Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mayonnaise
In a bowl, combine the yolks of six raw eggs, removing any cores.
Season with ½ ounce of table salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
While whisking briskly, gradually pour in ⅓ cup of vinegar until absorbed.
Slowly add 1 quart of oil while constantly stirring the sauce.
Finish by adding the juice of 1 lemon and 3 tablespoons of boiling water to ensure coherence.
Rest and store
Let the mayonnaise rest for a few hours to thicken.
Cover to keep free from dust and store at a safe temperature.
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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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Vinegar + lemontop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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 yolks
- Emulsify the oil and vinegar, giving the sauce its structure and creamy body.
- Oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce, providing richness and a thick texture when emulsified.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the richness and helps stabilise the emulsion.
- Lemon juice
- Adds bright acidity that sharpens the flavour of the sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly while stirring constantly. Oil must be dispersed into the yolk mixture in tiny droplets. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolks, so the emulsion breaks and the sauce stays runny or separates.
“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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