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 base
Mix the flour, sugar, and mustard in a bowl.
Beat the eggs and add them to the dry ingredients.
Stir in the sour cream and melted butter.
Cook and finish
Place the mixture in a double boiler over simmering water.
Slowly add the vinegar a little at a time as the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and add salt to taste once cool.
If needed, thin the dressing with sweet cream before serving.
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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Cream + buttertop 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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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
- Their proteins set when gently heated, thickening the dressing into a creamy body.
- Flour
- Its starch thickens the mixture and helps keep it stable under heat.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture, richness, and a mild tang to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and cuts the richness.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for smoothness and a rounder, richer mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Slowly add the vinegar while the mixture thickens. Egg proteins can curdle or scramble if heated too fast or hit by too much acid at once. Adding vinegar gradually over gentle heat lets the eggs and starch thicken evenly into a smooth dressing.
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.
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