Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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
Prepare
Boil the vinegar in a saucepan.
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, flour, mixed mustard, cayenne pepper, sugar, oil, and salt. Beat the mixture until smooth.
Cook
Cook the mixture in a double boiler, stirring constantly until it thickens.
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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Vinegar + mustardtop 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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Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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 during gentle cooking and add richness.
- Flour
- Stabilises the mixture so it thickens smoothly without splitting.
- Vinegar
- Adds the sharp acidity that defines the dressing's flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness.
- Oil
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture.
The step that matters
Cook the mixture in a double boiler, stirring constantly. Egg yolks can scramble if overheated. Gentle indirect heat and constant stirring let the yolks and flour thicken the dressing evenly without curdling.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, flour, pepper, sugar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, flour, pepper, sugar. 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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