Why it works: Mustard and vinegar 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 Slaw, Lettuce or Celery
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine salt, sugar, mustard, vinegar, and egg yolks.
Place the bowl in a pot of hot water.
Stir often and cook until the mixture thickens.
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.
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.
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Mustard + eggtop 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 yolks
- Proteins set as they heat, thickening the dressing into a creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity and sharp flavour that cuts through the richness of the yolks.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps hold the dressing together as an emulsion.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard.
The step that matters
Cook over hot water, stirring often until thickened. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat, but if they get too hot they can curdle or scramble. Stirring often and using hot water rather than direct heat keeps the heat even and the texture smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar, egg):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, egg. 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.
More slaw dressing recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.