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
Make the dressing
Beat the yolks of 3 eggs until creamy.
Add 3 tablespoons sugar, a pinch of red pepper, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ cup vinegar.
Beat the egg whites separately and fold them in last.
Cook the mixture in a bowl set in hot water, stirring until it thickens.
Finish and serve
Just before using, stir in ½ cup of sweet 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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they cook and give it a rich, smooth body.
- Egg whites
- Add lightness and airy volume when beaten and folded into the mixture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and balances the sweetness and richness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the vinegar.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel.
- Sweet cream
- Adds fat and softness, mellowing the dressing when stirred in at the end.
The step that matters
Cook the mixture in a bowl set in hot water, stirring until it thickens. Egg yolks thicken when gently heated, but they can scramble if the heat is too high. A water bath with constant stirring heats the mixture slowly and evenly, so it thickens smoothly instead of curdling.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, pepper, butter, vinegar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, pepper, butter, vinegar, cream. 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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