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
In a saucepan, combine flour, sugar, salt, and mustard.
Gradually add sour milk and weak vinegar, stirring until smooth.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken.
Finish and serve
Remove from heat and fold in the beaten egg whites.
Serve as a dressing for salad.
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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Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid as its starch swells when heated.
- Eggs
- Egg whites folded in at the end add lightness and body to the dressing.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the sour milk and vinegar.
- Sour milk
- Provides tang and a creamy base for the dressing.
- Weak vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its sharp flavour.
- Mustard
- Adds a sharp, pungent flavour that complements the acidity.
The step that matters
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. Flour thickens only when its starch is heated enough to swell. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly and prevents lumps and scorching on the pan bottom.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour, sugar, milk, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Arrowrootfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour, sugar, milk, vinegar. 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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