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 double boiler, combine vinegar, water, mustard, and cayenne pepper (made smooth in vinegar).
Heat the mixture and add the butter, stirring until melted.
Once melted, add the egg yolks, sugar, and cream.
Cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency of custard.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Mustard + peppertop 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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Vinegar + peppertop 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they cook and set it into a custard-like texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and balances the richness.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavor and helps emulsify the dressing.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the vinegar and mustard.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency of custard. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat and can scramble if the mixture gets too hot. Cooking slowly over a double boiler, and stopping once it coats a spoon, keeps the dressing smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, butter, egg, sugar, pepper, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, egg, sugar, pepper, 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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