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Boiled Dressing

A boiled dressing made with vinegar, flour, sugar, mustard, red pepper, eggs, butter, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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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 ↓

Boiled Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Beat the yolks of four eggs and add one cup vinegar.

  2. In another bowl mix two tablespoons flour, one teaspoon salt, one-third cup sugar, one teaspoon mustard and a dash of red pepper.

  3. When well mixed stir in one-half cup water and combine with the egg mixture.

Cook and finish

  1. Strain the mixture.

  2. Add a lump of butter (about one tablespoon) and cook over hot water until thick and smooth.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

602Calories
20 gProtein
7 gFat
111 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

  1. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

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

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

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Egg yolks thicken the dressing as they cook and give it a rich, smooth body.
Flour
Flour thickens the liquid so the dressing sets thick rather than runny.
Vinegar
Vinegar adds the sharp, tangy acidity that balances the sweetness and richness.
Sugar
Sugar softens the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness.
Butter (in the method)
Butter adds fat that gives the dressing a smoother texture and richer flavour.

The step that matters

Cook over hot water until thick and smooth. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if overheated. Gentle, indirect heat from hot water lets the starch and yolk thicken slowly and evenly into a smooth dressing.

Swap the mustard

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, flour, sugar, pepper, 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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