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French Mustard

A mustard-based condiment made with sugar, egg, vinegar, and oil or butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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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 ↓

French Mustard

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mustard base

  1. In a bowl, mix the mustard and sugar until well combined.

  2. Beat the egg until smooth and add it to the mustard mixture.

  3. Gradually add the vinegar, mixing until smooth.

  4. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan.

Cook and finish

  1. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

  2. Remove from heat.

  3. Stir in the oil or butter until thoroughly combined.

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.

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. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg
Thickens the mustard as it cooks, giving it a smooth, creamy body.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the sweetness.
Mustard
Provides the main pungent flavour and body of the sauce.
Sugar
Softens the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard for a rounder taste.
Oil or butter
Adds fat that gives the finished mustard a richer, smoother texture.

The step that matters

Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly. The egg must heat enough to thicken the mixture, but if it gets too hot or sits still it can scramble, leaving lumps. Constant stirring spreads heat evenly so the sauce thickens smoothly.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, vinegar, butter):

  1. Mustardthe original
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Cucumberfits about as well
  4. Shallotfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, vinegar, 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.

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