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 ↓
Cooked Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the egg yolks, sugar, salt, mustard, and paprika together.
Add the hot water and vinegar, then beat while stirring constantly in a double boiler until the mixture is thick and creamy.
Stir in the creamed butter until well combined.
For fruit salad, omit the mustard and use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
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.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + mustardtop 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they cook and give it a rich, creamy body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the finished dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and balances the richness of the yolks and butter.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that rounds out the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Beat over the double boiler while stirring constantly. Egg yolks thicken as they gently heat, but if they get too hot they can scramble into lumps. Steady, gentle heat from the double boiler and constant stirring keep the custard-like base smooth and thick.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, vinegar):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, 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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