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
Beat the egg yolks, mustard, salt, and sugar in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
Heat the vinegar and water together in a small saucepan.
Add the heated mixture to the egg yolk mixture.
Cook over a double boiler until the dressing thickens.
While still hot, beat in the olive oil or butter.
Reduce the dressing with cream to your desired 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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Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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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 + olivetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 with gentle heat, giving it a creamy body.
- Olive oil or butter
- Adds richness and smoothness by emulsifying into the warm yolk mixture.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that rounds out the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Cook over a double boiler until the dressing thickens. Egg yolks scramble if they get too hot, so gentle indirect heat lets them thicken smoothly rather than curdle.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, vinegar, olive, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Asparagusfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, vinegar, olive, 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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