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
In a bowl, beat the eggs until well combined.
Add mustard, sugar, melted butter, vinegar, and salt; mix well.
Cook the mixture in a double boiler or a kettle of water, stirring constantly until it thickens like custard.
Remove from heat and stir briskly to ensure a smooth consistency.
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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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).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set during gentle cooking, giving it a custard-like body.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharpness that balances the sweetness and richness of the butter and eggs.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the dressing a smoother mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that softens the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Prepared mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
The step that matters
Cooking until it thickens. Egg proteins set gradually as they warm. Heating gently over water and stirring constantly keeps them from scrambling, so the mixture thickens smoothly like custard instead of curdling.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, vinegar):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, 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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