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—Mrs. E. W. Owen
Ingredients
Directions
Mix salt, sugar, mustard, and corn starch with vinegar.
Add beaten eggs and milk.
Cook in a double boiler 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.
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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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Mustard + corntop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together463 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, 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 + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set as they heat, thickening the dressing and giving it body.
- Corn starch
- Swells when heated, thickening the liquid into a smooth sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness and sweetness.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and a creamy, mellow body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that offsets the sharp vinegar.
The step that matters
Cook gently in the double boiler until it thickens. Eggs can curdle or scramble if overheated, while corn starch needs sustained heat to swell fully and thicken. Gentle, indirect heat keeps the dressing smooth and creamy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, corn, vinegar, egg, milk):
- Capsicumfits better
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, corn, vinegar, egg, milk. 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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