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
In a bowl over boiling water, combine the eggs, vinegar, melted butter, and prepared mustard.
Stir continuously until the mixture thickens and resembles 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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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Their proteins set as they heat, thickening the dressing into a creamy texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness of the butter and eggs.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
- Prepared mustard
- Its natural emulsifiers help hold the fat and liquid together in a smooth dressing.
The step that matters
Stir continuously over the water. Egg proteins set with gentle heat. If the mixture gets too hot or is not stirred, the eggs can scramble and curdle instead of thickening smoothly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, butter, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, butter, pepper. 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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