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
In a bowl, combine salt, sugar, and dry mustard.
Wet the mixture with milk or the egg yolk.
Slowly add oil drop by drop while stirring until thick.
Add vinegar to taste.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mustard + milktop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,658 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Oil
- Forms the bulk of the dressing and gives it richness and body as it emulsifies.
- Milk or egg yolk
- Supplies water-based liquid and proteins that help hold the oil droplets suspended.
- Dry mustard
- Contains natural emulsifiers that help stabilize the oil and water mixture and add sharp flavor.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness of the oil.
- White sugar
- Adds mild sweetness that rounds out the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard.
The step that matters
Adding the oil slowly. Oil must be added drop by drop while stirring so it disperses into tiny droplets. Adding it too fast overwhelms the emulsifiers, causing the dressing to split and fail to thicken.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits less well
- Potatofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, 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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