Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mayonnaise; Dressing, No. 1
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chill all ingredients, especially the oil, for at least 1 hour.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with a fork for 1 minute.
Add salt, cayenne, and mustard; mix well.
Make the emulsion
Slowly add the olive oil, a few drops at a time, stirring continuously until thick.
Once thick, add vinegar gradually, half a teaspoon at a time.
After all vinegar is added, incorporate lemon juice in the same manner.
Continue stirring until all oil and lemon juice are mixed in.
Finish and serve
Chill the dressing in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
If desired, stir in whipped cream to tone down the oil flavor.
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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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,922 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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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
- Egg yolks
- Lecithin in the yolks emulsifies the oil and water so the dressing thickens instead of separating.
- Olive oil
- Forms the bulk of the dressing, giving it richness, body and fat-based flavor.
- Mustard
- Its natural emulsifiers help hold the oil and acid together, making the dressing more stable.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness of the oil.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity and sharpness, balancing the richness of the oil and yolks.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly. Oil must be added a few drops at a time while stirring, so the yolk can coat each droplet. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk, and the emulsion breaks into a separated, oily mixture.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, mustard, pepper, vinegar, olive, cream):
- Avocadofits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Limefits about as well
- Cherryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, mustard, pepper, vinegar, olive, 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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