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Real, Mayonnaise Dressing

A thick emulsified dressing made by beating egg yolk with seasonings and gradually adding oil.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and vinegar 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 ↓

Real, Mayonnaise Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Combine the mustard, salt, powdered sugar and a few grains of cayenne as the dry ingredients.

  2. To the dry ingredients, add one tablespoon each of lemon juice and vinegar, blending thoroughly.

  3. Place the yolk of one egg in a small bottomed bowl and beat thoroughly with an egg beater.

  4. Add the seasoning and beat very thoroughly.

  5. Beat until it thickens up slightly.

Add the oil

  1. Have olive oil as cold as possible and add a few drops at a time, continuing the beating.

  2. As soon as it begins to thicken, add the oil in larger quantities.

  3. Keep adding oil until it is sufficiently heavy to serve.

  4. Constant, vigorous beating and adding oil slowly at first are the secrets of success.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

215Calories
7 gProtein
19 gFat
5 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3

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

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Mustard + lemontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,816 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  4. Lemon + vinegartop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,334 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Mustard + eggtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,210 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Lemon and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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

Olive oil
Forms the bulk of the dressing, emulsified into droplets that thicken it into a sauce.
Egg yolk
Its lecithin emulsifies the oil and water, holding the dressing together.
Mustard
Helps stabilize the emulsion and adds sharpness to the dressing.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens flavour and helps balance the richness of the oil.

The step that matters

Adding the oil. Oil must go in slowly at first, with constant vigorous beating, so the droplets disperse and the egg yolk can coat them. Adding too much oil too soon can break the emulsion, leaving it thin and separated.

Swap the lemon

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

  1. Avocadofits about as well
  2. Lemonthe original
  3. Cherryfits about as well
  4. Limefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, egg, vinegar. 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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