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 ↓
Cream Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Mash the hard-boiled yolks until fine.
Gradually work in the raw yolk until smooth.
Add the salt, pepper, and melted butter, blending well.
Slowly add the cream while stirring continuously.
Gradually mix in the vinegar, then refrigerate.
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.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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).
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Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Form a smooth, thick base that gives the dressing body.
- Raw egg yolk
- Emulsifies the fats so the dressing stays smooth and creamy.
- Melted butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries flavor and smooths the texture.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and silkiness, loosening the dressing to a pourable consistency.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness.
The step that matters
Gradually work in the raw yolk until smooth. Adding the raw yolk slowly lets it bind with the mashed yolks and melted fat into a stable emulsion. Adding it all at once can leave the dressing grainy or separated.
“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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