Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Dressing for Cold Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, egg, butter, salt, and mustard.
Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat and let cool before using.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + mustardtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,003 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Egg + mustardtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Thickens the dressing as its proteins set during gentle heating, giving it body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the egg and butter.
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the dressing smooth and rounds out its sharp flavour.
- Mustard
- Adds sharpness and aroma, and helps emulsify the fat with the liquid.
The step that matters
Heat gently while stirring constantly. Egg proteins thicken when heated but can scramble if the heat is too high or stirring stops. Constant stirring over medium heat spreads the heat evenly and keeps the dressing smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, butter):
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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