Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Salad Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Heat vinegar and sugar in a saucepan until very hot.
Beat the egg yolks into the sour cream.
Stir the sour cream mixture into the hot vinegar and sugar.
Remove from heat and chill before using.
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.
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Vinegar + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,064 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they 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
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the dressing its sharp, tangy flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness and helps dissolve into the hot vinegar.
- Sour cream
- Adds fat and body, giving the dressing a creamy, thick texture.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and emulsifying power that helps thicken the dressing.
The step that matters
Stir the sour cream mixture into the hot vinegar and sugar. Egg yolks thicken when heated, but if the mixture is too hot or added too fast it can scramble into lumps. Adding the cream mixture gradually and stirring steadily keeps the dressing smooth.
“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.
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.