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 ↓
Egg Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Beat 2 eggs in a bowl.
Add sugar, flour, salt, pepper, mustard, and vinegar. Mix well.
Cook the mixture in a double boiler until thickened.
Thin the dressing with sweet or sour cream before serving.
Assemble
Layer sliced eggs in a salad dish.
Add a layer of dressing.
Finish with another layer of eggs.
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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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Provide the main body of the salad, with beaten eggs thickening the dressing as they cook.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Flour
- Thickens the dressing as it cooks in the double boiler.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Sweet or sour cream
- Adds richness and moisture, loosening the thickened dressing.
The step that matters
Cook the dressing in a double boiler until thickened. Gentle indirect heat lets the beaten eggs and flour thicken slowly. Direct high heat can scramble the eggs and leave lumps, so the dressing must be stirred and kept at a gentle heat.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, flour, pepper, vinegar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, flour, pepper, vinegar, cream. 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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