What do you gain by making the salad dressing in advance?

Whether a salad gets made is most often decided not by whether there are greens but by whether the dressing is ready. A dressing waiting in a jar takes the salad out of being a separate preparation job.

Why does the dressing get in the way?

A salad is one of the fastest plates to put together; but when the dressing is made from scratch every time, that time doubles. Getting the ingredients out, measuring and mixing is a job of its own.

Small as this extra work looks, it is felt at the moment of deciding. On a tired evening, the reason the salad gets skipped is usually not a lack of greens but the extra steps the dressing brings.

When the dressing is ready, the salad comes down to one step. The greens go into the bowl, the dressing is poured over and the plate is done; the difference between the two directly decides how many times a week a salad gets made.

Which dressings are made in advance?

Dressings based on oil and acid are the most suitable for this. A combination of olive oil with lemon or vinegar waits for days in the refrigerator without its taste suffering.

This base is easily varied with additions such as mustard, garlic, honey and spices. Building a few different dressings from the same body keeps the salad from becoming monotonous.

Dressings based on yogurt and dairy have to be used within a shorter time. These can be made in advance too, but in smaller amounts and at shorter intervals.

How is it stored?

A glass jar with a lid is the most suitable container for this. The dressing is mixed by shaking it inside the jar; it needs no separate bowl and whisk and adds nothing to the washing-up.

Where the jar sits in the refrigerator matters as well. A dressing standing at the back is not remembered; a jar standing right by the door shows itself when the refrigerator is opened in the evening.

Dressings with olive oil can set solid in the refrigerator; this is not spoilage. Taking the jar out shortly before the meal, or warming it a little in your hands, is enough for the dressing to return to its earlier consistency.

How much do you make?

Making as much as will be used in a week is the most practical measure. A dressing made in excess waits unused and loses its freshness; one made in too small an amount runs out mid-week and breaks the arrangement.

Finding the right amount takes a week or two. The size of the jar is chosen by that observation; once the measure has settled, there is no need to work it out again each week.

Tying the preparation to a fixed day keeps the arrangement going too. A few minutes of preparation after the shopping or at the start of the week covers all that week's salads.

What else does the dressing go with?

The same dressing does not stay in the salad alone. It can be used in several different plates, poured over roasted vegetables, stirred into boiled legumes or added to a grain salad.

That versatility makes preparing the dressing even more worthwhile. A single preparation serves several meals of the week at once and does not have to be repeated each time.

Keeping the dressing separate matters for people who carry meals as well. A salad with the dressing poured over it releases its water by lunchtime; when the dressing travels separately, the salad stays as it was.

A small jar is enough for this. A measure of dressing set next to the meal container both makes carrying easier and leaves how much gets used to the person putting the meal together.

What does this arrangement change?

The most concrete change is that salad really does enter the meals. It gets made because it is ready; when it is not ready, most evenings pass without it even being considered.

The second change is that the need to buy ready-made dressing drops. The contents of a dressing made at home are known, and its taste can be adjusted to your own palate.

A jar of ready dressing is not a nutrition plan; it only removes the one step standing in front of a salad. The amount of dressing and its oil content change from person to person; that is something to ask a dietitian.