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
Make the dressing
Heat the vinegar in a saucepan.
In a bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, mustard, salt, butter, and cayenne pepper.
Add the heated vinegar to the mixture.
Stir in the cornstarch mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a double boiler and boil for 5 minutes.
Cool and finish
Allow the dressing to cool.
Stir in the 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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Vinegar + mustardtop 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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Mustard + peppertop 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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Vinegar + peppertop 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set with heat and add richness.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the dressing its sharp flavour.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth, stable dressing body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer mouthfeel.
- Cream
- Adds fat and softness, mellowing the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Boil in the double boiler. Egg proteins set and thicken the dressing, but overheating can scramble them into lumps. Gentle, controlled heat in a double boiler keeps the custard smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, sugar, butter, pepper, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, sugar, butter, pepper, 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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