Why it works: Vinegar and white pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,154 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce, No. 2
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the egg yolks thoroughly.
Season with salt and white pepper.
Add vinegar and oil alternately, a few drops at a time, while continuously beating.
Once well incorporated, add the sweet cream while stirring.
The sauce is now ready for use.
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.
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Vinegar + white peppertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,154 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + white peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,312 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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White pepper + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,439 recipes
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Vinegar + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,064 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they 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 and vinegar, holding the sauce together.
- Salad oil
- Forms the bulk of the emulsion, giving mayonnaise its rich, thick body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the richness and helps stabilise the emulsion.
- Sweet cream
- Adds moisture and softness, loosening the emulsion and mellowing its texture.
The step that matters
Adding the vinegar and oil. Oil must be added slowly, a few drops at a time, while beating. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk's emulsifier, so the droplets cannot disperse and the sauce breaks into a separated, oily mixture.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, cream):
- Tarragonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, 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.
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