What is an illegal form of dressing?

Do I need to refrigerate my italian dressing?

• I make my own simple dressing, just using olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and some secret herbs and spices. I feel weird just leaving it in the cabinet, but I suppose that none of those ingredients need to be refrigerated separately, so why would I need to refrigerate them when mixed together? Also, it turns into this nasty gelatinous form in the fridge. I keep it in an air tight container that has a rubber stopper at the top. And I need to either leave it out for half an hour or so, or run hot water over it to liquify it again. That's why I'd really like to just keep it out. Thanks

• Answer:

  Those dried herbs and spices you add to your dressing are no longer dry when you add the vinegar and oil to them. Rehydrated herbs and spices can easily go bad when left at room temperature. The vinegar alone cannot be counted on to prevent the herbs and spices from rotting at room temperature, because the acidity which keeps the vinegar from going bad has been diluted with the herbs and the oil, so it is no longer as acid, and may not be acidic enough to prevent bacterial growth. It is recommended that homemade salad dressings be kept refrigerated, and be used up within 2 weeks maximum. It is perfectly fine to pour out the amount you expect to use an hour or so ahead of time so that it comes back to room temperature before serving, but I would not let the entire bottle of dressing come to room temperature each time you want to use part of it.