Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, mix salt, mustard, sugar, flour, and egg yolks.
Add butter and milk, then mix well.
Slowly add vinegar while stirring constantly.
Cook in a double boiler, stirring continuously until thickened.
Store
Store in a sealed container; it will keep for months.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Thicken the dressing as they set during cooking and add richness.
- Flour
- Stabilises the mixture and adds body so the dressing thickens without separating.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
- Milk
- Adds liquid and creaminess, diluting the vinegar's sharpness.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity for a tangy flavour that balances the richness.
The step that matters
Cook in a double boiler, stirring continuously until thickened. Egg yolks set at gentle heat and can scramble if overheated or left unstirred. Gentle, constant stirring over a double boiler keeps the dressing smooth and evenly thickened.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, egg, butter, milk, vinegar):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, egg, butter, milk, 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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