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
Combine the beaten egg, vinegar, sugar, salt, and ground mustard in a saucepan.
Boil slowly while stirring constantly.
If the mixture is too thick, add a little cornstarch mixed with a small amount of milk.
Continue to stir 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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Egg
- Thickens the dressing as it cooks and gives it a rich, creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the dressing's tangy flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid further if the mixture is too thin after cooking.
The step that matters
Boil slowly while stirring constantly. The egg can scramble if the mixture gets too hot or sits still. Constant stirring and slow heat let the egg proteins thicken the dressing smoothly instead of curdling it.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, sugar, milk):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Sweet potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, sugar, milk. 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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