Salad Dressing

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.

1. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together14,067 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together15,430 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

3. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,814 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

4. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together20,806 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

5. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together118,967 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg

Thickens the dressing as it cooks and adds richness to the texture.

Vinegar

Provides the sharp acidity that balances the sugar and gives the dressing its tang.

Sugar

Sweetens the dressing and softens the sharpness of the vinegar.

Butter

Adds fat for a smoother, rounder mouthfeel in the finished dressing.

Ground mustard

Adds sharp, pungent flavour and helps emulsify the dressing.

The step that matters

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, pepper, sugar, butter):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Mustardthe original
3. Cucumberfits about as well
4. Shallotfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, pepper, sugar, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.