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Mayonnaise Dressing

A creamy dressing made with egg yolks, oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard, and sweet cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Mayonnaise Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Separate the yolks of four eggs.

  2. Add four tablespoons of oil or melted butter.

  3. Add four tablespoons white vinegar.

  4. Add one teaspoon salt.

  5. Add two teaspoons sugar and mustard.

  6. Place eggs, vinegar, salt, mustard, sugar, and oil or butter in a double boiler.

Cook and finish

  1. Cook until it thickens.

  2. Remove from heat and stir until cold.

  3. Before serving, add one cup of sweet cream.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

300Calories
7 gProtein
24 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 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.

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. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Cream + teatop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together463 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  5. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
Egg yolks emulsify with the oil and thicken the dressing as they cook.
Oil
Forms the fat phase of the emulsion, giving the dressing its richness and body.
White vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the richness and helps stabilise the emulsion.
Sweet cream
Added cold at the end to lighten the texture and add moisture.

The step that matters

Cook until it thickens. Egg yolks set gently over heat. If the heat is too high or the mixture is overcooked, the yolks scramble and the dressing turns grainy instead of smooth.

“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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