Why it works: Egg and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
In a cool room, beat the eggs in a bowl until well mixed.
Slowly add the oil while continuously whisking until the mixture thickens.
Add vinegar or lemon juice and salt, mixing well to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste.
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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Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and vinegar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg yolks emulsify the oil, holding tiny droplets suspended so the sauce thickens into a stable mayonnaise.
- Oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce, giving it its rich texture and fat content once emulsified with the egg.
- Vinegar or lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly while whisking. Oil must be dispersed into tiny droplets before the emulsion forms. Adding it too fast overwhelms the egg, so the mixture stays runny or breaks and separates.
“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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