Why it works: Tarragon and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 901 recipes. Both carry methyleugenol, which smells clove, spice. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the emulsion
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and salt.
Using a wooden spoon, mix well while slowly adding the oil drop by drop. Work quickly to prevent the sauce from curdling.
Finish and store
Once thick, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
For longer storage, bottle the sauce tightly; adding a tablespoon of boiling water helps it keep.
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 + mustardtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together901 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Pepper + tarragontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,399 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,547 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Their lecithin emulsifies the oil into the sauce, giving it a thick, stable body.
- Salad oil
- Supplies the fat that, dispersed in tiny droplets, forms the bulk of the sauce.
- Prepared mustard
- Helps stabilise the emulsion and adds a sharp, savoury bite.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens flavour and helps balance the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly. Oil must be dispersed into the yolks in small drops at first, because the emulsion forms only while it is being broken into fine droplets. Adding it too fast overwhelms the yolk, so the sauce separates and curdles instead of thickening.
“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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