I have been watching some cooking shows on television lately, and what I'd like to know is this: why, oh why, do so many people pronounce vinaigrette as vin-ay-gar-ette??

Huh? I wish I could hear that. Avoid the recipes that need the stuff or cooks that use it. Lemon and and oil as a base is much nicer anyway. Or is that called vinaigratte as well? (i keep the typo)

No, I think vinaigrette by def. has vinegar in it.

You are correct, J. In French cuisine, vinaigrette (sauce à l'huile) is, in its basic form, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. It may be modified somewhat and still called vinaigrette, but the modifications are all additions, not substitutions. (See "Larousse Gastronomique" - with an intro by Auguste Escoffier - or, more recently, "The Sauce Bible" by David Paul Larousse, who is unrelated to the first author.)

The substitution of lemon for vinegar is common in Mediterranean cuisines. Ladolemono is the Greek version, and in the Muslim nations the lemon-based sauce predominates, maybe because there is no wine from which to make vinegar. Add some garlic and herbs, and you have Sicilian salmoriglio. Here in Florida, I like to use lime juice occasionally to give the sauce a more Caribbean flavor. Of course, these are not vinaigrettes!

Interesting. I make a Greek salad once or twice a week. I always dress with olive oil and red wine vinegar, but may try OO and lemon a couple times to see how that changes it.

I knew this would turn into a food thread! [Gallic shrug e]

It takes a higher proportion of lemon juice than vinegar to make a good sauce. Oil to vinegar is usually 3:1, oil to lemon is more like 2:1, so start there and play around with it.

(@ J: And just who started this thread with the words, "I have been watching some cooking shows lately...?" )

Great summer topic. I take a little jar with a lid. Lemon-olive oil 1:3 some salt, pepper, some Dyon mustard, some honey, modest on garlic, (lightly shaken, not stirred) gives a nice creamy emulsion. Tada.

Getting back to the original peeve (and y'all know how I feel about peeves) it might could be due to the fact that vinegar is at the base that the extra syllable sneaks in there. Vinaigrette becomes vinegarette.

Sounds very plausible. Major majorette