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
In a bowl, combine the rubbed hard-boiled egg yolks, mustard, salt, and beaten raw egg yolks.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Slowly pour in the fresh sweet oil while beating the mixture until it thickens.
Add vinegar until the dressing reaches your desired consistency.
If you want more heat, add a little cayenne pepper.
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).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Their fine-rubbed solids help form a smooth, thick emulsion base.
- Raw egg yolks
- Lecithin in the yolks emulsifies the oil, so the dressing thickens and holds together.
- Fresh sweet oil
- Supplies the fat that, emulsified with the yolks, gives the dressing its body and richness.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens flavour and lets you adjust the dressing's consistency.
- English mustard
- Contributes sharpness and helps stabilise the emulsion.
The step that matters
Adding the oil. Oil must be poured in slowly while beating, so it disperses into tiny droplets held by the yolks. Pouring too fast breaks the emulsion and the dressing stays thin or separates.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits less well
- Cabbagefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, vinegar, 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.
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.