Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Dbessing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the emulsion
In a bowl set in ice water, beat the egg yolks, mustard, sugar, cayenne, and salt until very light and thick.
Slowly add a few drops of oil at a time while continuing to beat until the mixture is very thick.
Once thick, add the remaining oil more rapidly.
When the mixture becomes hard to beat, add a little vinegar.
Finish and chill
After all oil and vinegar are incorporated, add the lemon juice and whipped cream.
Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours 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.
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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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Mustard + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,816 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Lecithin in the yolks emulsifies the oil and water, holding the sauce together.
- Oil
- Forms the fat phase that gives mayonnaise its rich, thick body.
- Mustard
- Its compounds help stabilise the emulsion so it resists splitting.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens flavour and helps keep the emulsion stable.
- Whipped cream
- Adds air and extra fat, producing a lighter, softer texture.
The step that matters
Adding the oil. Oil must be added very slowly at first, a few drops at a time, while beating. Adding it too fast before the yolks have thickened can overwhelm the emulsion, causing it to break and separate into a greasy liquid.
“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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