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 double boiler, combine the egg, mustard, salt, olive oil, and vinegar.
Cook until the mixture thickens.
Once cool, mix in the sweet spiced 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.
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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Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Egg + mustardtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + olivetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Thickens the dressing as it cooks, giving it a creamy body.
- Olive oil
- Adds richness and fat, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture thickens. Egg proteins set gently as they heat, thickening the dressing. Overheating or cooking too fast can scramble the egg, leaving lumps instead of a smooth, creamy texture.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, vinegar):
- Cucumberfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Tomatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive, 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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