Brighten Up Any Store-Bought Salad Dressing With A Splash Of Vinegar

Store-bought dressings are a convenient item to have in the pantry for adding flavor to your homemade salads. Not everyone has the wherewithal to whisk them up entirely from scratch, especially if only a small amount is needed. That said, some store-bought salad dressing can fall a little flat, requiring you to make tweaks at home. Acidic ingredients are a great way to perk up any recipe, and what better acid to employ in this case than a splash of vinegar? 

A lot of popular store-bought salad dressings have a pop of tang in their recipes, whether it's buttermilk in ranch dressing, citrus juice in green goddess and tahini-based dressings, or vinegar in so many others. However, this tanginess tends to be muted in commercial salad dressing brands, perhaps in order to cater to the broadest customer base. There's nothing wrong with ransacking your pantry in the service of elevating store-bought items to match your preferred tastes. So, if you're underwhelmed by what you grabbed off the shelf, turn to your vinegar collection for assistance.

So you're ready to customize and brighten up your store-bought salad dressing with vinegar — but which one should you use? There are many kinds available on the market, from cheap, plain distilled white vinegar to balsamic vinegar that costs upwards of $100 for a little over 3 ounces. Knowing that, it is unsurprising that different types of vinegar lend themselves well to different applications and ingredients.

White distilled vinegar, while being the least "flavored" of vinegars, is a little too one-note to use for salad dressings. To amp up most dressings, you would do well to reach for apple cider vinegar. It's already one of the most common and versatile ingredients in vinaigrettes, often used to amplify sweet and tart flavors. Meanwhile, vinegars that use various wines as their base can be employed depending on the main ingredient in the salad. Full of herbs? Try doctoring the vinaigrette with white wine vinegar. Light and crunchy with cucumbers and the like? Splash a little rice wine vinegar into the mix.

According to the CDC, only one in 10 adults consume enough fruits or vegetables. While unsurprising, knowing that it is quick and easy to zhuzh up store-bought salad dressing means you have a delicious and convenient hack that might just help you incorporate even more greens into your diet. There are also a whole host of additional ways to make vegetables taste amazing, like roasting them beforehand (you could even add a few dashes of vinegar before they go in the oven) or sprinkling on fresh herbs. The better you make your salads, the more you'll want them at your dinner table.

If you are the kind of person who buys ready-to-eat salads from the grocery store, you can still use this method to make your lunch 'al desko' a little more flavorful. Keep a little bottle of vinegar (stick with apple cider vinegar or balsamic for the most versatility) in the office pantry to perk up the sachets of dressing that come with these convenient bagged meals. Given that vinegar is a bona fide flavor enhancer, it's no wonder this versatile liquid seasoning can brighten up any lackluster salad just about anywhere — no kitchen necessary.