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
In a bowl, mix the olive oil or melted butter with the egg yolk gradually.
Slowly add the mustard, salt, white pepper, and vinegar while stirring.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg white to stiff peaks and fold it into the mixture last.
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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Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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White pepper + vinegartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,154 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + white peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,312 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- The yolk emulsifies the oil and water in vinegar, and the whipped white adds lightness.
- Olive oil or melted butter
- Provides fat for richness and a smooth, full body in the dressing.
- Mustard
- Helps stabilize the emulsion so the oil stays dispersed instead of separating.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness of the fat.
The step that matters
Add the oil gradually to the egg yolk. Egg yolk lecithin binds oil into tiny droplets only when the oil is added slowly while mixing. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk, so the dressing breaks and separates.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, mustard, vinegar):
- Capersfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive, mustard, vinegar. 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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