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Sauce

Salad Dressing

A cooked dressing of eggs, vinegar and butter, cooled and mixed with whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Ramblers' club, Minneapolis. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Salad Dressing

Why it works: Cream and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,449 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Salad Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing base

  1. Beat 2 eggs until light.

  2. Pour 4 tbs. of vinegar, just brought to the boiling point, over the eggs.

  3. Cook over hot water until it thickens.

  4. Remove from fire and add 2 tbs. of butter.

  5. Set aside to cool.

Finish and serve

  1. When ready to use, whip 1 cup of cream.

  2. Add the cream to the cooled mixture, stirring well.

  3. Season to taste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

141Calories
7 gProtein
11 gFat
4 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Fruit Saladnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Ramblers' club, Minneapolis. [from old catalog]. 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. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  2. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Thicken the dressing as they cook and set over hot water, giving it body.
Vinegar (in the method)
Adds the sharp acidity that balances the richness of the dressing.
Butter (in the method)
Adds fat that makes the cooked dressing smoother and richer.
Cream
Whipped and folded in, it lightens the dressing and adds a soft, airy texture.

The step that matters

Cook over hot water until it thickens. Egg proteins set gently with indirect heat. If the heat is too high or the mixture is overcooked, the eggs can scramble and the dressing turns grainy instead of smooth.

“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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