In American cuisine, Italian dressing is a vinaigrette-type salad dressing that consists of water, vinegar or lemon juice, vegetable oil, chopped bell peppers, sugar or corn syrup, herbs and spices (including oregano, fennel, dill and salt) and sometimes onion and garlic.

[2] In North American cuisine, Italian dressing is also used as a marinade[3] for meat or vegetables, for stir-frys, and on sandwiches.

[5] North American style Italian salad dressing is thought to date back to 1941 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

[8] The Italian dressing served at the Wishbone was based on a recipe from Lena Sollomi's Sicilian family which was a blend of oil, vinegar, herbs, and spices.

[8] Demand for the salad dressing proved so high that Phillip started a separate operation to produce it for sale, making it by the barrel.