Blue cheese dressing

Blue cheese dressing

Blue cheese dressing and fried pickles
Type	Salad dressing or dip
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Mayonnaise, sour cream, yogurt, blue cheese, milk, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder
Variations	Blue cheese vinaigrette

Blue cheese dressing is a popular salad dressing and dip in the United States. It is usually made of some combination of blue cheese, mayonnaise, and either or all buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt, milk, vinegar, onion powder, and garlic powder. There is a blue cheese vinaigrette that consists of salad oil, blue cheese, vinegar, and sometimes seasonings.

Most major salad dressing producers and restaurants in the United States produce a variant of blue cheese dressing. It is commonly served as a dip with buffalo wings or crudités (raw vegetables).

Soybean oil is the dispersed phase in a blue cheese dressing emulsion. It is commonly used in the commercial production of dressing because it is a cheap source of oil. The oil is typically extracted from soybeans through solvent extraction and is highly refined and processed. Polyunsaturated soybean oil mainly consists of linolenic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid, and palmitic acid.

Water is the continuous phase in blue cheese dressing. It is the medium in which all other ingredients are mixed into.

Blue cheese is usually added to commercial dressings in crumbles so that the finished product is chunky. It is responsible for giving blue cheese dressing its signature flavors and aromas.

Vinegar is part of the continuous phase in blue cheese dressing. Its main components are water and acetic acid. Since it is an acid, it is responsible for lowering the pH of the dressing and providing flavor.

Sugar, salt, and natural flavor are all added to enhance the flavor of blue cheese dressing. Sugar is added to sweeten it, salt is added to enhance the saltiness that is characteristic of blue cheese, and natural flavors bring some of the fresh blue cheese flavor back to processed blue cheese dressing.