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 Made Op Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the eggs in a bowl.
Gradually add mustard, sugar, salt, and vinegar or water.
Melt the butter slightly and add it to the mixture.
Place the bowl on the stove and stir until it thickens.
Remove from heat and stir in the sweet cream.
Let cool before using.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set with gentle heat, giving it body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that balances the sweetness and richness of the dressing.
- Sweet cream
- Adds richness and softness, mellowing the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Stir over heat until it thickens. Egg proteins set gradually as they warm. If the heat is too high or stirring stops, the eggs can curdle or scramble, leaving a grainy dressing instead of a smooth, thickened one.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, vinegar, cream):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, 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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