Sylt-style salad dressing with the Thermomix® is our go-to dressing for barbecues and parties. We have been making it for years because it goes with almost any salad and is ready in under 10 minutes. The trick: reverse direction when whipping, otherwise the yoghurt turns thin instead of creamy.
The original comes from the North Sea island, but the Thermomix® version works identically across all models. Speed 4 in reverse direction folds in air without breaking down the yoghurt structure. With normal direction or a higher speed the dressing becomes runnier, because the blades break apart the yoghurt protein chains.
Sylt-Style Dressing with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 9 ✓
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 shallot halved
- 1 garlic clove small
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 400 g yoghurt
- 20 g white balsamic vinegar
- 20 g rapeseed oil
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Prepare the dill, shallot and garlic.
Wash the dill, shake dry and pick off the fronds. Peel the shallot and halve it. Peel the garlic.
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2
Chop the ingredients.
Add the dill, shallot and garlic to the mixing bowl and chop for 4 sec / speed 5, then scrape down with the spatula.
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3
Whip the dressing.
Add the remaining ingredients and whip for 1 min / reverse direction / speed 4.
Tip: For extra freshness, add a little freshly squeezed lemon juice to your Sylt-style salad dressing.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why shallot instead of onion
We always use shallots, never a regular onion. Shallots have fewer sulphur compounds and taste milder. That matters in a dressing that is served cold. Regular onions turn sharp and bitter when raw after one to two hours in the fridge. Shallots stay mild.
The shallot is halved, not quartered. That gives larger pieces when chopping at speed 5. With very small shallot dice the dressing becomes too dominated by onion flavour.
Fresh dill, not frozen
Fresh dill is essential. Frozen or dried dill has too few essential oils and tastes of hay. Picking the fronds from the stalks matters because the stalks are woody and turn bitter. 4 seconds at speed 5 is enough to chop. No longer, or the dill turns mushy and releases too much moisture.
After chopping, scrape down with the spatula. If dill sticks to the sides, it will not mix with the yoghurt and you will end up with green clumps instead of an even dressing.
White balsamic vinegar as the acid base
We use white balsamic vinegar, not dark. Dark balsamic turns the dressing brown and tastes too sweet for a yoghurt base. White balsamic adds acidity without changing the colour. 20 g is enough for 400 g of yoghurt. More makes the dressing too sharp, less makes it flat.
If you do not have white balsamic vinegar, use white wine vinegar plus an extra half teaspoon of sugar. Lemon juice also works, but gives a different character.
Rapeseed oil for binding without a strong flavour
20 g of rapeseed oil binds the dressing and makes it more stable. Without oil the dressing separates after one to two hours in the fridge. The liquid sinks to the bottom. With oil it stays creamy.
Rapeseed oil has a neutral flavour. Olive oil is too dominant for this dressing. Sunflower oil also works, but rapeseed oil has a better fatty acid profile.
Reverse direction is not optional
1 minute in reverse direction at speed 4 is the non-negotiable setting. Reverse direction stops the blades from cutting into the yoghurt. With normal direction the yoghurt becomes too thin because the protein chains are mechanically broken apart. The dressing loses body.
Speed 4 folds in enough air for a creamy consistency. At speed 5 or higher the dressing becomes too runny. At speed 3 it does not mix properly.
Storage and shelf life
The dressing keeps in the fridge for 5 to 7 days. After 3 days the dill flavour weakens as the essential oils oxidise. If you want to store it longer, make smaller batches and freeze a portion. Frozen, it keeps for 3 months.
Take the dressing out of the fridge before serving and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes. Cold dressing tastes flat because the aroma compounds are locked in.
We fill it into glass bottles with screw-top lids. Plastic bottles absorb the garlic smell after one to two days.
More Thermomix® dressing recipes: Caesar Dressing, Ranch Dressing, Honey Mustard Dressing.
