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 ↓
Salad Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Mash the yolk of a hard-boiled egg with salt.
Add mustard and gradually stir in olive oil, melted butter, or cream.
Slowly mix in vinegar until well combined.
Serve in a sauce dish or mix 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.
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 pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
-
Egg + mustardtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + olivetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Emulsifies the oil and vinegar, helping the dressing stay smooth and thick.
- Mustard
- Adds sharpness and also helps stabilise the emulsion.
- Olive oil
- Provides fat and body, giving the dressing a rich, smooth texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the fat.
The step that matters
Adding the oil and vinegar gradually. Adding fat and acid slowly lets the egg yolk coat tiny droplets and form a stable emulsion. Pouring too fast can cause the dressing to separate into oil and liquid.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, vinegar):
- Cucumberfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Tomatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive, vinegar. 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.
More salad dressing recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipes
French Dressing58 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.