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Salad

French Dressing

A cold vinaigrette made with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and optional ketchup and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,297 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓

French Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Combine the ingredients

  1. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil.

  2. Add 1 teaspoon salt.

  3. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar or 1 teaspoon red pepper.

  4. Add lemon juice.

  5. Add a little ketchup and a little sugar if desired.

Mix and emulsify

  1. Mix the salt and pepper with the oil.

  2. Add the vinegar slowly, stirring constantly.

  3. Keep all ingredients cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

128Calories
0 gProtein
14 gFat
2 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 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.

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [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.

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. Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

  2. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Olive oil
Forms the fat base that carries the flavour and gives the dressing body.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps keep the oil dispersed.

The step that matters

Adding the vinegar. Adding the vinegar slowly while stirring constantly breaks it into fine droplets dispersed through the oil. Pouring it in quickly can let the oil and vinegar separate instead of forming a smooth, cohesive dressing.

“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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