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, mix the egg yolks, butter, sugar, dry mustard, salt, red pepper, and flour until well combined.
Heat the vinegar in a saucepan until boiling.
Add the egg mixture to the boiling vinegar and cook until it thickens.
Let it cool.
Store
Pour into a glass jar.
Store in a cool place.
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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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they set with heat, and add richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mouthfeel.
- Flour
- Helps thicken the dressing and keep it from separating.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness.
The step that matters
Cooking the egg mixture in the boiling vinegar. Egg yolks thicken when heated, but if they get too hot they can scramble into lumps. Adding the mixture gradually and stirring keeps the dressing smooth while it thickens.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, pepper, flour, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, pepper, 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.
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