegar, sugar, and mustard. These ingredients act as the base of this condiment. Besides, it may contain other ingredients such as salt, spices, colorings, thickener, and flavorings.
Salad cream uses hard-boiled eggs, so it is safe for consumption. Vegetable oils like rapeseed or olive oil are the most common, and they usually don’t exceed 25-50% of the oil and water blend. Spirit vinegar is also a great choice for salad cream.
Salad cream can appear in lightly seasoned versions, from spicy to sweet. Therefore, it can cater to many palates.
The fat content also varies depending on the brand. Some brands produce salad cream lower in fat than traditional mayonnaise, while others make equivalent content.
When making this condiment at home, you can add any ingredient to change its texture and flavor, such as onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, or even MSG.
Flavor And Texture
Salad cream has a smooth texture with a complex flavor. People usually describe it as a tangy and slightly acidic cream. This results from one of its components – vinegar.
Vinegar makes salad cream taste vinegary, and because of that, it is less cloying than mayonnaise. This condiment also gives off a hint of mustard. In addition, salad cream recipes include a smaller amount of egg yolks, so it’s runnier than mayonnaise.
These ingredients significantly impact the condiment’s flavor, texture, and color. Salad cream is incredibly adaptable. You can adjust its flavor to fit your preferences.
If you want it to taste similar to store-bought products, go with a mayonnaise base. Otherwise, you can stick to this condiment’s roots.
Uses
The most common use of this condiment is to dress salads. Since it is a mixture of flavorful ingredients, this cream can elevate the taste of your salad and keep all the nutrients in your vegetables intact. It works exceptionally well with crunchy salads.
Other than that, you can use salad cream in many unexpected ways:
- Pizza: The piquancy of salad cream will add a new layer of flavor to your pizza.
- Meat and BBQ: Salad cream’s tangy and citrus flavor is wonderful for marinating chicken and other meats.
- Sandwiches: Spread it between two pieces of bread, and you will have a delicious sandwich for a quick meal.
- Dipping sauces: You can also use salad cream as a dip for fried chicken or any food you want.
- Poutine: The rich and creamy texture of salad cream gets along well with other ingredients.
- Avocado: Slice avocado and sprinkle this condiment on top of it for a light snack.
Salad Cream, Mayonnaise, And Ranch
You can easily get confused by these three popular dressings. Their appearances are similar, and sometimes, they can be used as a substitute for each other. Nevertheless, there are some key differences between them. The table below will give you closer inspections.
Mayonnaise, also known as mayo, is one of the most popular condiments in the world. It contains only 2 main ingredients: egg yolks and vinegar (or lemon juice).
Mayonnaise is high in fat due to its high oil content. A commercial mayonnaise bottle can comprise up to 65% oil.
Ranch originates in America. Compared to the other two, ranch dressing is more diverse in ingredients. This dressing includes buttermilk, onion, salt, herb, mustard, and other spices with buttermilk as the base.
The key difference between the three is the vinegar proportion. Salad cream has a higher number than mayonnaise and ranch, which is why it tastes tangier. Overall, ranch dressing is the most flavorful due to spices and seasonings.
Regarding texture, mayonnaise is the thickest, and ranch is the thinnest. Salad cream is slightly thick and sometimes pourable.
Perhaps the most similar feature between the three is the use. Ranch, salad cream, and mayonnaise can be used as salad dressing, dipping sauces, or marinades. Mayonnaise is probably the most versatile. You can even use it to cook sauces.
The high oil content is responsible for the thick texture of mayonnaise. Watch this video:
Benefits Of Eating Salad Cream
Salad cream may come across as a tasty supplement for salads to most people. But little do they know it can offer many benefits for their health.
Increase Veggie Intake
Salads are extremely adaptable. Any fruit or vegetable can make this quick and healthy meal. Since salads contain many nutritious ingredients, they can supplement fiber, vitamins, and minerals for your body.
However, the dish is pretty bland to most people. Using salad cream as a dressing helps your salad taste more flavorful. Therefore, it boosts your veggie intake, allowing you to eat more healthy foods at once.
Help Absorb Vitamins
Vitamins are essential for the function of the human body. Eating food with high vitamin content brings you many advantages, including wound healing, cell protection, and many other benefits for immune, heart, and hormone health.
Salads contain vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are soluble-fat vitamins. These compounds are best absorbed with the help of fat (1). Oils are a type of fat; therefore, a salad with dressings will help you obtain these vitamins better.
Support Heart Health
Vegetable oils contain many micronutrients and phenols. They can promote heart protection, regulate blood pressure levels and improve metabolism. Salad cream is usually made with olive oil or rapeseed oil.
