Why it works: Vinegar and white pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,154 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mayonnaise
Place the egg yolks in a bowl and season with salt and white pepper.
Gradually add the salad oil and vinegar to the yolks, starting with the oil.
Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth.
Finish and serve
Add the white stock and cream, mixing well.
Serve as a dressing for cold dishes.
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 + white peppertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,154 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + white peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,312 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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White pepper + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,439 recipes
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Vinegar + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,064 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream 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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify the oil and vinegar, giving the mayonnaise its smooth, thick structure.
- Salad oil
- Forms the bulk of the emulsion, providing richness and a creamy texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the richness of the oil and yolks.
- Cream
- Adds softness and a milder, rounder texture to the finished dressing.
The step that matters
Adding the oil gradually. Egg yolks can only hold a limited amount of oil in emulsion. Adding oil slowly, starting drop by drop while stirring, lets the yolk lecithin coat the droplets. Adding too much at once can break the emulsion, leaving the sauce oily and runny.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, cream):
- Tarragonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, 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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