Name: Oil and Vinegar Dressing
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons vinegar; a pinch of cayenne pepper; 2 tablespoons oil (olive, cottonseed, peanut, or other table oil)

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

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

Directions

In a bowl, combine the salt, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and oil. Whisk the ingredients together until well mixed.

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

Vinegar: Provides the sharp acidity that defines the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
Oil: Adds fat and body, carrying flavour and giving the dressing a smooth mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Whisking the vinegar and oil together. Vinegar and oil do not mix on their own. Whisking breaks the oil into tiny droplets suspended in the vinegar, creating a temporary emulsion. Mixing thoroughly keeps the dressing evenly blended instead of separating into layers.

“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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Oil and Vinegar Dressing