Salad Dressing

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.

1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

2. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together14,067 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together15,430 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,066 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Eggs

Set and thicken the dressing into a custard-like texture when heated.

Flour

Thickens the butter and milk base so the dressing holds together.

Butter

Adds richness and a smooth, fatty mouthfeel to the dressing.

Vinegar

Adds acidity that gives the dressing its sharp, tangy flavour.

Sugar

Balances the acidity of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.

The step that matters

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, sugar, vinegar, egg, pepper):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Shallotfits about as well
3. Mustardthe original
4. Chivefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, sugar, vinegar, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.