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
Beat the eggs in a bowl.
Add black pepper, salt, mustard, sugar, cream, butter, and vinegar; mix well.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
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 + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg proteins set as they heat, thickening the dressing and giving it body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, mellow mouthfeel.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, softening the sharpness and rounding the texture.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that brightens flavor and balances the richness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that offsets the vinegar's sharpness.
- Prepared mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavor and helps keep the fats blended.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. Egg proteins thicken the mixture as they warm, but if the heat is too high or the mixture is left unstirred, the eggs can scramble and curdle. Gentle, constant stirring spreads the heat evenly so the dressing thickens smoothly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, sugar, cream, butter, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, sugar, cream, butter, 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.
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