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 Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the cream and sugar together.
Mix the mustard with a little water and a pinch of salt. Beat the egg yolks well, then add to the mustard and mix thoroughly.
Combine the mustard mixture with the boiled cream and thicken over low heat like custard.
Once completely cool, gradually add the vinegar, mixing well.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Vinegar + sugartop 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).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cream
- Forms the rich body of the dressing and carries the other flavours.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the mixture as they gently set with heat, giving a custard-like texture.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich cream.
- Caster sugar
- Sweetens the cream and balances the vinegar and mustard.
The step that matters
Thickening the custard over low heat. Egg yolks set at gentle temperatures, but high heat can scramble them into lumps. Keep the heat low and stir steadily so the mixture thickens smoothly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg, vinegar, sugar):
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Horseradishfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg, vinegar, sugar. 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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