Why it works: Mustard and vinegar 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 ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Boil white potatoes and let them get cold.
Peel, salt, and pepper the potatoes.
Make the dressing
Wet ½ teaspoonful mustard with 2 tablespoons vinegar and a heaping tablespoon of butter, and whisk the yolks of 3 eggs until whipped.
Finish and serve
Add the seasoning to the sliced potatoes just before dinner is served.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
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.
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Vinegar + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vinegar and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes (in the method)
- Form the bulk of the salad and hold the dressing on their starchy surfaces.
- Eggs
- Yolks whip and emulsify with the fat, adding richness and body to the dressing.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps bind the oil and liquid into a smoother dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the dressing.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, rounder mouthfeel to the dressing.
The step that matters
Whisk the yolks until whipped. Whipping the yolks incorporates air and lets their proteins help emulsify the mustard, vinegar and butter. A well-emulsified dressing thickens and clings to the potatoes instead of separating into a watery layer.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg):
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, 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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