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 ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, beaten eggs, salt, mustard, and butter.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to a creamy consistency.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they cook, giving it a creamy, custard-like body.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sugar and richness of the dressing.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dressing and offsets the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother mouthfeel and richer flavor.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavor that complements the vinegar and eggs.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat while stirring constantly. Egg proteins set and thicken gently at moderate heat. High heat or stopping the stirring can scramble the eggs into lumps, so the dressing turns grainy instead of smooth and creamy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar, egg, butter):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, egg, 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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