Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 14,067 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Tartare Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the yolks of 2 eggs in a bowl.
Add ½ cup salad oil and mix well.
Stir in 1 teaspoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon mustard.
Add 1 tablespoon chopped gherkins, pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Mix until combined and serve with fish or cold meats.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Egg + mustardtop 28% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and vinegar share little aroma chemistry, yet 12,922 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify the oil into the sauce, giving it a thick, creamy body.
- Salad oil
- Provides the fat that makes the sauce rich and smooth.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
- Mustard
- Helps stabilise the emulsion and adds a sharp, savoury bite.
The step that matters
Add the oil and mix well. Oil must be incorporated gradually into the yolks so it forms a stable emulsion. Adding it too fast, or not mixing thoroughly, can cause the sauce to split and look greasy rather than thick and creamy.
Flavor stand-ins for the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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