Why it works: Mustard and horseradish match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,832 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Tartar Mustard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mustard
Rub the Durham mustard very smooth with the coarse sea salt.
Gradually wet the mixture with strong horseradish vinegar.
Add the cayenne or chili vinegar to taste.
Steep and rest
Pour boiling vinegar over the scraped horseradish and cover tightly.
Let it sit overnight, preferably for 2-3 days for better flavor.
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 + horseradishtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,832 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + horseradishtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Durham mustard
- Provides the main mustard flavor and sharp bite once wetted.
- Scraped horseradish
- Adds pungent heat as its sharp volatile compounds are released in the vinegar.
- Cayenne or chili vinegar
- Adds chili heat and a sharper, acidic edge to the mustard.
- Horseradish vinegar
- Wets the mustard and its acidity sharpens and balances the flavor.
The step that matters
Covering the horseradish tightly after pouring boiling vinegar over it. Sharp volatile compounds in horseradish escape as vapor when exposed to air. Covering tightly keeps them in the vinegar, so the finished mustard keeps its pungency.
“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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