Name: Mayonnaise Dressing
Ingredients: two teaspoonfuls of good vinegar; one teaspoonful of salt; one teaspoonful of pepper; one teaspoonful mustard; one-half cup of vinegar; two tablespoons cream; one tablespoonful salt; half tablespoonfuls of vinegar; one teaspoonful of corn starch; a gill of oil; a cup of cream; two salt-spoonfuls of salt; one cold boiled chicken; three hard boiled eggs; one raw egg well beaten; three teaspoon- fuls of melted butter; one egg beaten very light; one hot potato mashed; one-half teacup vinegar; 26 gems foe the kitchen; three well beaten eggs stir one tablespoonful salt; one table- spoonful prepared mustard; three tablespoonful s melted butter; two large lemons; one coffee-cupful sweet cream; half table- spoonfuls of water; two egsjs; salt; mustard; vinegar

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 ↓

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 pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,430 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + corntop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,324 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Corn + chickentop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,666 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg yolk: Acts as the emulsifier that holds the oil and vinegar together as a smooth dressing.
Oil: Provides the fat that, dispersed into the yolk, thickens the dressing into a rich texture.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps keep the emulsion stable.
Lemon juice: Adds bright acidity that balances the richness of the oil.
Mustard: Helps stabilise the emulsion and adds a sharp, savoury flavour.

The step that matters

Pouring in the oil slowly. Oil must be added in a thin stream while beating so it disperses into tiny droplets held by the yolk. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk, so the sauce breaks and curdles.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, pepper, cream, corn, chicken, egg, butter):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Asparagusfits about as well
Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, pepper, cream, corn, chicken, egg, butter. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Mayonnaise Dressing