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Salad

Salad Dressing

A vinaigrette-style dressing made with beaten egg yolks, sugar, mustard, vinegar, butter, cornstarch, salt, cayenne pepper, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By North End Club (Chicago, Ill.) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Salad Dressing

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 ↓

Salad Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

  1. Beat the yolks of 8 eggs.

  2. Add 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 pint vinegar, 1 cup butter, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.

  3. Mix the salt, pepper, sugar, mustard, and cornstarch together. Pour the mixture over the beaten yolks.

  4. Let the vinegar and butter come to a boil, then pour them over the egg mixture and put all into a double boiler. Let it thicken.

  5. Dilute the vinegar with water if it is too strong.

Serve

  1. When the dressing is cold, use equal portions of whipped cream and dressing on salad.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

702Calories
20 gProtein
19 gFat
111 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
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.

By North End Club (Chicago, Ill.). 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.

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.

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

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

  4. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

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

  5. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks thicken the dressing as they cook and give it a rich, creamy body.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mouthfeel.
Vinegar
Provides the sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and richness.
Sugar
Adds sweetness to balance the acidity of the vinegar and mustard.
Cornstarch
Thickens the dressing as it heats, giving it body and stability.
Mustard
Adds sharp flavor and helps emulsify the dressing.

The step that matters

Let it thicken in the double boiler. Egg yolks can scramble if heated too quickly. Gentle, indirect heat in a double boiler lets the yolks and cornstarch thicken smoothly without curdling.

Swap the mustard

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, butter, egg, pepper. 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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