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
Mix flour, sugar, and mustard in a bowl.
Add the beaten eggs and melted butter, mixing well.
Place the mixture in a double boiler over simmering water.
Slowly add vinegar a little at a time as the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and add salt to taste once cooled.
Finish
After standing, thin the dressing with sweet 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.
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they cook gently, giving it body and a creamy texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tang and balances the sweetness.
- Sour cream
- Adds richness and a creamy, tangy body to the dressing.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat that makes the dressing smooth and rich.
- Flour
- Helps stabilize the mixture so it thickens without curdling.
The step that matters
Adding the vinegar. Vinegar should be added slowly while the mixture is warm over simmering water. Adding it all at once can curdle the egg, and gentle heat lets the eggs thicken smoothly without scrambling.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour, sugar, cream, vinegar, butter):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Leekfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour, sugar, cream, vinegar, butter. 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.
More salad dressing recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipes
French Dressing58 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.