Name: Oxford Brawn Sauce
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1 teaspoon prepared mustard; ⅓ teaspoon coarse sea salt; black pepper to taste; 3 to 4 tablespoons salad oil; 2 tablespoons strong vinegar

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 ↓

Oxford Brawn Sauce

Ingredients

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
⅓ teaspoon coarse sea salt
black pepper to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons salad oil
2 tablespoons strong vinegar

Directions

In a bowl, mix the brown sugar and prepared mustard until combined.
Add the coarse sea salt and black pepper, adjusting to taste.
Stir in the salad oil and strong vinegar until well blended.

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.

Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,430 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

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

Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard.
Prepared mustard: Adds sharp, pungent flavour that gives the sauce its character.
Salad oil: Provides fat and a smooth, rich texture that carries the flavours.
Strong vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and cuts through the oil.