Why it works: Tarragon and chervil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 824 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, whisk the raw egg yolks with the salad oil until well combined.
Add the thick cream, tarragon vinegar, chopped tarragon, chopped chervil, and salt.
Mix until smooth and use as a dressing.
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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Tarragon + cherviltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together824 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,547 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + cherviltop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together561 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + cherviltop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together288 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Cream + tarragontop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together574 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raw egg yolks
- Emulsify with the oil to form a thick, smooth dressing base.
- Salad oil
- Provides fat that, emulsified with the yolks, gives the dressing body and richness.
- Thick cream
- Adds fat and softness, mellowing the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity and sharp aromatic flavour that brightens the dressing.
The step that matters
Whisking the yolks with the oil. Oil must be added and whisked in gradually so the yolks can emulsify it; adding it too fast can cause the dressing to break and separate.
“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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