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 ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the egg mixture
Beat the yolks of 8 eggs in a bowl.
Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon each of salt, mustard, and black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and ½ cup of cream; mix thoroughly.
Make the dressing
In a saucepan, bring 1½ pints of vinegar to a boil.
Add 1 cup of butter to the boiling vinegar and boil again.
Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the egg mixture and stir well.
Cool and store
Let it cool, then bottle and store in a cool place.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify and thicken the dressing as they set gently with the heat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and body, giving the dressing a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the dressing and helps preserve it.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and softness to the emulsified mixture.
The step that matters
Pouring the hot vinegar mixture over the egg mixture. If the hot liquid is poured in too fast or without constant stirring, the egg yolks can scramble instead of thickening smoothly. Stirring well while adding the liquid gently warms the yolks so they blend into a smooth, emulsified dressing.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, pepper, cream, vinegar, butter):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, pepper, cream, vinegar, butter. 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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