Why it works: Lemon and pepper 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
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Place a mixing bowl in a larger bowl filled with cracked ice.
Add the yolks of both raw and boiled eggs to the bowl.
Make the emulsion
Gradually add a little oil and rub to a cream.
Mix in mustard, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar.
Slowly add the oil, drop by drop, while beating until thick and shiny.
Finish and serve
Thin the mixture with vinegar, adding a drop at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Stir in the lemon juice and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites just before serving.
Keep the dressing very cold.
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.
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,922 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
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
- Raw egg yolks
- Egg yolk lecithin acts as an emulsifier, holding the oil and vinegar together as a smooth sauce.
- Olive oil
- Forms the bulk of the emulsion, giving the mayonnaise its thick body and rich texture.
- Prepared mustard
- Mustard particles help stabilise the emulsion so it is less likely to separate.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity for sharpness and is used to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and a bright, fresh flavour to the finished dressing.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly, drop by drop, while beating. The yolks can only suspend oil as tiny droplets when it is added gradually. Pouring it in too fast overwhelms the emulsifier, and the mixture breaks and turns oily.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, lemon, pepper, vinegar, sugar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive, lemon, pepper, vinegar, sugar. 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.
More mayonnaise recipes
You might also like
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.