Salad cream is the original creamy British salad dressing and this recipe makes the perfect salad cream. More piquant than mayonnaise, it makes use of hard boiled egg yolks rather than raw egg, and adds mustard for extra flavour.
Revisit happy childhood memories with my recipe for a wonderful traditional sauce.
Table of Contents
What is Salad Cream?
Salad cream is the original British salad dressing. Ubiquitous until the mid 1980s when enthusiasm for world foods made mayonnaise much more popular, it’s the dressing many of us grew up with, slathered over butterhead lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and boiled eggs. I remember it being served up for lunch at Primary school. I wasn’t a fan then, although the memory is tinged with some nostalgia!
It was everywhere in my childhood, when avocado pears were new and exotic treats and olive oil was more likely to be found at the chemist’s shop than the grocers. Back in the 1970’s and 80’s, the British diet was very different from what it is today! However, salad cream has a much longer history than you might think.
When Mrs Beeton published her salad cream recipe (two versions, numbers 507 and 508!) in 1861, she referred back to a verse by the early 19th century cleric Sydney Smith. Smith used mashed potato rather than cream in his recipe but in all other respects it is still recognisable.
The first commercial version became available in 1914 when Heinz started producing their salad cream in Harlesden. In 2018 the brand caused something of a furore when they proposed a change of name to ‘sandwich cream’, a notion quickly rejected by the nation!
Salad Cream vs Mayonnaise
In the 1940s, the British Ministry of Food set out to define minimum standards for salad cream and mayonnaise, describing mayonnaise as ‘similar to, although usually more viscous than salad cream’. From a cook’s point of view, the recipe for mayonnaise generally contains no cream and is an emulsion of raw egg yolks with oil and vinegar. In salad cream recipes, on the other hand, the eggs yolks are boiled first. So no raw egg in salad cream.
Sauces thickened with cooked egg yolk exist in classical French cuisine too, in the form of sauce gribiche.
My Homemade Salad Cream Recipe
Crying out for crisp iceberg lettuce, this is the perfect dressing for a simple fuss-free traditional salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomato. It is utterly delicious, mousse-like and almost fluffy in texture. It’s a a far cry from the stuff in the bottle, so if you have never tried homemade salad cream, or indeed hated the stuff at the time, do give this recipe a try.
It’s really not difficult to make and I have included my hacks for the perfect consistency every time – just see the Pro Tips below.
Salad Cream Ingredients
- Cream – Double or heavy cream.
- Sugar – Just regular granulated white sugar.
- Hard-boiled egg yolks – The easiest way to hard boil eggs is to bring to the boil in a large covered pan. Once boiling, turn the heat off and leave for 12 minutes before plunging into very cold water. (You need to do this to stop that unattractive black coating forming around the yolk.)
- Mustard – Two teaspoons of Dijon or other mild mustard, or use just a dab of English mustard.
- Lemon Juice – To extract more juice from a lemon, roll it on the counter under the heel of your hand before you slice it in half.
- Vinegar – White wine or cider vinegar.
Not Pictured / Optional
- Milk – Any type.
- Cayenne Pepper – If you want to add a dash of heat.
How to Make Salad Cream
First, grab your ingredients. See notes above.
Step one – Peel and halve the eggs, remove the yolks and set the whites to one side. Juice the half lemon. Put the egg yolks, mustard, sugar and white wine vinegar into a mini blender or high-sided bowl.
Step two – Whizz to make a smooth liquid. You can use a stick blender or electric mixer if you prefer.
Step three – Add about half the cream. Blend slowly, adding more cream as you go.
Pro Tip
Because of the acidity and speed of the blender, the salad cream will suddenly thicken. You should therefore go slowly, gently pulsing and adding more cream until you have the perfect consistency. Don’t worry if it is does become too thick, though – we can easily fix that.
Step Four – Taste and mix in a little pepper and salt to season. If the salad cream is too far thick, briefly whizz in a splash of milk to thin it. At this stage it is better to have it a bit too thick than too thin.
Step Five – Transfer the freshly made salad cream to a serving bowl or jug. If necessary, stir in a further small splash of milk by hand to thin it to the perfect consistency.
Pro Tip
Use a jam funnel to transfer to a glass jug or bowl. This will help to avoid splashes of salad cream round the top of the dish.
Fresh salad cream will keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Hints, Tips and Suggestions for Salad Cream
- Use this salad cream recipe as a base for sandwich spread, adding finely chopped vegetables.
- As a dip with a huge plate of crudités – see our tips for the perfect crudité platter.
- Stir in some chopped fresh green garden herbs – basil, chives and parsley would all be delicious.
- Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat.
What Can I Do With Leftover Hard Boiled Egg Whites?
- Chop them up and scatter over a salad.
- Add into any recipe that uses whole boiled eggs.
- Fill with salad cream and serve as a retro salad cream devilled egg < possibly my favourite!
- Pop into your dog’s bowl at dinner time alongside their usual food. (I do not recommend feeding dogs large quantities of egg white without yolk, but one or two is fine.)
Salad Cream
Ingredients
- 2 hard boiled egg yolks
- 2 tsp mustard
- juice of half a lemon
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1 scant tbsp sugar
- 150 ml double cream
- salt and pepper
- milk (see recipe)
Instructions
- Peel and halve the eggs, remove the yolks and set the whites to one side. Juice the half lemon. Put the egg yolks, mustard, sugar and white wine vinegar into a mini blender or high-sided bowl.
- Blend to make a smooth liquid. (You can also use a stick blender, or electric mixer)
- Add about half the cream. Blend slowly, adding more cream as you go. Because of the acidity and speed of the blender, the salad cream will suddenly thicken. Pulse gently, a little at a time, until you have the perfect consistency.
- Taste and mix in a little pepper and salt to season. If the salad cream is much too thick, briefly whizz in a splash of milk to thin it. It is better it is slightly too thick at this stage, than too thin.
- Transfer the freshly made salad cream to a serving bowl or jug. If necessary, stir in a further small splash of milk by hand to thin it to the perfect consistency.
Notes
- If you are using an electric blender it is very easy to over mix and over thicken the salad cream. Whizz it using very gentle pulses. If it goes too thick add some milk and blend it in very gently. It is best to have leave slightly too thick and then stir some milk in by had before serving.
- Use your salad cream as a base for sandwich spread, adding finely chopped vegetables.
- As a dip with a huge plate of crudities - see our tips for the perfect crudité platter.
- Stir in some chopped fresh green garden herbs – basil, chives and parsley would all be delicious.
- Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat.
- This recipe is 2 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion
Alice
I haven’t had salad cream in years, but it reminds me of salads when I was a child. Yours looks much nicer and more tempting than anything I remember.
Nikki Ward
Love this recipe, makes such a nice alternative to mayo. I actually didn’t know the difference or origins until I read your interesting post.
Naomi
I had no idea that making salad cream was a thing, but this was really easy to make and it is deliciously creamy. Glad I tried it out.
Julia
Such a classic 80’s dressing, and certainly one from my childhood. Your recipe is actually much nicer than any of the stuff you buy in the shops.
Sophia Charles
Salad cream is really good with celery, a great dollop on the stalk, they go so well together. My Mum used to make her own, so this was a real trip down nostalgia road.
Mandy Porter
I don’t know what it says about me, but I actually prefer salad cream to mayonnaise. Your recipe makes a delicious creamy version and not too acidic. Really good.
Lynnette Rainwater
Great dressing, it brought back memories growing up in England with my nana and grand-pop. My nana often made this dressing for salads. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Helen
That’s lovely! food is so evocative of memories.