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 ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a two-quart bowl, mix the mustard, salt, and vinegar.
Beat in the yolk of the raw egg.
Gradually add the olive oil while beating briskly.
Continue beating until the mixture becomes a thick batter.
Flavor with additional vinegar or fresh lemon juice to taste.
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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Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Mustard + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + olivetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raw egg yolk
- Emulsifies the oil and vinegar, holding the mixture together and giving it body.
- Pure olive oil
- Forms the bulk of the emulsion, supplying richness and a thick texture.
- Ground mustard
- Helps stabilise the emulsion so the oil stays suspended in the mixture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens flavor and balances the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Gradually add the olive oil while beating briskly. Adding oil too fast overwhelms the egg yolk, which cannot hold so much oil in suspension, so the emulsion breaks and the mixture separates instead of thickening.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, olive):
- Cucumberfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Tomatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, olive. 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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