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
Cook the dressing
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, butter, sugar, salt, and mustard.
Heat the mixture over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
Add the eggs and cool
Quickly stir in the beaten eggs (whites and yolks separately beaten until light).
Remove from heat immediately and let cool before serving.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as their proteins set with gentle heat, adding body and richness.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and richness of the dressing.
- Butter
- Adds fat that gives the dressing a smooth, rounded mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that softens the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps hold the fat and liquid together as an emulsion.
The step that matters
Quickly stir in the beaten eggs, then remove from heat immediately. Egg proteins set when heated, so if the mixture stays hot too long the eggs can scramble and turn lumpy. Stirring quickly and taking the pan off the heat right away keeps the dressing smooth and thickened.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, butter, sugar, egg):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, sugar, egg. 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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