14 Common Dip Mistakes Everyone's Making
Some of the most humble food items are the most well-loved, and dips are certainly proof of this. Dips have been around in various forms for hundreds of years. The earliest hummus recipes have been ostensibly found in cookbooks dating back to the 13th century, while salsa may have an even longer history, with the first forms potentially being rustled up by the ancient Aztecs.
Today, the practice of scooping dips up and throwing them into your mouth is still common, with popular dips from around the world like muhammara, chimichurri, and baba ganoush still being found on dinner tables nightly. Dips serve several functions, from providing extra moisture to dry food items like potato chips to giving milder, less showy foods like raw vegetables a pop of flavor. In addition to this, dips are inherently communal and give any meal setting more of a social, sharing feel. While dips are simple, though, they're far from foolproof.
These food items rely on having a perfect balance of flavor and consistency, and way too many dips suffer from being too thin, too thick, overly chunky, or either too bland or overpowering. Luckily, avoiding a few common mistakes will allow you to deliver delectable dips every day.
1. Adding too much liquid to your dip
One of the hardest things to nail when it comes to dips is the right thickness. Most dips require a liquid element, like milk, oil, or water, to loosen up the ingredients and make your dish, well, dippable. However, adding too much of any liquid will leave your dip too loose and runny. While you can rectify a runny dip by adding more of every other ingredient, if you don't, your only other solution is to drain off the excess liquid, which may leave your food tasting bland or unbalanced.
It's also worth bearing in mind that dips with vegetables with a high water content, like tomatoes in salsa, may become runnier over time, as these veggies react with the salt in the dip and release water. The easiest solution is to avoid being too heavy-handed with your liquid in the first place. Add slightly less liquid than you think you need, pouring in a little at a time.
If your dip has ingredients that could release water, leave it slightly too thick, and come back to it once it's had a chance to sit for a few hours, adding more liquid if necessary. Bear in mind that how you prepare your dip in the first place can also affect how much liquid it ends up with. Mixing it with a food processor, for example, can cause your ingredients to release more water than if mixing it by hand.
2. Forgetting a layer of olive oil
It's amazing what a little time can do. Some of the most famous dips, like guacamole, contain ingredients that are prone to oxidation. When your avocados are exposed to the oxygen in the air, they begin to change from a vibrant green to a dull brown, getting darker and darker over time and ruining the appearance of your dip.
While oxidized fruits and vegetables aren't harmless, they can be unsightly and stop your dip from looking as good as it tastes. Luckily, a simple layer of olive oil can prevent this from happening. When you pour olive oil over the top of a dip, it will pool on top of your ingredients — provided your dip is thick enough, of course. The oil then acts as a barrier between your vegetables and the external oxygen and, essentially, preserves your food.
Pouring a layer of olive oil over your dips can also give them extra flavor and contribute to their mouthfeel. Remember, though, that if your dip is already fat-heavy, adding too much olive oil can leave it pretty greasy. It's also worth remembering that although olive oil has a fairly neutral taste, it will tend to work better with vegetable-based dips and may not be as effective in dips containing other types of fat, like cheese or dairy-based recipes.
3. Starting with the wrong ingredients
There's a general rule of thumb in cooking that dictates that your meal can only ever be as good as the ingredients you use. The same rule is true for dips. Using quality ingredients in your dips will ensure that they have not just the best flavor possible but the highest nutritional impact. As dips are generally made from just a few ingredients and are often uncooked, using quality elements is doubly important, as each flavor in them will shine through more prominently.
Additionally, you should make sure that your ingredients are the right type and are processed in the right way. Sometimes, these differences can be quite subtle. With hummus, for example, soaked dried chickpeas will produce a much better result than canned ones, giving you not only a more vibrant flavor but lower levels of sodium and higher amounts of amino acids and omega-3s. Salsa, meanwhile, can technically be made with any type of tomato, but certain types like Roma and beefsteak tomatoes will provide a better result, thanks to their relative lack of water and meatiness.
4. Opting for the wrong kind of salt
How much difference can your type of salt make? A lot — especially in dips. Different types of salt carry their own distinct flavor. In a food item like dips, these flavors can stand out a lot and make or break your dish. One of the most common mistakes is to use old-fashioned table salt in dip recipes. As table salt often contains anti-caking agents to stop its fine particles from clumping together, it can carry a somewhat metallic taste. Its fineness also means it's way too easy to add too much, leaving your dip too salty.
Instead of table salt, you should opt for kosher salt as your seasoning of choice. "[Kosher salt] can be used for most applications and hits a sweet spot in terms of texture — coarse enough so that you can feel how much you have when grabbing a pinch — and flavor — potent, but not too salty, " said Shuka's executive chef Ayesha Nurdjaja, per Gear Patrol. Sea salt can be a good option too, but make sure you taste-test it first, as different varieties can vary in intensity and flavor.
