French dressing French dressing French dressing is a term originally used for any oil-and-vinegar-based salad dressing. Today, it refers to a creamy ketchup-based dressing which varies in color from pale orange to bright red. It can be made by blending olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, ketchup, brown sugar, paprika, and salt. In the United States during the 1950s, manufactured "French dressing" was developed. The manufactured version is sweet and colored orange-to-red from the use of paprika and tomatoes. In manufactured versions, "French dressing" is generally a pale orange and creamy, while "Catalina French dressing" is generally bright red and less creamy. In
Salad greens. Mary, Queen of Scots, ate boiled celery root over greens covered with creamy mustard dressing, truffles, chervil, and slices of hard-boiled eggs. Oil used on salads can be found in the 17th century colony of New Netherland (later called New York, New Jersey and Delaware). A list of common items arriving on ships and their designated prices when appraising cargo included "a can of salad oil at 1.10 florins" and "an anker of wine vinegar at 16 florins". In a 1665 letter to the Director of New Netherland from the Island of Curaçao there is a request to send