Why it works: Mustard and cabbage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,645 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dressing
Chop one small cabbage.
Add two teaspoons salt, two teaspoons mustard, two tablespoons sugar, two tablespoons sweet cream, one cup vinegar and two eggs.
Beat all together.
Cook to a cream in a double boiler.
Serve
While still warm, pour over the chopped cabbage.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Broccoli | 1 cup chopped (156g) | 55 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| 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.
-
Mustard + cabbagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Vinegar + cabbagetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they cook, giving it a creamy, body-rich texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and flavors the cabbage.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dressing to offset the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Sweet cream
- Adds fat and richness, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Mustard
- Adds pungent flavor and helps emulsify the dressing.
The step that matters
Cook to a cream in a double boiler. Eggs thicken gently over indirect heat. Too much heat scrambles them into lumps, so the dressing must be stirred and cooked slowly.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, sugar, cream, vinegar, egg):
- Horseradishfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, sugar, cream, vinegar, 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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