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 ↓
Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mayonnaise
In a bowl, beat the egg yolk until thickened.
Slowly add the oil drop by drop while beating continuously. Once over a teaspoon of oil is incorporated, add it in larger drops, continuing to beat well.
When thick, add lemon juice gradually, then more oil and lemon juice alternately.
Fix and thin
If the mixture curdles, beat another egg yolk in a separate bowl and gradually incorporate the curdled mixture.
To thin, add an equal amount of whipped cream.
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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Mustard + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,816 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Lemon + vinegartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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
- Egg yolk
- Emulsifies the oil and water, holding the sauce together as a thick emulsion.
- Oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce, giving it its rich texture and body.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps stabilise the emulsion.
- Whipped cream
- Thins the finished mayonnaise, adding moisture and a lighter texture.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly at the start. Oil must be added drop by drop while beating so the droplets disperse finely. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk, so the emulsion breaks and the mixture curdles.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, mustard, vinegar, cream):
- Avocadofits better
- Strawberryfits about as well
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, mustard, vinegar, cream. 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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