Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Rub the butter into the flour in a bowl.
Add the sugar, mustard, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Heat the vinegar until very hot.
Mix the hot vinegar into the bowl.
Combine all ingredients well.
Add the mixture to the beaten egg yolks.
Place the mixture on the stove.
Stir until thick.
Serve
Serve with plain or 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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Vinegar + mustardtop 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).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they set with gentle heat and add richness.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Flour
- Thickens the mixture as it cooks, helping it hold together.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that balances the richness of the yolks and butter.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Stir until thick. Egg yolks thicken with gentle heat but can scramble if overheated. Keep the heat low and stir constantly so the dressing thickens smoothly without curdling.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, vinegar, egg, pepper, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, vinegar, egg, pepper, 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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