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Prepared Mustard 1

A thin mustard sauce made with mustard, sugar, butter, salt, cream, cayenne pepper, and boiling water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Prepared Mustard 1

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix mustard, sugar, salt, and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper in a stone cup.

  2. Set the cup on the stove and slowly pour in boiling water until the mixture is very thin.

  3. Let it boil slowly, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the desired thickness.

  4. Remove from heat and beat in the butter until well combined.

  5. Stir in the cream for added softness, if desired.

  6. Optionally, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Mustard
Provides the sharp flavour that defines the condiment.
Butter
Adds richness and a smoother, rounder mouthfeel to the finished mustard.
Cream
Adds softness and a milder, creamier texture when stirred in.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the mustard with a touch of sweetness.

The step that matters

Let it boil slowly until it reaches the desired thickness. Mustard thickens as the mixture heats and its starches and proteins set, so stopping too early leaves it thin, while overheating can make it bitter. Stir occasionally so it does not stick or scorch.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, cream, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Leekfits about as well
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, cream, 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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