Why it works: Olive and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,922 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the yolks of four eggs until well beaten.
Add one slightly rounded teaspoon of salt and one slightly rounded teaspoon of sugar.
Add one pint of olive oil, three tablespoons of white wine vinegar, and three tablespoons of lemon juice.
Add the acid and the oil alternately to the eggs, beginning with the acid a few drops at a time.
Use a Dover egg beater after the dressing is well started, but do not let it stand.
Keep the dressing cold to prevent curdling.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
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Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,922 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
-
White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
White wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,776 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Olive + white winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,949 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg yolks emulsify the oil and acid, giving the dressing its thick, smooth body.
- Olive oil
- Forms the fat phase of the emulsion, giving richness and body to the dressing.
- White wine vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the richness of the oil and egg.
- Lemon juice
- Adds bright acidity and aroma that lifts the flavor of the dressing.
The step that matters
Add the acid and the oil alternately, beginning slowly. Adding the acid and oil a few drops at a time lets the yolk emulsify them gradually. Adding too much liquid early can break the emulsion, so the dressing separates and curdles instead of thickening.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, white wine, vinegar, egg, sugar):
- Lemonthe original
- Plumfits about as well
- Grapefits about as well
- Apricotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, white wine, vinegar, egg, sugar. 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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