Berry Delicious Summer Salad

SOUND BITE

Here it is, your new go-to summer salad recipe! Mixed greens with blueberries, strawberries, feta cheese, walnuts and razor-thin red onion slices, topped with a lip-smacking, honey-Dijon dressing. Add some chickpeas or cooked chicken breast for a healthy protein boost.

Why I Add Honey/Maple Syrup to Dressings

You’ll often see a bit of honey or maple syrup in my salad dressings, and I want to explain why, since many people go into full panic mode at the mere mention of sugar.

First, let’s put this into perspective. I’m adding about a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to a dressing that often coats 12 cups of salad! That’s not exactly a sugar bomb.

So, why add it at all?

It’s not to make the dressing sweet—it’s to balance the acidity. Most classic vinaigrettes use a ratio of three parts oil to one part vinegar—but I don’t love oily salad.

I have nothing against olive oil, believe me, but I don’t want my salad drenched in it. To use a clothing analogy, I’d rather dress my salad in a light sweater than in a down-filled parka.

For my dressing recipes, I use a ratio of two parts oil to one part vinegar, and sometimes even less oil and MORE vinegar, plus some lemon juice if I’m feeling bold.

This makes the dressing punchier and way more flavorful—but then it needs a little something to smooth out the sharp edges. That’s where the honey or maple syrup comes in.

They aren’t added to turn salad into a dessert—they simply keep things balanced and delicious.

You’ll never find artificial sweeteners in my dressings or in any my recipes. But sometimes classic or retro recipes call for a bit of plain ol’ granulated sugar, and that’s fine—especially in something like a creamy potato or macaroni salad, where you just want a hint of sweetness without adding flavor.

But when I’m whipping up one of my zillion vinaigrettes, I’d rather get a bit of sweetness—and some bonus flavor—from a bee or a tree.