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 ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, combine the beaten eggs, sugar, mustard, cornstarch, and butter.
Heat the vinegar and add it to the egg mixture.
Cook over boiling water or very low heat until thick, stirring constantly.
Beat the mixture until smooth.
Finish and serve
Add salt to taste and thin with a little cream before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Coagulate as they cook, thickening the dressing into a smooth, creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and richness of the dressing.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dressing and softens the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid by swelling with heat, helping the dressing stay stable.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a rounder, smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Cook gently while stirring constantly. Egg proteins set at moderate heat and can curdle or scramble if heated too fast. Gentle, constant stirring keeps the custard-like mixture smooth while it thickens.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, vinegar, cream):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, vinegar, cream. 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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