Italian Salad Dressing

I've been making some interesting salad dressings lately - I have a miso mustard one that is my new favorite.  But if I'm going to blog about it, let's figure out what the best option is - we'll start simple with Italian.

The store brand: Ken's Italian Dressing and Marinade

My recipe (adapted from allrecipes.com):
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsely
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 cup vinegar (white, red wine, or balsamic)
2/3 cup olive oil

The rest is simple - combine everything and shake it up.  It's best to let it sit and soften all those dried herbs (or you could always use fresh to make it extra delicious).  I keep this out on the counter because the olive oil will solidify in the refrigerator, and then it's a pain.

So the comparison?  The storebought Italian that I purchased was just terrible.  It had NO herbs or seasonings, and tasted like oil, vinegar, and salt.  I have had lots of great bottled Italian dressings, but this is just not one of them.  Usually I think bottled Italian dressing is pretty good (although salty), but this time, mine was just better.

So the cost here really surprised me.  It cost more to make homemade dressing than to buy the bottle.  The biggest discrepency was the olive oil - the bottled version used vegetable oil, which would have cut my price considerably (The olive oil in my recipe was $1.49 of the total $1.99).

Ken's Italian Dressing and Marinade	16 oz	$3.55	$0.22
Homemade	8 oz	$1.99	$0.25

So although it is nice to make a fancy dressing youself, or to get the rich olive oil and herb taste, I just don't know if it's worth the effort.  There are lots of bottled dressings out there that are delicious, and when I buy them on sale, they cost much less than making it yourself.

Bake or Buy?  BUY!

Chocolate Syrup

CHOCOLATE MILK??!?  Yes, please.  I love me some chocolate milk.  I have never used anything but Hershey's, but I figured, what the h.e.double.hockey.sticks., let's go to town with some homemade.

The store brand: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

My Recipe (from http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2011/03/08/homemade-chocolate-syrup/):

• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 C water
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 t vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cocoa powder. Add water and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, until thickened, continuing to stir frequently. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then add vanilla extract.

Store in air tight container in the fridge.

I made a half batch and it made just about 1 cup of finished syrup.  It was super fast - like 5 minutes from start to finish.

So, the comparison?  Well Hershey's is just high fructose corn syrup with cocoa and preservatives.  I'd take real sugar over HFCS any day.  Taste wise, the homemade version just tasted more chocolatey.  Very deep chocolate flavor - I also needed a little less to make my chocolate milk.  I was worried it would be too thin and watery, but it was thick and great!

The cost to make your own is just about the same.  I used the cost of my homemade vanilla, which saves a little money.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup	24 oz- 2.25 cup	$      2.35	$          1.04
Homemade	2 cups	$      1.96	$          0.98

So overall, it costs about the same to make your own, but it tastes so much richer and more chocolatey.

Bake or Buy?  BAKE!

Peanut Butter

I always see the "grind your own pb" section at my health food store.  It's tempting, but stirring fresh peanut butter seems like a pain in the a$$, so i tend to stick to the regular processed store brands.  For this test, I am going to compare the store ground, regular Peter Pan, and a homemade version.

The Store Brand(s): Peter pan creamy AND tidal creek freshly ground

My Recipe:
1 cup peanuts
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vegetable or peanut oil

The homemade is pretty darn easy - put it in the food processor and let it go until it's the consistency of peanut butter.  You may need to add more oil if it seems dry.

This entire process took maybe 1-2 mins in the food processor.  I ended up adding a little bit more oil, and left it just a little bit chunky.

So the final products:

Starting on the left is my homemade, middle is fresh ground from the store, and right it Peter Pan.  Husband and I tasted all three and we both agreed the fresh ground from the store was the best.  I'm pretty sure there are no add-ins to that type, but it tasted very similar to my homemade version.  The homemade seemed dry compared to the store ground - not sure if it's the peanuts they use, or the grinder.  The Peter Pan was, well, Peter Pan - creamy and salty.  It's good if you're into that sort of thing.

And the cost?  Making your own peanut butter is pretty expensive compared to Peter Pan.  The grocery store type is basically just a vat of peanuts and you select how creamy/chunky you want it and then push the button to fill your container.  It was $3.99 a pound, which I estimated to be 1 3/4 cups.  Using my Planters dry roasted peanuts, the homemade version is actually really expensive, but I'm sure you can get peanuts a lot cheaper.  If you're willing to splurge a little on the cost, it seems like the fresh ground is your best choice.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Cup
Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter	18 oz (2 cups)	$      2.75	$            1.38
Tidal Creek Fresh Grind	1/2 cup	$      1.15	$            2.30
Homemade	1/2 cup	$      1.84	$            3.68

Bake or Buy?  BUY... but buy the good, fresh stuff!