Name: The Dewey Cook Book
Ingredients: one cup of milk; one teaspoonful of mustard; 3 tablespoonfuls butter; 1 teaspoonful salt; 2 tablespoonfuls sugar; 6 tablespoonfuls sweet cream; one tablespoonful of butter in a sauce pan; one tablespoonful of flour; half cup of vinegar 22; a dash of red pepper; a cup of vinegar; four heaping tablespoonfuls of melted butter; one heaping tablespoonful of flour; two eggs beaten light; one-half tea- spoonful of salt; two tablespoon- fuls of sugar; 3 eggs; mustard; salt; pepper; vinegar

Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. 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.

Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,787 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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 bind it into a smooth, creamy texture.
Flour: Forms a roux with the butter that helps thicken the dressing and keep it smooth.
Butter: Provides fat and a rich flavour, and forms the base roux with the flour.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that gives the dressing its sharp, tangy flavour.
Sugar: Balances the acidity of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.

The step that matters

Heating in the double boiler. Egg proteins set as they heat, so the mixture can curdle or turn grainy if it gets too hot. Gentle heat in a double boiler, with constant stirring, lets it thicken smoothly.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, sugar, cream, sauce, flour, vinegar):

Mustardthe original
Shallotfits about as well
Capsicumfits about as well
Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, sugar, cream, sauce, flour, vinegar. 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
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

The Dewey Cook Book