My husband started a garden last year and this year we're reaping bountiful lettuce sooner than expected.  We were going to a friend's house for a barbecue and we proudly brought a giant bowl of garden lettuce laced with fresh veggies.  While in the grocery store choosing dressing we got into the conversation of which we should bring to the barbecue, Western (often called French) or Catalina.  Which one sits in your fridge?

While I was growing up our household usually had Western dressing in the fridge.  One day my mom bought Catalina (I have no idea what she was thinking) and I was like, "what the heck is this?"  Ucky, I didn't like the taste, but the differences didn't stop at the taste.

Catalina is thinner in consistency while Western is thick and rich.  Even the color of Western is better, it's a rich reddish color while the Catalina has an orange tinge to it.  Obviously, the difference is in the ingredients used, I hear the Western dressing may have a bacon flavoring in it, everything is better with bacon :)

Is this something that is based on what part of the country you live in?  I could see people in California go for something called Catalina because of Catalina Island IN California.  We hearty Northlanders seem to buy more of the Western dressing.  It even has the head of a steer on the label.

What did your parents buy for salad dressing growing up and do you buy the same dressing now that you are buying your own?

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