Name: French Dressing I
Ingredients: 1 can tomato soup; 1½ cups salad oil; ½ cup vinegar; 1 tablespoon mustard; ½ cup granulated sugar; 1 chopped white onion; 1 teaspoon salt

Why it works: Mustard and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

French Dressing I

Timeat least one hour

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.

Chill and serve

Chill at least one hour before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

240Calories

2 gProtein

14 gFat

28 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0
Salad	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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 + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + mustardtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,482 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,226 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomato soup: Provides body, color, and a tomato-based savory sweetness to the dressing.
Salad oil: Supplies fat that carries flavor and gives the dressing a smooth, emulsified texture.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the sweetness and oil.
Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness that offsets the acidity of the vinegar and tomato.
Mustard: Adds sharp flavor and helps bind the oil and liquids together.

The step that matters

Chill at least one hour before serving. Chilling lets the flavors meld and the oil and liquid settle and recombine, so the dressing tastes balanced rather than harsh or separated when first mixed.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, mustard, sugar, onion):

Horseradishfits better
Broccolifits better
Radishfits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, mustard, sugar, onion. 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.

Tomato Salad179 recipes

Chicken Salad623 recipes

Salad Dressing491 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.

French Dressing I