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
Combine mustard, vinegar, eggs, pepper, and salt in a saucepan.
Boil the mixture with butter or cream until thickened.
Allow to cool, then stir in sugar.
Finish and serve
Just before serving, whip the cream and fold it into the dressing.
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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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set when heated, giving it body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its sharp, tangy flavour.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the vinegar with sweetness.
- Butter or cream
- Adds richness and fat, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Cream
- Whipped and folded in at the end to lighten the texture.
The step that matters
Boil until thickened, then cool before adding sugar. Egg-based dressings thicken as the egg proteins set with heat, so the mixture must be cooked enough to thicken but not so hot that the eggs scramble. Cooling before the sugar is stirred in keeps the texture smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, pepper, butter, sugar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, pepper, butter, sugar, 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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