Wishbone Balsamic Breeze Vinaigrette Spritzer

I just had to see for myself whether or not the “Spritzer” dressings were a rip-off or not. The ads and statistics seemed pretty good: “only 1 calorie per spray” (or 10 calories per salad). You would think that if they allow 10 sprays per salad that it would be enough dressing and this would qualify in the “very good” category as far as calories go. The fat, total carbs, and sodium were very good in (1 g, 1g, 130 mg respectively but the bottle seemed awful small for the money but they did also advertise that this small bottle would “Dress more salads than a 16 oz. bottle”. I waited until someone else in my office bought a bottle and then I decided to try it.

Of course it was obvious that the dressing would have to be thin and without chunks in order for it to pass through a spray nozzle. I began by using the recommended 10 sprays. (Caution: it comes out pretty hard and can splash out of your salad onto whatever is on the table with it.). Then I smelled it and it smelled OK and typical of a balsamic-based vinaigrette. I then took a bite and couldn’t taste much of anything. I took a few more bites and found the same thing. My salad seemed dry so I did 10 more spritzes. That was a little better and I could finally taste it. I then ate the top layer of my salad. The taste was good but after I got past the top layer I needed more spritzes to keep my salad from being dry. So I gave it 10 more spritzes and mixed my salad all together. That allowed me to eat most of my salad but by the time I reached the bottom I wanted to add more dressing.

The taste of the dressing was good and I suspect it is just their regular balsamic dressing put in a spray bottle. I like the balsamic taste and often use it in cooking and this had a good taste by itself and, not surprisingly, it was the largest ingredient after water. I have no complaints about the taste except it is a little weak but I just think the packaging is misleading. I don’t think anyone could get by with just 10 sprays of this dressing. My guess it this is probably about 2 teaspoons of dressing. If you could stick with this amount then it would only add about 10 calories to your dressing however, I don’t think anyone could stick to this on a salad larger than a cup.

Taste Rating = 6 bottles
Overall Rating = 5 bottles
Style Category = Vinaigrette
Fat Category = low fat
Calorie Category = low calorie
Nutritional Category = none
Sodium Category = low

Wishbone Light Asian with Sesame & Ginger Vinaigrette

This dressing from Wishbone is billed as “Delicately Sweet & Tangy” and I think this one does resemble the moniker. When you first taste this dressing you automatically think “Chinese food” which is most likely because of the combination of ginger and soy sauce which is linked to Chinese dishes. This dressing does contain both of them. My first impression notices the “tangy” more than the “sweet” but if you concentrate you do notice the sweet taste but it is not too obvious. The “tangy” is not overpowering but a pleasant and unique taste and the smell is similar. The appearance is a little different as well; medium brown with light colored particle suspended in it. Many of the particles appear to be sesame seeds.


The calories in this dressing are a little higher than some (70) as is fat calories (45) but is in line with other “light” dressings. Carbs and sugars are in the med range at 6g and 5g respectively. serving size in order to be able to taste the dressing. The ingredient list is pretty much on par with the other but does include a few differences. In addition to the soy sauce and ginger it does contain vinegar from rice wine (distilled), sesame oil and orange juice concentrate.

This dressing is definitely a change-of-pace in a dressing. I don’t see it as being an “every day” type of dressing but only an occasional choice. Since it does have a “Chinese food” taste and since I only want that every now-and-then I wouldn’t want it too soon after eating Chinese food and if you don’t’ like that taste then you probably won’t like this dressing either. I found it to be a refreshing taste after some of the blander tasting dressings.

Taste Rating = 7 bottles
Overall Rating = 6 bottles
Style Category = Vinaigrette
Fat Category = med fat
Calorie Category = med calorie
Nutritional Category = none
Sodium Category = med