Why it works: Tarragon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,399 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mayonnaise
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and salt.
Whisk quickly while adding the oil drop by drop until the sauce thickens to the consistency of butter.
Add the vinegar and adjust seasoning with pepper.
Fix and adjust
If the sauce curdles, transfer a yolk to a new bowl and slowly pour the curdled sauce into it to smooth it out.
For a thicker consistency, mix in 1 tablespoon of warm water.
If using for coating cold dishes, mix in ½ cup of cold aspic jelly before serving.
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 + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,399 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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 + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify the oil into the sauce and thicken it to a stable, creamy texture.
- Salad oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce, giving it richness and body as it emulsifies.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Adding the oil drop by drop. Oil added too fast cannot be absorbed by the egg yolk emulsifier, so the sauce breaks and curdles. Slow addition and constant whisking let the oil disperse into tiny droplets that thicken the sauce.
Swap the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper):
- Parsleyfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- Tarragonthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper. 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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