5. Calling your dressing a dip
Dips and dressings may be similar, but they are far from interchangeable. These two food items have different functions and compositions, and while they can sort of be used in place of one another, doing so will change your experience. Dressings are usually much thinner than dips and are designed to be poured onto and coat food, specifically salads. Dips, on the other hand, are intended to be a dish in themselves, with the dipped food somewhat serving as a vehicle for your salsa or tzatziki.
The main issue with using a dressing as a dip is that because they're thinner, they can be less satisfying or more fiddly to scoop up and can end up just dripping off your food. Using a dip as a dressing, meanwhile, can result in a poor distribution of flavor and clumps of dip dotted around your salad. Importantly, though, you can make some of the most popular types of dressing, like ranch or blue cheese, into dips. To do this, you'll generally need to reduce the amount of liquid you use to make your dressing thicker and more dip-like. It's best to follow a specific recipe for these dressing-dip mash-ups to eliminate any guesswork.
6. Making your dip too greasy
Fat is one of the most important elements in almost all dips, and makes them both smoother and tastier. As with all foods, though, too much fat can ruin your dip. When you add too much fat to dip, it can leave it greasy. Greasy dips will not just look bad and turn an ordinarily sprightly dish into something heavy, but they can also completely ruin the flavor of your food, with the fat overpowering any subtlety from your vegetables, herbs, or spices.
If you're worried about your dip becoming greasy, err on the side of caution. Add fat a little at a time, stirring it in fully before you pour in the next batch. Importantly, fat can come from many sources, and if you're using cheese or sour cream, these will also amp up the fat content — so ensure you're accounting for these when including any additional pourable fats, like vegetable oil. Remember, too, that greasiness may not just occur from adding too much fat but from a lack of proper incorporation. In buffalo chicken dip recipes, for example, it's vital to mix all of your ingredients thoroughly; otherwise, the fat will pool and remain separate.
7. Using too much acid
Many dips contain an acidic component, with ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar bringing a much-needed brightness and balancing salty and sweet flavors. Being too liberal with your acids, though, is a surefire way to put your guests off. If you add too much acid, you'll make your dip bitter and difficult to eat. It's also crucial to keep in mind that certain dips, like salsa, are often comprised of acidic ingredients like tomatoes and onions, and when you add acid on top of this, it can make a dip that burns your throat.
Naturally, the simplest thing to do is avoid adding too much acid in the first place, taste-testing as you go, and putting in just a little at a time. If you do end up including too much acid, though, there are some solutions. A pinch or two of baking soda can help to neutralize acid without significantly changing your dip's flavor. You can also balance out the acid by adding in more of your other ingredients. Additionally, dairy products like milk or cream may help to reduce acidic flavors, although remember that they won't work in every dip.
8. Making a dip that's too thick
No one likes a dip that's too thin, but it's all too easy to take things in the other direction. Producing a dip that's too thick creates different problems entirely. The main issue with a too-thick dip is that you end up with a dish that simply isn't dippable and leaves you struggling to get the right ratio of dip-to-food. Thick dips can also tend to be too dry, as the reason why they end up bulky is due to a lack of liquid.
To thin out a dip, you simply need to add more liquid — but remember that not just any old liquid will do. You'll want to make sure that you add a liquid that corresponds with the flavor profile of your meal. To thin out queso, for instance, you'll want to use a dairy liquid like milk or cream, whereas using oil, water, or lemon juice is better for thinning out a vegetable-based dish like salsa or baba ganoush. However, don't be scared of using unexpected ingredients to thin out your dips, which can add extra flavor. For queso, try adding a small glug of beer, which can both thin it out and amp up its maltiness. Pickle juice, meanwhile, can both thin out dips and add sourness and saltiness.
9. Forgetting to optimize your food pairings
First things first: There are no hard and fast rules about pairing dips with food. Technically speaking, you can combine anything that feels good. Having said this, certain pairings work better than others. Barbecue-flavored dips, for example, tend to work best when they're paired with crispy, salty, drier food items, like chicken tenders or fries. Where they work less well, however, is with slightly sweeter foods, like some types of vegetables or potato chip seasoning blends, as the barbecue sauce used is generally pretty sweet already.
To maximize your dipping experience, think about complementary flavors, even with the simplest combos. Rather than use any old potato chip to dip into hummus, opt for a salt and vinegar flavor, with the sharpness of the chip being offset by the mellow creaminess of the chickpeas and tahini. For guacamole, corn chips are infinitely better than potato chips, thanks to their texture and their super-salty flavor, which again is tempered by the creamy fat from the avocado. If you have a particularly strong-tasting dip, on the other hand, try to use a milder food for dipping in to keep the focus on your dip's flavor.
