For a few years now, verjus (vair-ZHOO) has been adopted in top culinary circles. But few consumers, even those who love to cook, know what it is.

Verjus is the juice pressed from unripe grapes. The name means green juice in French, but the product dates back to at least ancient Rome (where it was called acresta).

Used as a condiment or a recipe ingredient, it provides bright, fresh flavor without the harsh acidity of vinegar or lemon juice. It’s one of our favorite kitchen ingredients.

It’s also a great gift for anyone who loves to cook and for calorie counters.

Use verjus instead of vinegar or citrus on
salad and in many other recipes. Photo by Sarsmis | IST.

This packet of mix makes a delicious
and addictive salad dressing or dip.
Photo courtesy J & D’s.

With the current trend toward everything bacon, even vegetarians and kosher eaters have products to enjoy.

J & D’s, makers of Bacon Salt and Baconnaise, keep pumping out bacon-flavored products using natural smoke flavor and other flavors to achieve an approximation of bacon. The line is certified kosher by KOF-K.

Our favorite product in the line is Baconnaise, bacon-flavored mayonnaise (read our review—it’s a Top Pick Of The Week).

Our second favorite product is J & D’s Bacon Ranch Dressing & Dip Mix. Mix a packet with buttermilk (our choice) or sour cream plus mayonnaise. You’ll end up with a thick, creamy, bacon-flavored dip that may not score high with cardiologists, but sure is a crowd-pleaser.

Compensate for the fat by serving the dip with lots of healthy crudités, or dot (not pour) onto salad greens.

Put the packets of dressing and dip mix on your holiday gift list as stocking stuffers (or the equivalent for people whose celebrations don’t include stockings). You can purchase six-packs for $15.48 on Amazon.com.

Innocent or guilty? One of the well-
known extra-virgin olive oils alleged
to be not exactly extra-virgin.

Last week we wrote about shadiness in the olive oil industry: In a study conducted by the Olive Center at the University of California at Davis, 69% of imported oils labeled as extra-virgin were not; 10% of California oils sampled did not meet the standards.

The follow-up news may shock lay people, but it’s just more olive oil “business as usual.”

A group of prominent California restaurateurs and chefs has filed a class-action lawsuit against olive oil distributors and retailers.

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, targets 10 major olive oil brands: Bertolli, Carapelli, Colavita, Filippo Berio, Mazola, Mezzetta, Pompeian, Rachael Ray, Safeway Select and Star. It also names 10 major supermarket chains and big box stores that allegedly sold substandard oil as “extra-virgin.” This includes olive oil mixed with cheaper types of oil, lower quality olive oil and olive oil degraded by heat or age.

An olive oil labeled “extra-virgin” should assure consumers that the oil was extracted without the use of heat or chemicals, that it is pure, that it satisfies a taste test and that it falls within chemical parameters established by the International Olive Council (IOC).

The lawsuit has been filed just as the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares to adopt scientifically verifiable standards for nomenclature such as “extra virgin” and “virgin” in an effort to clear up concerns about labeling accuracy. The standards will be implemented in October, and are similar to those upheld by the IOC.

It’s easy to make a sweet-and-tart fruit
vinaigrette. Photo and recipe courtesy
WildBlueberries.com.

Why purchase bottled salad dressing when it’s so easy, less expensive and healthier to make your own (you control the sodium and sugar levels and don’t add preservatives)?

It’s simple to mix oil and vinegar, but not that much more trouble to make a delicious fruit vinaigrette.

While it’s the perfect time to take advantage of high-antioxidant summer blueberries, you can make this recipe year-round with frozen fruit.

BLUEBERRY VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients

Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients except blueberries and whisk thoroughly in a bowl (you can shake them in a jar if you prefer).

2. Add blueberries. In this easy recipe, the blueberries are added whole; but if you have extra time, you can purée the fruit for a thicker dressing. Then, add the purée in step one, and garnish the salad with some extra blueberries.

3. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Makes 1-1/2 cups. Serve with green salad, salad greens with grilled chicken or fish or with fruit salad.

You can use this recipe to make mango, raspberry, strawberry or other fruit vinaigrette as well. Since the fruit is larger, you’ll need to make a small dice or else purée it.

Find more of our favorite salad dressings in our Oil, Vinegar & Dressings Section.

Olive oil has long had its shady side. Purchasing a bottle of extra virgin is no guarantee of getting high quality, extra virgin oil. Studies over the years have pinpointed the shenanigans of some bottlers. The latest study, conducted by the USDA and the International Olive Council, showed that they continue. That container of EVOO may not even be 100% OO.

The study showed that nine of ten California samples (90%) met the standards for extra virgin olive oils, meaning that 10% of what is sold as extra virgin isn’t. Imported oils rated much worse: 69% of imported olive oil samples failed to meet the standards. That means that almost 1/3 of the imported extra virgin olive oil sold, isn’t.

The full report on the can be downloaded from the UC Davis Olive Center. Here are the highlights:

You paid for extra virgin olive oil, but
what’s really in the bottle? Photo by Ramon Gonzalez | SXC.

What can you do about it?

Be wary that “bargain” extra virgin olive oil may not be that much of a bargain. Know that the risks are higher with imported olive oils from large bottlers. And seek out products from members of the California Olive Oil Council.

