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
In a bowl, stir the egg yolk with the olive oil or melted butter.
Add the vinegar mixed with the coarse sea salt.
Stir in the cayenne pepper and mustard 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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Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,263 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Emulsifies the oil and vinegar, giving the dressing a smooth, thickened body.
- Olive oil or melted butter
- Provides fat that carries flavour and gives the dressing a rich mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the fat.
The step that matters
Stir in the vinegar slowly. Egg yolk emulsifies oil and vinegar only when the liquids are added gradually while stirring. Adding them all at once can cause the mixture to separate and stay thin and greasy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive, vinegar, pepper. 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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