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 ↓
Egg or Fish Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Take cooked potatoes and slice very thin ; add to them three hard- boiled eggs, also sliced thin ; chop one small, fresh onion. In a glass bowl or salad, dish put a layer of potatoes, then a layer of eggs, and sprinkle over them a little chopped onion, salt and pepper. For dress- ing, take the yolk of a raw e.gg and stir into it half teaspoonful of made mustard. Beat into it, drop by drop, three tablespoonfuls of sweet cream ; add one tablespoonful of strong vinegar and the white of the egg beaten to a stiff froth. If needed for supper make at noontime. Flakes of cold boiled salmon, cod or halibut, substituted for the eggs, or added with them, will make a fish salad.
606 SALADS.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 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.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Cream + vinegartop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,064 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Mustard + creamtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,935 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Mustard + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, vinegar, egg):
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Spinachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, vinegar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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