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 ↓
Egg Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the eggs
Boil the eggs for 20 minutes.
Peel the shells and cut the eggs in half lengthwise.
Remove the yolks and place them in a bowl.
Make the filling
Cream the yolks with the dry mustard, heavy cream, salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar until very thick.
Fill the egg whites with the mixture.
Chill and serve
Chill and serve with mayonnaise.
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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Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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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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Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Pepper + olivetop 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 yolks
- Their fat and emulsifying lecithin help the creamed filling become smooth and rich.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat and moisture, making the yolk filling softer and creamier.
- Olive oil
- Adds fat that emulsifies with the yolks, giving the filling a silky body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich yolk mixture and balances its fat.
- Dry mustard
- Contributes sharp flavour and helps stabilise the emulsion of yolk and oil.
The step that matters
Creaming the yolks until very thick. Working the yolks with the oil and cream builds a stable emulsion. If the mixture is rushed or the oil is added too fast, it can split or stay loose, so the filling will not hold its shape in the whites.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, pepper, olive, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, pepper, olive, vinegar. 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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