Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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
Prepare the eggs
Boil the eggs for 20 minutes, then place them in cold water.
Once cool, remove the shells, cut the eggs in half, and take out the yolks.
In a bowl, mash the yolks with the back of a spoon.
Make the dressing
Add sugar and mustard, mixing well.
Slowly add a little vinegar, then the condensed milk and the remaining vinegar.
Adjust the consistency with more vinegar or a little sweet milk to taste.
Store
Store in wide‑mouthed bottles covered with jam paper.
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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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + condensed milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Mashed yolks form the creamy base and give the dressing body and richness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity for tang and thins the mixture to the desired consistency.
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Adds sweetness and a smooth, thick creaminess to the dressing.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
The step that matters
Slowly add a little vinegar. Adding vinegar gradually to the mashed yolks helps them blend smoothly instead of clumping. Adding it all at once can make the mixture separate or turn lumpy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, vinegar, condensed milk):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Sweet potatofits less well
- Cucumberfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, vinegar, condensed milk. 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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