Why it works: Cabbage and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,645 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Cold Slaw III
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
Finely shred the cabbage and season with salt and pepper.
Make the dressing
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, and butter; bring to a boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg and cream.
Return to heat and bring to a boil again.
Combine
Pour the hot mixture over the cabbage and mix well.
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.
-
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the slaw and provides its crisp, fresh texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the slaw its sharp, tangy flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness and softens the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the dressing and rounds out its flavour.
- Egg
- Thickens the hot dressing into a creamy custard-like sauce as it heats.
- Cream
- Adds richness and moisture, mellowing the dressing and making it smoother.
The step that matters
Bringing the egg mixture to a boil. Once the beaten egg is stirred in, it can scramble if overheated or boiled too hard. Heating gently while stirring keeps the egg smooth and lets it thicken the dressing evenly.
Swap the mustard
The recipe marks mustard as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pepper, vinegar, sugar, butter, egg, cream):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Leekfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pepper, vinegar, sugar, butter, egg, cream. 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 cold slaw recipes
You might also like
Cabbage Dressing9 recipes
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Tomato Salad179 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.