Why it works: Olive and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 29,779 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Whip the yolks of 2 eggs until stiff.
Slowly add 2 tablespoons of olive oil drop by drop while continuing to whip.
Once very stiff, fold in 1 finely chopped onion and 1 finely chopped pickle.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together29,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + olivetop 31% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together15,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Egg + oniontop 34% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together23,333 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Egg and onion share little aroma chemistry, yet 23,333 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Lecithin in the yolks emulsifies the oil, giving the sauce its thick, stable body.
- Olive oil
- Supplies fat that, dispersed into the yolks, gives the sauce richness and a smooth texture.
- Onion
- Adds sharp, aromatic flavour and a little crunch to the sauce.
- Pickle
- Adds acidity and tang that cut through the richness of the oil and yolks.
The step that matters
Adding the olive oil slowly. Egg yolks can only hold oil in tiny droplets when it is added slowly while whipping. If the oil goes in too fast, the emulsion breaks and the sauce turns thin and oily.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Asparagusbetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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