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Salad

Cheese Dressing

A dressing made with tarragon vinegar, grated cheese, catsu, cider vinegar, hardboiled eggs, oil, and mustard.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and cider are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Cheese Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix the yolks of 2 hardboiled eggs with 1 teaspoon French mustard, or half as much dry mustard.

  2. Add 1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar (if at hand).

  3. Add 1 teaspoon grated cheese.

  4. Add 1 teaspoon catsu.

  5. Add 4 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon cider vinegar. Beat well.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

315Calories
14 gProtein
28 gFat
2 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Tarragon1 tsp dried (0.5g)2
Cidernot 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 Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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.

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. Vinegar + cidertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,547 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Vinegar + cheesetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together922 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).

  4. Cheese + cidertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together89 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Tarragon + eggtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,789 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Hardboiled egg yolks
Emulsify the oil and vinegar into a thick, smooth dressing.
Oil
Provides the fat that gives the dressing its body and richness.
Grated cheese
Adds savory flavor and body to the dressing.

The step that matters

Add the oil and beat well. Oil must be added gradually while beating so the egg yolk can bind it into an emulsion; adding it all at once or under-beating can cause the dressing to separate.

Swap the tarragon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, cheese, cider, egg):

  1. Tarragonthe original
  2. Dillfits about as well
  3. Thymefits about as well
  4. Peppermintfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, cheese, cider, 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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