Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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 ↓
Boiled Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the base
Combine vinegar, salt, and white pepper in a double boiler. If vinegar is too strong, dilute with water.
Blend flour and cornstarch smoothly with 2 tablespoons of water.
Pour boiling vinegar slowly over the flour mixture and return to the boiler. Cook while stirring until thickened.
Add the yolks
Blend mustard and sugar, then add to slightly beaten egg yolks.
Place the boiler over hot water in the lower boiler. Remove from heat and add egg mixture and butter, beating carefully until smooth.
Store and serve
Cool and store in covered jars. When ready to use, mix in plain or whipped cream in a ratio of 1 part cream to 2 parts dressing or equal parts.
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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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the dressing's flavor.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they set with gentle heat and add richness.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid and gives the dressing body.
- Cornstarch
- Adds thickening power and a smoother, glossier texture than flour alone.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a silky, smooth mouthfeel and rounder flavor.
The step that matters
Adding the egg mixture off the heat. Egg yolks scramble if they get too hot too fast. Removing the pan from direct heat before adding the yolks and beating gently lets them thicken smoothly instead of curdling.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, flour, sugar, egg, mustard, butter):
- Capersfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, flour, sugar, egg, mustard, 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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