do you recommend putting some sugar into your salad dressing?

Oops - sorry about the typos. Benny, meant to type "good" (not "god") topic. Referring to Greenstuff's comment about people bringing their salad back to the kitchen to adjust the dressing themselves... that the subject of Dining Guests who Surprise Us is a fun topic.

@Benny, Well, that's the plain truth - that you'll never win with everyone. God topic for a feature here: Surprising Dining Guests.

@ChefJune... is your Sweet and Sour Celery Seed Dressing posted here? Would love to have that. One of my cherished grandmothers always used celery seed, sugar & vinegar (and other ingredients) in her Highly Desirable potato salad. I know I could reverse-engineer the dressing but it's always fun to see how someone else does it.

Virtually never. But that's just me. I once served a green salad with a nice vinaigrette, and a houseguest took it back into the kitchen to add soy sauce and sugar.

and one more important thing to consider.... dressing tastes completely different once its coating a leafy green or whatever else you are putting it on. I was taught in school never to test your dressing by itself. Dip a lettuce leaf in it and try it that way. I made some dressings in school that I thought were missing something, until I was told to try it with the greens. Turns out that is what it was missing :)

So, consider what you are putting it on as well as what is already in the dressing.

I will typically add some sort of sweet ingredient or sugar to my dressings. But, as stated several times above, not to make it a sweet dressing, but to round out the over-all flavors.

If some of the ingredients in your dressing already have sweet qualities, then sugar probably won't be necessary.

Most often, no. but for my Sweet and Sour Celery Seed Dressing that I like for Slaws.

I also add honey to dressings if I want a little bit of sweetness. It adds more depth than just plain old sugar, which can taste chemically in my opinion. Taste as you go!

Honey can add great flavor.

I always go by taste. If the dressing is too bright, I'll add sugar in some form, whether it's plain granulated, brown sugar, agave, honey, maple syrup, or even palm sugar. I think most dressings benefit from a smidgin of sugar. You don't want the dressing sweet, but you do want it well-balanced.

It depends - usually not needed for my tastes.

I taste and adjust as well, but I much prefer honey to sugar in salad dressings, and for a less sweet addition you might think about agave syrup. Taste and adjust - it's the key to everything!

Yes, just a pinch - not enough to make it sweet, just a tiny bit to balance and round the flavor.

My husband often claimed my vinaigrettes were too acidic. Recently I have begun adding a pinch or two of sugar and voila! No more complaints. I I also often like to add a couple of splashes soy sauce vs salt

If you taste the dressing and it's too sour or harsh, then add a pinch or two of sugar - the goal is to balance the flavor, not make the dressing sweet - repeat until you're happy with the flavor.

I personally don't like a sweet taste in my dressing--I prefer salty-tart. Unless it is Asian-based, then the contrast is nice. But you can try it. Separate out a few spoonfuls and add a sprinkle of sugar to see if you like it. It's all about personal preferences.