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
Make the dressing
In a bowl, mix the egg, mustard, salt, cayenne, sugar, and vinegar.
Place the bowl over a kettle of boiling water and cook until the mixture thickens.
Finish
Remove from heat and let it cool.
Once cooled, stir in sour cream to taste.
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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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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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Thickens as it cooks over heat, giving the dressing its body and creamy structure.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness of the egg and sour cream.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that rounds out the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavour and helps emulsify the mixture.
- Sour cream
- Adds richness and a cool, tangy creaminess to the finished dressing.
The step that matters
Cooking over boiling water until thickened. Egg proteins set gradually when gently heated. Too much heat or too long can scramble the egg, leaving lumps, so cook slowly and stir until the mixture coats a spoon.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Spinachfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, sugar, 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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