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 ↓
Cream Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Rub together in a china bowl a large tablespoonful of butter, four tablespoonfuls of vinegar, a half teaspoonful of salt, and a half teaspoonful of dry mustard.
Place the bowl in a saucepan full of boiling water over a spirit lamp, or on the range.
Stir the mixture carefully till very hot, to prevent the butter from oiling.
When hot add two well-beaten eggs; stir till thick.
Pour in a half pint of cream, stir.
Remove from the fire, and allow it to get perfectly cold.
Serve
Cold sweet-breads are excellent served with this cream Mayonnaise.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Mustard + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,003 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the sauce as they set when heated, giving it body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, soft texture to the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a rich mouthfeel and smooth emulsion when warmed gently.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness.
The step that matters
Stirring the mixture carefully until very hot. Heating the butter too fast or unevenly can separate it into oil, which prevents a smooth sauce. Gentle, constant stirring keeps the butter emulsified while the eggs are added and thicken the sauce.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, cream, butter, egg):
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, cream, butter, 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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