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French Mustard

A mustard condiment made with mustard, egg, sugar, vinegar, and butter or oil.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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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 ↓

French Mustard

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a bowl, mix the mustard and sugar well.

  2. Add the beaten egg and vinegar gradually, stirring continuously.

  3. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for a few minutes.

  4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter or oil.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Mustard
Provides the sharp, pungent flavour that defines the condiment.
Egg
Thickens the mixture into a smooth, spreadable texture as it cooks gently.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the heat and sweetness of the mustard.
Sugar
Softens the sharpness of the mustard and vinegar with mild sweetness.
Butter or oil
Adds fat that gives the finished mustard a smoother, rounder mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Cooking the egg mixture over low heat. Egg proteins set when heated, so cooking gently and stirring constantly thickens the mixture smoothly. High heat can curdle the egg and leave lumps.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, vinegar, butter):

  1. Mustardthe original
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Cucumberfits about as well
  4. Shallotfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, vinegar, 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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