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 ↓
Brawn Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the mustard with the moist sugar in a bowl.
Add the salad oil and vinegar, and stir until well combined.
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.
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavour that balances the sweetness and richness of the sauce.
- Moist sugar
- Adds sweetness and mellows the sharpness of the mustard and vinegar.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat that gives the sauce a smooth, rich texture and carries flavour.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and cuts through the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Adding the oil and vinegar. Oil and vinegar do not mix on their own. Stirring until well combined helps the oil form tiny droplets suspended in the acidic liquid, giving a smooth, unified sauce rather than separated layers.
“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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