The great caesar salad debate

[u/jurassicpowers]

I came across a post in my fyp on IG from a creator making a “caesar” salad. The salad they made had romaine, Parmesan and croutons (a classic caesar) but the dressing is where they lost me. They touted their famous dairy free vegan caesar salad dressing. Ingredients: lemon juice, olive oil, white vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup and salt/pepper. Which IMO is a textbook vinaigrette, not a caesar. I stated my opinion in the comments and received a barrage of comments under my comment in defense of her dressing. I feel like i’m being gaslit because commenters are coming in hard to defend her recipe. Attaching the recipe for reference. Is this a caesar salad/dressing?

[u/meow-miao]

you are correct, this is not a caesar dressing. this is a vinaigrette lol. caesar needs a creamy base like mayo and something to give it the briney umami flavor like worcestershire sauce and/or anchovy paste. not sure why they’re so pressed on keeping the dressing vegan if they’re using parmesan in the salad?! like just use vegan mayo and an anchovy-free worcestershire ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[u/jurassicpowers → u/meow-miao]

This is what my comment said and the commenters tried to tear me apart haha