recipe modification?

[Shay]

Hi, I found this recipe for a dressing like Olive Garden's but low carb...I am hoping someone more experienced could help me with modifying it. The corn syrup is the only problem I see....is there something else to use in it's place or just leave it out and add some sweetner?
Here is the recipe

http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/O/80.htm

Thanks!

[Isabeau]

I would leave it out at first, try it and see if you want a bit of sweetness. To me it doesn't seem like the kind of dressing where you would. I'd leave out the pectin too.

[Shay]

Thanks, I will give it a try that way.

[scott123]

Without the pectin and the corn syrup, it's going to be pretty watery, and won't cling to your lettuce very well. It'll also have a tendency to separate (the oil will float on top of the vinegar/lemon juice). From the procedures listed, I'm pretty sure this dressing is a homogenous liquid and doesn't need shaking to mix the ingredients every time it's dispensed.

If you can't get pectin, I'd thicken it with some xanthan gum. I think the pectin would give you better results, though. The xanthan, in the quantity needed here, could get pretty slimy.

As far as the corn syrup is concerned, some sf honey would give you the right consistency, but you might not want the honey flavoring in this recipe. If you're okay with sugar alcohols, you could take some maltitol, add some water and make a syrup with that. You can also buy pure maltitol syrup. So far, the closest thing I've found to the the texture of corn syrup (without using SAs) has been polydextrose. That would be ideal here, although it can only be ordered online.

[Shay]

What exactly is polydextrose? My goodness, how do you know all this stuff, you sound like a chemist to me :yes Thanks a bunch for all that information.

[Shay]

I looked up info on polydextrose to find out what it is but didn't see anywhere to order it, do you have a website where I can? Thanks

Shay

[MotherOfGizmo]

Here you go

http://www.store.honeyvillegrain.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=637

[Shay]

Thanks so much

[not2late]

I think the pectin is there to thicken the dressing because the corn syrup adds alot of volume. If you get rid of the corn syrup, replace it with a powdered artificial sweetener, you'll be okay in terms of texture.

You might also want to decrease the vinegar by a tablespoon also, to reduce the sourness and again, to reduce the volume of the dressing.

Furthermore there appears to be some built-in thickening because it looks like the dressing uses mayonnaise base---combining the egg with the vinegar and lemon juice will "cook" the egg, causing it to thicken slightly and act as a thickener. Compounded by adding the oil and other ingredients, you're making a "cooked" mayonnaise.

In fact, I think you can totally simplify this recipe by replacing the egg, corn syrup, oil, pectin with a cup of mayonnaise, adding a quarter to half the amount of vinegar and lemon juice and the rest of the ingredients.

[Shay]

If I do it this way, replacing those with mayo...would I just add some splenda to replace the sweetness of the corn syrup? Thanks.

Shay

[not2late]

If I do it this way, replacing those with mayo...would I just add some splenda to replace the sweetness of the corn syrup? Thanks.

Shay

Splenda should provide the same sweetness that the corn syrup would. You probably can save a few carbs and use liquid saccharin or liquid stevia.