Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Beat the eggs well in a bowl.
Add the sugar and vinegar to the eggs and mix well.
In a double boiler, combine the egg mixture with milk and butter.
Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly until thickened.
Finish and season
Once thickened, let the mixture cool and then add more milk or cream as desired.
Season with salt, pepper, and mustard 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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set when gently heated, giving it body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tangy flavor.
- Milk
- Thins the custard-like base and adds creaminess and moisture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richer flavor and a smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly until thickened. Egg proteins set at moderate heat, and if the mixture gets too hot or is not stirred, the eggs can scramble into lumps. A double boiler keeps the heat gentle and even, so the dressing thickens smoothly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, vinegar, milk, butter, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, vinegar, milk, butter, 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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