Why it works: Tarragon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,399 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mayonnaise
In a bowl, drop the oil onto the egg yolk, beating quickly with a fork.
Continue adding oil drop by drop while beating until the mixture thickens like custard.
Once thickened, add more oil by the teaspoon while continuing to beat until the sauce is thick like butter.
Finish and season
Add tarragon vinegar or lemon juice for color and flavor.
Season with pepper and salt when mixing with salad.
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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Tarragon + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,399 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Egg + tarragontop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,789 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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 yolk
- Acts as an emulsifier, holding the oil and water in the sauce together.
- Oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce, giving it richness and a thick, spreadable body.
- Tarragon vinegar or lemon juice
- Adds acidity for bright flavor and helps keep the sauce tasting fresh.
The step that matters
Adding the oil. Oil must be added slowly, drop by drop at first, so the yolk can emulsify it. Adding too much at once can break the sauce into a greasy, separated liquid.
Swap the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper):
- Parsleyfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- Tarragonthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper. 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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