Name: Oil and Vinegar Dressing
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons vinegar; a pinch of cayenne pepper; 6 tablespoons oil (olive, cottonseed, peanut, or other)

Why it works: Vinegar and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,297 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓

Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Ingredients

½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
a pinch of cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons oil (olive, cottonseed, peanut, or other)

Directions

In a bowl, combine the salt, vinegar, and cayenne pepper.
Whisk the ingredients together until well mixed.
Slowly add the oil while continuing to whisk until fully combined.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Oil: Forms the bulk of the dressing and carries flavor, giving it a rich, smooth mouthfeel.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness of the oil.

The step that matters

Slowly add the oil while whisking. Oil and vinegar do not mix on their own. Adding the oil slowly while whisking breaks it into tiny droplets suspended in the vinegar, creating a temporary emulsion. Pouring it in too fast lets the oil separate out again.

“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.

Chicken Salad623 recipes

Salad Dressing491 recipes

Tomato Salad179 recipes

Cold Slaw160 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The 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.

Oil and Vinegar Dressing