Nova Scotia to get a signature salad dressing

As a way to help grow awareness for the Wild Islands region in rural Halifax, the Wild Islands Tourism Advancement Partnership (WITAP) is introducing a “Wild Islands Dressing”. The dressing is designed to highlight products which grow in and around the Wild Islands including cranberries and kelp (seaweed), as well as more traditional products of Nova Scotia including maple syrup and blueberries.

The 100 Wild Islands are often confused with the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River. As you’re probably aware, Thousand Island dressing is one of the top 10 dressings in North America, contributing in part to the success and popularity of the Thousand Islands region. WITAP is looking to capitalize on the same idea. The concept is to create a product that goes mainstream and makes it into North American food culture. In turn, this will provide the region with an abundance of ‘free’ and on-going marketing.

The dressing ingredients are listed as egg yolks, olive oil, maple syrup, vinegar, lemon juice, cranberries, blueberries, roasted kelp, garlic, salt, ground cloves, and dry mustard. It’s touted to be creamy, salty, sweet, and slightly tart. The dressing pairs well with salads and seafood, for which the region is well known to have some of the best in the world due to its cold waters, even hosting an annual Cold Waters Seafood Festival (http://coldwatersfestival.ca/).