Why it works: Vinegar and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,297 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓
Quick Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the egg yolk well.
Add salt, vinegar, olive oil, and butter.
Stir briskly over low heat until creamy.
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.
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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Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Olive + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Egg + olivetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Its lecithin emulsifies the oil and vinegar, holding the sauce together and making it creamy.
- Olive oil
- Provides the fat that forms the body and rich texture of the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and a richer flavour, contributing to the sauce's smooth texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the richness of the fat and sharpens the flavour.
The step that matters
Stir briskly over low heat until creamy. Heat must stay gentle so the yolk does not scramble, while constant stirring lets the fat disperse into tiny droplets. If the mixture overheats or separates, the emulsion breaks and the sauce turns oily and grainy.
“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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