Why it works: Cabbage and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,645 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Cold-slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
Shave the cabbage very fine.
Pour boiling vinegar over the cabbage.
Place the dish with cabbage into a kettle half full of boiling water and let it cook.
Make the dressing and serve
Beat the eggs very light, then add mustard, salt, sugar, melted butter, and cayenne pepper.
Mix the dressing well and pour it over the cabbage immediately after removing it from the boiling water.
Stir lightly and serve at once.
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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Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the slaw and, once cooked, becomes tender while still holding its shape.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the sweetness of the dressing.
- Eggs
- Beaten eggs thicken the dressing as they set with the heat, giving it a creamy body.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard with sweetness.
- Melted butter
- Adds richness and smooth mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Mixed mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavour that cuts through the richness of the eggs and butter.
The step that matters
Pour the dressing over the cabbage immediately after removing it from the boiling water. The cabbage is hot and absorbs the dressing best while warm. Letting it cool first means less flavour soaks in and the cabbage stays firmer and less seasoned. Serving promptly also keeps the egg dressing from thickening further as it cools.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cider, vinegar, egg, mustard, sugar, butter, pepper):
- Horseradishfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cider, vinegar, egg, mustard, sugar, 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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