Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, eggs, mustard, sugar, celery seed, salt, and pepper.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
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 + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg proteins set as they heat, thickening the dressing into a creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the dressing's tang.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Mustard
- Adds pungent flavour and helps stabilise the dressing's texture.
The step that matters
Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly. Egg proteins can scramble or curdle if the mixture gets too hot or sits still. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly so the dressing thickens smoothly.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, mustard, sugar, pepper):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Capersfits better
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, mustard, sugar, pepper. 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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