Why it works: Tarragon and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,547 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, mix the hard-boiled egg yolks with a wooden spoon.
Add the sweet oil and tarragon vinegar, and stir until it begins to thicken.
Incorporate the aspic jelly or béchamel and salt, mixing well.
When it thickens again, add the additional sweet oil and tarragon vinegar.
Serve the sauce with a good consistency over a cold salad of lobsters, soles, salmon, or other fish.
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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Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,547 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + tarragontop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,789 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and vinegar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Form the base emulsion that thickens the sauce as oil is worked in.
- Sweet oil
- Supplies the fat that, emulsified with the yolks, gives the sauce its body and richness.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps keep the emulsion stable.
- Aspic jelly or béchamel
- Adds body and stability to the sauce as it thickens.
The step that matters
Adding the oil and vinegar in stages. Oil must be added gradually and each addition fully worked in before the next. Adding it too fast breaks the emulsion, so the sauce separates instead of thickening.
“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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