If your food plan includes low-calorie salads, remember that a regular salad dressing can zero-out the calorie savings. Each little tablespoon can be 100 calories or more (and the next time you dress your salad, count how many tablespoons you use).

There are countless low-calorie salad dressings out there: the good, the O.K., and the we-don’t-want-another-taste. If you don’t like spending money on bottle after bottle trying to find the ones you like, turn your search into a “salad dressing tasting party.”

Invite friends over for a salad lunch or dinner and taste ten or more different diet dressings at once. You can ask for recommendations up-front. You’ll discover favorite new low-calorie salad dressings, and get your friends together for a healthy good time.

You can assign everyone to bring a different interesting “salad bar” item, or ask everyone to bring an undressed salad—and have a vote to award prizes to the best.

Don’t pour hundreds of calories of dressing
on a healthy salad. Photo by Kelly Cline | IST.

Early this year, one of our favorite star chefs, Giada De Laurentiis, launched a line of cookware and specialty food items with Target.

The cookware in the Giada De Laurentiis for Target collection is, alas, the same bakeware, cutlery, frying pan, utensils and food processor that you can buy anywhere. Giada didn’t design any of these products—and we wonder if she even uses them in her own kitchen (we’d imagine that a successful professional chef uses top-of-the-line professional products).

But, we thought, at least she could put her famous imprimatur on the food products.

Unfortunately, the pasta sauces and pasta are also the same that you can buy anywhere else. It’s a disappointment that Giada would put her name to them (and if you taste them, you won’t believe that she’d even eat them).

The best of the group. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

The one product we tried that does deserve a shout-out is the Raspberry Vinaigrette. Made from champagne vinegar, raspberries and a blend of canola oil and grapeseed oil, it is tart, tasty and less acidic than the raspberry vinaigrette we make with raspberry vinegar and olive oil.

However, we couldn’t find the vinaigrette on the Target.com website. You may have to take a trip to the bricks-and-mortar to find a bottle.

There’s a moral here: Just because your favorite chef has a line of products doesn’t mean the line is as good as the chef’s repertoire. This is the fourth “celebrity chef”-endorsed line that fails to please. In fact, we approach each new chef-endorsed line with trepidation.

On the other hand, hats off to Emeril: We seem to like everything he puts his name to.

Prickly pears, a.k.a. cactus pears. Photo
courtesy Melissas.com.

Now that it’s May 1, we’ve got four days to focus on Cinco de Mayo culinary tributes. For sure, we’ll bring on the salsa and the cocktails.

But first, here’s a fresh idea that may take some hunting: prickly pear salad dressing. Check Latino and International markets for the fruit (or you can purchase them online at Melissas.com).

A popular food in Mexico, prickly pears, also known as cactus pears, are the fruit of several species of cactus (most particularly, Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia tuna). The fruits have been used in Mexico both for food and medicinal cures since prehistoric times.

Prickly pears have a purple-red or green exterior with soft, ruby-red or golden colored flesh and tiny, edible seeds. They are low in calories—just 40 calories each—very high in dietary fiber, magnesium and vitamin C and high in calcium, potassium, riboflavin and vitamin B6.

Whatever you make, be sure to peel the “pears” carefully to remove any small needles.

PRICKLY PEAR SALAD DRESSING

This vinaigrette becomes pink with the addition of prickly pear puree. Use it on green salads and fruit salads. Makes 1 cup. Recipe courtesy Ida Rodriguez | Melissas.com.

Ingredients

Shake all ingredients in a covered jar.

While you’re at it, make this refreshing prickly pear sorbet.

Find more of our favorite fruits and fruit recipes.

Say what? Say smoked olive oil. EEVO, meet SEEVO.

We bought our first smoked olive oil several years ago. It was imported from Spain and was a very special product. But the world (or at least, the neighborhood) was not yet ready for smoked olive oil. It was discontinued by the store where we purchased it.

Brenda Chatelain and Al Hartman, the couple who produce smoked olive oil under the brand, The Smoked Olive, had never heard of smoked olive oil. It was a sui generis idea in the middle of the night for Al, a food industry veteran who worked for four years to perfect the smoking process.

Made from local extra virgin olive oil (the Chatelain-Hartmans are located in Santa Rosa, California, the county seat of Sonoma County), it’s the only smoked olive oil in the U.S. The production process is so complex and unique that they have a patent pending.

There are three varieties of The Smoked Olive: Napa, Sonoma and Santa Fe (with added chile heat), with more on the way. So, what would you do with a bottle?

Smoked olive oil adds a smoky touch to your
favorite everyday foods. Photo by Tanya F. | IST.

The same things as with any special olive oil. Just as basil olive oil and rosemary olive oil, to name two, are such enliveners of anything they touch, smoked olive oil does the same for people who love the flavor of smoked foods. In fact, every taste recalls our favorite smoked food, smoked salmon.

Little did we know when we opened the jar of Kathryn’s Cottage Blue Cheese Dressing that we would fall in love.

We try every blue cheese dressing that crosses our path. Most don’t measure up.

Funny: Kathryn was in the same boat, so she decided to make her own. After much experimentation, she came up with the current masterpiece; then developed a superb Thousand Island Dressing as well.

If you think you don’t need to send away for salad dressing, think again! Or at least twist your retailer’s arm to stock up on them. Read the full review below.

Blue cheese dressing this good should be
shown off in a recipe like this. Photo by
Soulgems | Fotolia.