Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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 ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Combine two eggs, one cup vinegar, one tablespoonful butter, one teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful corn starch, one teaspoonful mustard (dry), and one small cup vinegar, then mix all together.
Cook until thick.
Cool and thin
Set away to cool.
Add cream to thin.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| 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.
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. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Corn + mustardtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together463 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + corntop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + mustardtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,003 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
- Eggs
- Set and thicken the dressing as they cook, giving it body and richness.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the liquid as it heats, giving the dressing a smooth, stable body.
- Vinegar
- Adds the sharp acidity that defines the dressing's flavour.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a rounder, smoother mouthfeel.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp, savoury flavour that balances the sweetness of the eggs.
The step that matters
Cook until thick. Corn starch thickens as it heats, and eggs set as they warm. Heating gently while stirring keeps the mixture smooth; too much heat can curdle the eggs and leave lumps.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, butter, corn, egg):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, corn, egg. 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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