Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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 ↓
Hot Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Shred one small, firm head of cabbage finely.
In a saucepan, combine one cup of vinegar, one tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of made mustard, one saltspoonful of pepper, and one saltspoonful of salt. Heat the mixture to a boil.
Make and serve
Pour the scalding hot mixture over the shredded cabbage.
Return the cabbage to the saucepan and stir and toss until all is smoking again.
Take from the heat and stir in the sour cream.
Turn into a covered dish and set in hot water for ten minutes before serving.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
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.
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.
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cabbage (in the method)
- Forms the bulk of the dish and, once wilted by the hot dressing, gives it a tender texture.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the slaw's tang and balances the sugar.
- Sour cream
- Adds richness and a creamy body to the hot dressing when stirred in off the heat.
- Sugar
- Softens the sharpness of the vinegar, adding sweetness for balance.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel to the dressing.
The step that matters
Stir in the sour cream off the heat. Sour cream is delicate and can curdle or separate when exposed to high heat, so it is added only after the mixture is removed from the heat to keep it smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, butter, sugar, cream, pepper):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Potatofits about as well
- Onionfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, sugar, cream, 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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