Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Boil the milk.
Pour the hot milk over the slightly beaten egg yolks and return to a double boiler.
Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, and mustard, and cook until thick.
Remove from heat, add the butter, and strain the mixture.
Serve
When ready to serve, fold in half the quantity of 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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Vinegar + sugartop 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 yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they cook and give it a rich, smooth body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and mellows the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a richer flavor and smoother mouthfeel.
- Whipped cream
- Lightens the dressing and adds a soft, airy texture when folded in.
The step that matters
Return the milk and egg mixture to a double boiler and cook until thick. Egg yolks thicken gently with indirect heat. Too much heat can scramble them, leaving lumps and a grainy texture instead of a smooth, thick dressing.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, vinegar, butter, sugar, cream):
- Potatofits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, vinegar, butter, sugar, 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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