Why it works: Mustard and vinegar 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 dressing
In a pint bowl, combine the beaten eggs, softened butter, cayenne pepper, and sugar.
Mix the mustard with a little water and add the mustard mixture to the bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour with cold water until smooth, then add the flour mixture to the main bowl.
Stir in the vinegar.
Cook and cool
Place the bowl over a kettle of boiling water.
Cook slowly, stirring constantly until thickened like cream.
Remove from heat and stir for a few minutes.
Let it cool.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they cook and set into a creamy base.
- Butter
- Adds richness and smooth body to the dressing.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid so the dressing becomes creamy rather than runny.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tangy flavour.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.
The step that matters
Cook slowly, stirring constantly over the boiling water. Egg proteins set at moderate heat; if the mixture heats too fast or stops being stirred, the eggs can scramble and the dressing turns lumpy instead of smooth and thick.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, pepper, sugar, flour, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, pepper, sugar, flour, vinegar. 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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