Why it works: Mustard and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Sana Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the raw egg yolks and mustard if using.
Slowly stir in the oil, a drop at a time, until the mixture begins to thicken.
Continue to add the oil in larger quantities while stirring constantly.
Add salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, and vinegar to taste.
The mayonnaise should be nearly as thick as soft butter.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify the oil into droplets and set the mayonnaise into a thick, smooth sauce.
- Oil
- Provides the fat that, dispersed in the yolk, gives mayonnaise its richness and thickness.
- Mustard
- Helps stabilize the emulsion so the oil stays dispersed and the sauce holds together.
The step that matters
Adding the oil. Oil must be added slowly, a drop at a time at first, so the yolk can break it into tiny droplets. Adding it too fast causes the emulsion to break and the sauce to separate and stay runny.
Swap the mustard
The recipe marks mustard as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, vinegar, sugar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits less well
- Cabbagefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, vinegar, sugar. 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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