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Caesar dressing (Vitamix version)
Caesar salad dressing
A source-specific Caesar dressing made with pasteurized egg yolks, Parmesan, lemon, anchovy, garlic, mustard and olive oil. This modern Vitamix formulation is distinct from the salad’s disputed 1924 origin accounts.
What it is
Caesar dressing is a rich, savoury emulsion of egg and oil, sharpened with lemon and given depth by Worcestershire, garlic and Parmesan. It clings to crisp romaine leaves and is the dressing that defines the salad of the same name.
Its flavour structure is distinct from ranch or Thousand Island. Garlic, cheese and a fish note carry the dressing, and citrus lifts it, rather than dairy tang or sweet relish.
Sources for this section
Tijuana and the 1924 salad
Caesar Cardini ran restaurants in San Diego and, after Prohibition halted alcohol sales in the United States from 1920, opened one in Tijuana across the border. On July 4, 1924 the kitchen was overwhelmed by a holiday rush and short of supplies, and the salad was assembled from what was left. Cardini's daughter Rosa described the table-side tossing that followed.
The restaurant still operates in Tijuana, and the 100th-anniversary coverage describes it selling about 300 Caesar salads a day.
Sources for this section
Competing claims
Not every account gives Cardini the credit. Some attribute the recipe to his brother Alex, whose version was called Aviator's Salad. Others credit chef Livio Santini, whose mother's recipe may have inspired the dish. The sources do not settle the question beyond the documented 1924 date and place, and this record gives Cardini's restaurant as the place of origin without claiming a single inventor.
Sources for this section
Making it
This page now presents the measured Vitamix version rather than an unquantified generic dressing: blend the listed ingredients in the Vitamix container, starting at Variable 1 and slowly increasing to Variable 4, then blend for 20 seconds. The source specifies two large pasteurized egg yolks and a yield of 1¼ cups.
The FDA advises pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products for Caesar dressing served uncooked. This formulation uses pasteurized yolks as the source specifies. Refrigerate it in an airtight container and use within the source’s stated three to four days.
Sources for this section
Notes
The dressing method and quantities here follow a modern Vitamix recipe; they are not presented as Caesar Cardini’s 1924 formulation. Historical attribution remains disputed in the sources summarized above.
Sources for this section
History
Caesar Cardini is generally credited with the salad on July 4, 1924, at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, when the kitchen was short of supplies on a holiday rush. Prohibition in the United States had pushed him to open across the border. Some accounts credit his brother Alex's Aviator's Salad or a recipe of chef Livio Santini's mother; a 2024 book backed Cardini's claim, according to Wikipedia.
Ingredients
Yield 1.25 cups · Scaling: source batch only
Pasteurized large egg yolksUse pasteurized yolks, as specified in the cited Vitamix recipe.
2 yolks
GarlicPeeled.
½ clove
Parmesan cheeseGrated.
33 g
⅓ cupLemon juice
45 mL
3 tablespoonsAnchovy fillet
1 fillet
Salt
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Dry mustard
0.6 mL⅛ tsp as recorded
⅛ teaspoonGround black pepper
to taste
Olive oil
120 mL
½ cupMethod
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Salmonella risk from raw or undercooked eggs
FDA lists Caesar salad dressing among foods that may contain raw or undercooked egg and recommends pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products for these recipes.
Hazard sourceUse only pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized egg products for this dressing served uncooked; this recipe specifies pasteurized yolks.
Control sourceContains egg. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container and use within the source-stated three to four days.
- Place all ingredients in a Vitamix container in the order listed and secure the lid.
- Select Variable 1.
- Turn on the blender and slowly increase the speed to Variable 4.
- Blend for 20 seconds.
- Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate; the source recipe gives a storage period of three to four days.
Conditions
Yield1.25 cups
Active time10 min
Places
Tijuana
Historical attestation · Locality evidenceThe sources place the first salad at Caesar's restaurant in Tijuana; competing claims exist for the cook or inventor.
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Sources
WikipediaHistory
Caesar saladCompeting claims for the salad's origin: Caesar Cardini, his brother Alex (Aviator's Salad) and chef Livio Santini's mother.
Cited in: What it is; Competing claims; Notes
KTVU (AP syndicated)History
Caesar salad origins: Iconic dish, invented in Mexico, turns 100Caesar salad created on July 4, 1924 at Caesar's in Tijuana; Prohibition pushed Cardini across the border; the restaurant still operates.
Cited in: Tijuana and the 1924 salad
Food Network; recipe courtesy of VitamixSource recipe
Caesar Salad DressingThe source specifies a 1¼-cup yield, measured ingredients including two large pasteurized egg yolks, blending in a Vitamix for 20 seconds, and refrigeration in an airtight container for three to four days.
Cited in: Making it; Notes
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
What You Need to Know About Egg SafetyFor recipes such as Caesar dressing in which eggs are raw or undercooked when served, use shell eggs treated to destroy Salmonella by pasteurization or use pasteurized egg products.
Cited in: Making it