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
Place the egg yolks in a bowl and add a pinch of salt.
Whisk the yolks quickly while adding the oil drop by drop until the sauce thickens to a butter-like consistency.
Stir in the vinegar and remaining seasoning.
Fix and thin
If the sauce curdles, place a new yolk in another bowl and slowly add the curdled sauce to it to smooth it out.
For a thicker consistency, mix in 1 tablespoon of warm water after making the sauce.
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
- Emulsifiers that bind the oil and water into a stable, creamy sauce.
- Salad oil
- Supplies the fat that gives mayonnaise its rich body and texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens flavour and helps keep the emulsion stable.
The step that matters
Adding the oil drop by drop. Oil added too quickly cannot be dispersed into the yolks, so the emulsion breaks and the sauce curdles. Slow addition while whisking lets tiny oil droplets be coated and suspended.
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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