Why This Popular Old-School Salad Dressing Simply Vanished

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Salad dressings have been around for thousands of years as a simple way to add flavor to leafy greens, and it's never been as easy to do as with today's wide variety of premade dressings. But even with this proliferation, just because a salad dressing is widely available — or even popular — doesn't mean it's here to stay.

Take, for instance, the story of Buccaneer dressing. It emerged in the mid-1950s as a proprietary recipe from the Louis Milani Foods company, a pioneer in pre-made salad dressings. The tangy orange sauce known today as French dressing may have first been made by Louis Milani Foods, which sold it as 1890 French dressing.

Buccaneer dressing, on the other hand, was a creamier, off-yellow mixture with its own combination of tang and sweetness. But after so many decades on the market, sales began to lag, and it was discontinued around 1991. Five years later, Kent Precision Foods bought Milani's trademarks and still sells some of its products, including 1890 French dressing. But unfortunately, this doesn't include Buccaneer dressing, as the recipe is lost.

Although the proprietary recipe is likely gone forever, a popular copycat recipe suggests that it had a mayonnaise base mixed with a modest amount of honey mustard, seasoned with garlic powder and a smaller amount of paprika. It's possible that garlic was a standout flavor of this sauce, as some have said that the roasted garlic aioli from Stonewall Kitchen (makers of Ina Garten's favorite maple syrup) is a close match for Milani's original Buccaneer dressing.

Different mayonnaise brands have different flavors though, and it's impossible to know which one Milani used in the original formula — or even if it's still available. But if you're making a copycat Buccaneer recipe at home, consider using Kewpie mayonnaise to add a bit of savory tang.

Unlike common American brands, which use whole eggs, Japanese Kewpie mayo only uses egg yolks (and a dash of MSG) for a concentrated flavor unlike any other major brand. But if you don't have any on hand, you can imitate Kewpie mayonnaise with just three ingredients: any other mayo, rice wine vinegar, and sugar.