Name: Mustard Dressing
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon mustard; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; ½ cup sugar; 1 egg; 1 cup vinegar; 1 teaspoon salt

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 ↓

Mustard Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

In a bowl, combine mustard, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
Add the egg and vinegar, and mix well until smooth.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,424 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Mustard + eggtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,210 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg: Binds the dressing and, when cooked gently, thickens it into a creamy texture.
Cornstarch: Thickens the liquid so the dressing clings and holds its body.
Vinegar: Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and richness of the dressing.
Sugar: Sweetens the dressing and softens the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard.
Mustard: Provides pungent flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.