The olive variety is rich in oleic acid. It can improve heart health and prevent inflammation (2). In addition, this compound may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Rapeseed oil has a high level of vitamin E. Consuming this vitamin can prevent coronary heart disease and some cancers.
Provide Antioxidants
Some salad cream recipes include antioxidant-rich ingredients like citrus juices, vinegar, and oil. Normally, people get citrus juice from limes, oranges, or lemons. These ingredients contain a large amount of vitamin C, a type of antioxidant.
There are many types of vinegar to make salad cream, from white wine and rice to balsamic. They all have antioxidants to support people with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, and bacterial infections.
Antioxidants in citrus juice benefit your health, and this is why!
Disease-Fighting Effect
Spices and herbs enhance your dish’s flavor and offer many health benefits. They comprise polyphenols, vitamins, flavonoids, and tannins. These compounds are responsible for the precaution against diseases like cancer, high blood sugar, and inflammation.
Despite having many benefits, salad cream can be used as a supplement. The main ingredients of your salad are vegetables, seeds, or nuts. So, make sure to include a wide range of healthy components in your dish.
Risks Contained In Store-Bought Salad Cream
Many store-bought salad cream products contain unhealthy substances. They can be high in artificial ingredients, sodium, and sugar. Consuming too much of them will lead to many health problems.
Saturated Fat
Salad cream has less fat than mayonnaise, around a third. Even then, consuming too much of it will make the cholesterol level inside your body drive up and block arteries. Moreover, it can increase inflammation.
You may think that choosing fat-free products is optimal. However, as I mentioned earlier, some vitamins will be absorbed easier with a little fat. It also makes you full when eating. In addition, removing fat from the product means higher sugar and salt content.
Calories
Salad cream has half of the calories compared to mayonnaise. One teaspoon of store-bought salad cream contains 40-45 calories. You will need to walk for 13 minutes with that amount of calories.
Eating more calories than your body can burn may lead to obesity. It also increases the risk of cancer and metabolic syndrome.
Sugar
Although salad cream has lower calories and fat than mayonnaise, it has higher sugar content. Eating excessive sugar can make you feel full at the time but hungrier later. It increases the blood sugar level in your body and contributes to belly fat.
Sodium
Even when your salad cream does not taste salty, it can be high in sodium due to the loss of fat in the production.
Sodium in store-bought salad cream products can lead to a heart attack or stroke. For people with high blood pressure, it may negate the effect of their medicines.
Tips For Better Choices Of Salad Cream
The wide variety of salad creams on supermarket shelves is enough to dazzle your eyes. Therefore, you have to prepare yourself with some tips to choose the best products.
Always Check The Label Before Deciding To Buy
When shopping for salad cream, look at the ingredient list. If the products include a long list of sugar or preservatives, opt for other options!
You should choose salad cream with oils, vinegar, and water as the main components. Herbs and spices are also acceptable. Those things will not add extra calories to your salads.
Avoid Fat-Free Products
These salad creams usually add extra sugar and preservatives to compensate for fat loss, so you may want to avoid them. Instead, choose oil-based varieties like avocado, olive, or nuts oil since they have healthy monounsaturated fats.
Measure The Amount You Are Using
Even when salad cream is considerably healthier than other salad dressings, using it excessively can make it unhealthy. Therefore, it’s best to measure how much you should use before enjoying it.
Normally, two tablespoons per serving are enough to make your salad flavorful. However, some products only need one. So it’s essential to know the portion size in the instructions of the product you buy.
Prestigious Salad Cream Brands
It is not hard to obtain salad cream products from many local stores. The real difficulty is how to know the best brands to buy. If that is your problem, you must not miss this section!
1. Heinz
Heinz was the first to introduce salad cream to the world. After a century, Heinz still keeps its original tangy taste and eventually becomes one of the most loved brands in England.
The special thing about its products is that they contain no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.
This company offers a wide range of salad cream products for you to choose from. If you care about the fat content inside your salad cream, opt for the 30% or 70% less fat products. Heinz also produces a vegan variety that is gluten-free.
2. Hillfarm
Hillfarm claims to make its salad cream a class of its own. With cold-pressed rapeseed oil and free-range egg yolk, Hillfarm brings a deep, rich, and honest flavor to your salads. You can serve its salad cream with sandwiches, fish, chips, boiled eggs, or anything you wish.
3. Crosse & Blackwell
Being one of the most recognized brands in South Africa, Crosse & Blackwell is an excellent choice when it comes to salad cream. The products from this company are less tangy than others on the market. Therefore, they are perfect for people with milder palates.
