wunder beta📘 How do you build a real Caesar salad?
You are standing at the open fridge with a plastic bottle of creamy white stuff labeled Caesar. Someone wants salad in ten minutes. That bottle will taste like salt, sugar, and a rumor of lemon. Put it back. Tonight the dressing comes from
What you’ll learn
- The bowl Cardini inventedName what belongs in a first Caesar, tell Cardini and Julia from Kenji, and scale the four-plate bowl.The salad is Mexican, from Cardini in Tijuana, remembered by Julia Child. Rosa refused anchovies. Kenji adds them and emulsifies. Tonight you cook Kenji's amounts.
- Romaine that still snapsKeep only inner leaves, wash under running water without soap, dry on towels, and explain why a waxy leaf needs an emulsion.Kenji wants snap, not flop. FDA: rinse, no soap, dry. Wet leaves reject dressing. The hydrophobic wax is why a blender beats a tableside drizzle.
- Croutons without burnt garlicInfuse and strain garlic oil, bake 3/4-inch cubes at 375°F until pale gold, and cheese the bread before and after the oven.Garlic burns faster than bread. Strain the oil, save the paste for the dressing, and do not store garlic in oil on the counter. Parmesan twice is the pizza trick.
- The dressing is mayonnaiseBuild Kenji's cup, start the emulsion with canola, whisk in extra-virgin by hand, and use a pasteurized yolk.Caesar dressing is flavored mayonnaise. Lecithin holds the droplets. USDA: no raw shell eggs in uncooked Caesar. Neutral oil in the blender, olive oil in the bowl.
- Toss, leftover, next bowlToss by hand in a huge bowl, refrigerate extra dressing up to a week, throw out a dressed bowl that sat more than two hours, and troubleshoot the next plate.Wave, not a fight. Dress the plate, not the week. USDA two-hour clock. Puddle means wet leaves or a broken emulsion. Bitter means blended olive oil.
Questions this course answers
Why does Kenji keep only the inner leaves of romaine?
Kenji, following Julia and Caesar, uses only the ultra-crisp inner leaves and keeps them large. Floppy outer leaves are a different dinner.
In your own words, why does an emulsified Caesar dressing cling to romaine better than oil and lemon tossed on separately?
Kenji: lettuce is waxy, so un-emulsified oil sticks and lemon juice sinks. Emulsified dressing clings to that wax, which means even flavor in each bite.
Match each move to the job it does in the bowl
Strained garlic oil saves the bread. A pasteurized yolk is the USDA's Caesar door. Dry leaves hold dressing. Neutral oil protects extra-virgin from the blades.
Put Kenji's first Caesar in the order that keeps croutons crisp and leaves unwilted
Croutons need the oven and a cool-down. Leaves are washed and dried while that happens. Dressing next. Toss last, because a dressed leaf starts dying.
Kenji will not put extra-virgin olive oil in a running blender. Why?
Kenji: you do not want extra-virgin in an electric blender. It breaks down and turns bitter. Neutral oil starts the emulsion. Extra-virgin is whisked in by hand.
The USDA lists Caesar salad as a dish that should use pasteurized eggs. Why?
USDA FSIS: do not eat raw shell eggs that are not cooked. Pasteurized egg products can be used in uncooked recipes, and the agency names Caesar salad on that list.
Grounded in trusted sources
- J. Kenji López-Alt, The Best Caesar Salad, Serious Eats, updated 10 January 2025, inner romaine leaves, garlic oil strained for croutons, Parmesan before and after baking, emulsified dressing as flavored mayonnaise, canola then extra-virgin, 2 to 6 anchovies plus Worcestershire, pasteurized-yolk note, extra dressing up to 1 week, https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-caesar-salad-recipe
- Amelia Rampe, I Tried Julia Child's Caesar Salad Recipe, The Kitchn, 15 December 2021, Rosa Cardini via Julia, whole romaine hearts, garlic-oil croutons, one-minute coddled egg, lemon, Worcestershire, no anchovies, keep Kenji's dressing for the week, https://www.thekitchn.com/julia-child-caesar-salad-23256175
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Selecting and Serving Produce Safely, 5 March 2024, 20-second handwash, running water only, no soap or produce wash because produce is porous, washing reduces but does not eliminate bacteria, dry with a clean cloth or paper towel, refrigerate cut produce at 40 F or below, https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-produce-safely
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Egg Products and Food Safety, 15 November 2023, USDA does not recommend raw uncooked shell eggs because of Salmonella, pasteurized egg products can be used in uncooked Caesar salad, Hollandaise, eggnog, and homemade mayonnaise, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/eggs/egg-products-and-food-safety
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, 31 July 2020, bacteria grow between 40 and 140 F, throw away perishable food left at room temperature more than 2 hours or 1 hour above 90 F, keep cold platters at 40 F or below, leftovers 3 to 4 days in the fridge, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/leftovers-and-food-safety
- National Center for Home Food Preservation, Freezing Garlic-in-Oil, citing Nummer, Schaffner, Fraser, and Andress, Food Protection Trends 31(6):336-342, 2011, garlic-in-oil at room temperature can develop botulism, refrigerate at 40 F or lower no more than 4 days or freeze, https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/vegetable/freezing-garlic-in-oil/
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