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
Mix the egg yolk with olive oil, mustard, salt, vinegar, and pepper.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture.
Serve immediately.
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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Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,263 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Lecithin in the yolk helps hold the oil and vinegar together as a smooth emulsion.
- Olive oil
- Provides fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
- Mustard
- Acts as an extra emulsifier and adds sharp, pungent flavour.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
The step that matters
Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the whipped whites. Stirring or beating vigorously would deflate them and make the dressing heavy and dense.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, olive, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, olive, vinegar, 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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