Why it works: Mustard and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,816 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Mayonnaise I
Ingredients
Directions
Make the emulsion
Sieve the hard boiled yolk and place in a bowl.
Mix with a little oil.
Then add the raw yolk and keep mixing while adding a little oil at a time.
Season and finish
After all the oil is used up, add salt, mustard and lemon juice.
From the beginning to the end, stir in the same direction.
You may add a tablespoon of sour cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Mustard + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,816 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raw yolk
- Its lecithin emulsifies the oil into fine droplets, so the sauce thickens instead of separating.
- Hard boiled yolk
- Its fat and sieved texture add richness and body to the emulsion.
- Oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce and gives it its rich, creamy body.
- Mustard
- Helps stabilise the emulsion and adds a sharp, aromatic bite.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly at the start. Egg yolk can only hold tiny oil droplets suspended when oil is added a little at a time while mixing. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk, and the mayonnaise breaks into a greasy, separated mixture.
“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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