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
Prepare
Heat the vinegar and butter in a saucepan.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, mustard, sugar, and salt.
Thicken the dressing
Slowly add the heated vinegar and butter to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens to the consistency of cream.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken as they heat, giving the dressing body and a rich, smooth texture.
- Mustard
- Helps hold the fat and liquid together and adds a sharp, savoury flavour.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a silky mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Adding the hot vinegar and butter. Egg yolk proteins set when heated and can scramble if hot liquid goes in too fast. Adding it slowly while stirring constantly tempers the yolks, and low heat keeps the sauce smooth and thickening evenly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, sugar, butter):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, sugar, butter. 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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