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 ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, salt, pepper, sugar, mustard, and butter.
Stir in the vinegar until well mixed.
Transfer the mixture to a porcelain or granite-ware vessel.
Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Dress and serve
Pour the hot dressing over 1 quart of finely chopped cabbage and mix thoroughly.
Shape the cabbage into an oval mold on a salad dish and serve cold.
Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Before mixing with cabbage, thin the dressing with sweet or clabber cream if desired.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they set with gentle heat, giving it body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Prepared mustard
- Adds sharp flavor and helps bind the dressing together.
The step that matters
Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat, but high heat or stopping to stir can curdle or scramble them, leaving the dressing lumpy and grainy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, sugar, butter, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, sugar, butter, vinegar. 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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