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 ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, mix the mustard with the vinegar until smooth.
Add the sugar, salt, and beaten eggs to the mixture.
Stir in the milk and a little cream.
Whisk until well combined.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Add body and help bind the dressing into a thicker, creamier mixture.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and mellows the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness.
The step that matters
Add the beaten eggs gradually and whisk well. Eggs can scramble or curdle if added too quickly to acidic liquid. Adding them slowly while whisking keeps the mixture smooth and evenly thickened.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, vinegar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Potatofits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, vinegar, 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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