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
Beat the eggs in a bowl.
In a saucepan, mix vinegar, melted butter, mustard, red pepper, and salt.
Add the beaten eggs to the mixture.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the whipped cream until well combined.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken as they cook and set, giving the dressing body and a creamy structure.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness of the butter and eggs.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mouthfeel.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the fat into the liquid.
- Whipped cream
- Lightens the dressing and adds a soft, airy richness when folded in at the end.
The step that matters
Cook the egg mixture gently while stirring constantly. Egg proteins set when heated, so over high heat or without stirring they can curdle and turn grainy. Gentle, constant stirring over medium heat lets the mixture thicken smoothly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, butter, pepper, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Spinachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, butter, pepper, 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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