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 into a smooth, spoonable body.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, softening the sharpness and adding body.
- Sugar
- Balances the vinegar's acidity with a touch of sweetness.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps stabilise the emulsion of fat and liquid.
The step that matters
Cooking over low heat while stirring constantly. Egg proteins thicken the dressing as they warm, but high heat or stopping to stir can overheat the eggs and make them scramble into lumps. Gentle, constant heat lets the mixture thicken 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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