10. Forgetting to add ice cubes
The beauty of dips is that you can throw them together pretty quickly, but too many people forget a key ingredient: Ice cubes. Adding ice cubes to dips when you're blending them can imbue them with a serious smoothness and stop them from becoming mealy or lumpy. This trick may not work for all dips, but it's particularly useful for vegetarian or vegan dips that use beans or pulses as a primary ingredient, as content and recipe creator Alfie Steiner shows on Instagram.
Ice cubes smooth out bean-based dips by adding both air and moisture at the same time. As the ice cube melts, the water that's released makes the dip silkier, while the air added makes your dip fluffier, lighter, and easier to spoon up. Using ice cubes may also result in a lighter and fresher-looking dip, particularly with hummus, thanks to the cold water's interaction with tahini. If you don't have any ice cubes to hand, you can also use some super-cold water. Just remember that if you're adding ice cubes or water as an additional ingredient, you may need to compensate for any dilution that occurs with a touch more salt.
11. Not making enough dip for your guests
Dips are pretty much the ultimate sharing food and are perfect for keeping guests happy while you're rustling up your dinner's main course. However, too many people forget to make enough of it. Dip quantities can be hard to judge, especially because blended dips made from water-heavy, bulky vegetables can reduce drastically in volume once finished. It's also easy to underestimate exactly how much people will eat and leave some folks hungry.
Rather than work things out visually, use weight to help you. In general, you should aim for just over an ounce of dip per guest. This means that for every 10 guests, you should have about 1 ½ cups of dip, which equates to around a pint. Ensure that you're balancing this out with ample quantities of chips, vegetables, or whatever else you're serving it with. If you're unsure about how much your recipe will make, it's always better to buy double the amount of ingredients and make another batch if you find that the finished result is lacking. Remember, though, not to overwhelm your guests with a huge amount of dip — they may feel compelled to eat it all, leaving no room for dinner.
12. Always making the same dips for your party
We all have our go-to recipes, and many of us have a few standard dips that we crank out pretty regularly. Remember, though, that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of dips in the world, and a huge mistake is to just stick to what you know. This will not only ensure that your food offering is boring, but it may also create a flavor clash in your menu. If you're making an Asian-inspired meal, for example, an olive tapenade likely won't slot in very well.
So, throw caution to the wind and get creative. Rather than make hummus, whip up a white bean purée studded with rosemary and fragranced with lemon. Instead of serving a dip with corn tortillas, make the corn element the star of the show with a corn dip combined with mayonnaise and parmesan. Remember that virtually anything can be made into a dip when chopped or blended finely enough and incorporated with some liquid, so don't be afraid to try out some wild flavor combinations. Additionally, keep in mind that simple additions to standard recipes, like a scattering of herbs or a squeeze of hot sauce into salsa or taramasalata, can give your standard dip a brand-new twist.
13. Keeping them in your fridge for too long
They say that nothing in this life lasts forever, and unfortunately, that's true of dips, too. So, if you're hoping to keep your favorite dippable snacks in the fridge indefinitely, remember that you may only have a few days. Generally, most dips will start to bad in the fridge after a couple of days.
Dairy-based dips are especially prone to deteriorating fast, with homemade dips containing sour cream generally only lasting 48 hours before you should throw them out. If your dip is commercially made, you'll usually have a little longer, as these products can often have preservatives added in — but once opened, you may only have a maximum of two weeks before they become inedible.
If you're unsure about whether your dip's still good to go, check for signs of spoilage first. Dairy-based dips may start to grow mold, look discolored, or emit a bad smell. Bean-based dips like hummus may also appear moldy or change color, as well as smell strange. If you're brave enough to try eating some (we recommend that you don't), hummus can also start to taste sour and unpleasant when it's going bad. It's always best not to risk eating any food that you think is past its prime, though, and to throw it out immediately.
14. Using the wrong level of spice
Spice is present in many popular dips and provides both heat and flavor depth. Overdoing your spice level, however, can leave you with a dip that's simply unpleasant to eat. This is a particular problem when it comes to salsa, which is often spiced up using fresh chopped chilis. If you leave too much of the chili pepper's membrane or too many of its seeds in (both of which contain the majority of the spice), you may end up with a dip that's too spicy.
As spice tends to develop in dips over time, and it's difficult to tell how spicy a chili truly is when buying it, you should always use less than you think. Start with a small amount of spice, and leave your dip for a while to allow the flavor to seep through it. If you find that it's still not spicy enough after tasting it, add in a few seeds or a little of the membrane, stir things through, and repeat.
You should also do this not just with spices that provide heat but those that deliver flavor and warmth, like cinnamon, cumin, cloves, or allspice. Remember that these spices will also develop and release their flavor over time, and if you add too much, your dip will become bitter.