Let Me Be Your Salad Dressing! Quiz

Answer: Green Goddess dressing

It might sound a little heavy for modern tastes, but the fresh herbs give Green Goddess dressing a real punch. A version using a vinaigrette base thickened up with tahini sauce is a delicious alternative. The "Green Goddess" was also a nickname for a model of fire engine used by the British Armed Forces.

Answer: Caesar dressing

No lunch spot's menu would be complete without a Caesar salad. This popular concoction has been claimed as the brainchild of many chefs, though most historians believe that Italian-Mexican restaurateur Caesar Cardini created the salad in 1924, when a holiday rush at his Tijuana restaurant used up most of his standby salad supplies.

He threw together what he had left, and voila--culinary history.

Answer: Balsamic vinaigrette

Modena and Reggio Emilia are the only two places in the world where balsamic vinegar labeled "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale" can be legally produced. Its complex flavor is the result of reducing grape juice to a thick syrup, then aging it for a minimum of 12 years. If a bottle is labeled "Balsamic Vinegar of Modena," then it's nothing more than cheap wine vinegar mixed with caramel and artificial coloring.

Answer: Ranch dressing

The top-selling salad dressing in the U.S., ranch dressing was invented by the owners of Hidden Valley Ranch (yes! they were real people!) in the 1950s. The formula was bought by Clorox in 1972, those convenient little packets of powdered seasoning were developed, and dressing history was made.

Answer: Tahini

Tahini, or sesame paste, is a versatile and expensive ingredient that makes an appearance in the cuisine of countries from Morocco to Japan. It's used in such dishes as hummus, where it's blended with cooked chickpeas and garlic, and halva, a sweet and crumbly confection enjoyed throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Balkan regions.

Answer: Louis dressing

The Louis salad is another culinary invention claimed by many chefs. It was most likely developed in coastal Washington State or in San Francisco, and it was first served with Dungeness crab. These days, you're more likely to see Shrimp Louis than Crab Louis on your restaurant menu. Either way, it's said that when Enrico Caruso sang in Seattle in 1904, he kept ordering Louis salads until there was none left in the restaurant kitchen.

Answer: Miracle Whip

Miracle Whip was introduced during the Great Depression, in an attempt to make "fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables and salads better tasting, more appealing and less expensive to Depression-weary consumers," according to an archivist at Kraft Foods. It's both sweeter and tangier than traditional mayonnaise.

Answer: Thousand Island dressing

When you're as popular as Thousand Island dressing, it seems everyone wants to claim you as their own. No one knows for sure where this recipe originated, though it's now a staple ingredient at many fast-food joints. It's perhaps best known in its mustard-enhanced form as the "secret sauce" slathered on every Big Mac.

Answer: Wafu dressing

Wafu means, literally, "Japanese salad dressing." This basic template lends itself to all kinds of sweet and savory variations. A salad might be sprinkled with gomashio--a mixture of toasted black sesame seeds and coarse salt--but it probably wouldn't include katsuobushi--flakes of dried, fermented tuna that may be added to sushi or used to make soup stock.

Answer: Vinaigrette

Many other types of dressing - "Italian" and "French" among them - are really just variations on the vinaigrette formula. Making your own vinaigrette takes less than a minute (maybe two minutes if you chop your own shallots) and guarantees the best, freshest-tasting salad dressing around. With the necessary ingredients so inexpensive and widely available, there's really no reason to settle for bottled imitations packed with sweeteners and chemicals. Let it be your salad dressing tonight!