4. Tesco
Another brand you should consider when attempting to buy salad cream is Tesco. Besides regular products, Tesco’s salad cream is also available in 50% less fat form. Moreover, you can choose the special free-from type, which contains no gluten, dairy, or nuts.
Make Your Own Salad Cream At Home!
There is no healthier choice than homemade salad cream. Making salad cream at home means you can choose the healthy ingredients and adjust the flavor to your liking. Furthermore, this condiment requires very few ingredients and time to make!
To prove how easy it is, let me show you two ways to make your own homemade salad cream.
Homemade Traditional Salad Cream Recipe
With this recipe, you can have a chance to experience the original creamy British salad cream. It is more piquant than mayonnaise and contains no raw eggs. Therefore, rest assured that it is completely safe to eat.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs (hard-boiled)
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 teaspoons of mustard
- 1 scant tablespoon of sugar
- 3 tablespoons of white vinegar (Optional: cider vinegar)
- 150 ml double cream
- Salt
- Pepper
- Milk
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare Eggs
Peel your hard-boiled eggs, remove the yolks, and set the white aside.
Step 2: Blend
Put the egg yolks, vinegar, sugar, and lemon juice into a blender or electric mixer. Blend until they become smooth. You can also use a high-sided bowl and blend them manually.
Step 3: Add Cream
Add half the cream and slowly add the rest while blending. The acidity and speed will thicken your mixture. Pulse gently until it reaches the desired consistency.
Step 4: Adjust Flavor
Season with pepper and salt. If the condiment is too thick, pour in a little milk and stir well to thin it.
Step 5: Serve
Transfer your salad cream to a bowl and enjoy! As for the white eggs you have left aside, you can chop them up and use them as a topping for your salad. Other than that, feel free to add them to recipes that call for boiled eggs.
You can also try this recipe for a salad cream with Heinz’s flavor. Watch this video:
Homemade Salad Cream Using Mayonnaise
If you prefer a faster option, use mayonnaise as the base. You don’t have to make emulsions from eggs, oil, and vinegar, which will save much of your time.
Ingredients
- 1-2 anchovy filets (in an oil jar)
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- ⅛ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare Anchovies
Place the anchovies in a bowl and use a fork to mash until they break apart.
Step 2: Stir
Add all ingredients to the bowl and stir until they combine.
Step 3: Serve
Scoop the mixture out and serve it in a bowl. You can make this salad cream ahead, but the anchovies taste will gradually intensify. Therefore, you should cover it before refrigeration and serve it within 2 days. Remember to stir it before using it.
Learn To Extend Your Salad Cream Shelf Life With Basic Guides
After making homemade salad creams, the next thing you would want to do is to store them. Fortunately, salad cream, as well as other salad dressings, is fairly easy to store. Just do exactly what you usually do to leftover food – refrigeration!
Using A Fridge
Due to the insufficiency of acidity level, salad cream cannot control bacteria growth. Therefore, it’s important to aid the fridge. Put the condiments in an airtight container as fit as possible and place them inside.
Don’t store them at the fridge door, as the temperature may fluctuate much. Instead, put it on the shelf where it’s cooler.
For bottled salad cream, store them at under 4 degrees C after opening. They will last for around 8 weeks in the fridge. If they are unopened, you can keep them for months.
Using A Freezer
When freezing the salad cream, place the containers upright to prevent leaking. If you let the excess air go inside the containers, your dressing will have a freezer burn. In addition, the freezer odor can make its way inside and ruin the flavor of your condiment.
Your homemade salad cream will last for 3 months using this way, while sealed ones are good for up to 6 months. Although it is safe to eat afterward, it will likely lose some texture and flavor.
FAQs
When it comes to salad cream, there are a lot of questions to ask. If you have not found the answers you need, then maybe they lie in this section!
Salad Cream Is Only Healthy When Used Moderately!
Salad cream is an amazing condiment to add to your salad. If you have tried it once, I believe you will never eat the dish the same way as before. The tangy flavor and the creamy texture wrapped around your salad are the best things on earth.
But too much of something is never a good thing! Salad cream can indeed bring many benefits to you. However, if you overuse this condiment, risks are your last termination. Balancing salad cream in your diet may be the key to better health.
Do you think this post is helpful? Don’t hesitate to comment and let me know how useful it is. And if it provides you with just what you need, make sure to share it!
References
- Healthline.com (2018), Micronutrients: Types, Functions, Benefits And More
- Webmd.com (2022), Health Benefits Of Olive Oil
