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 yolks
Beat the egg yolks thoroughly.
Mix in the sugar, salt, mustard, and red pepper.
Make the dressing
Boil the water, vinegar, and butter together.
Pour the boiling mixture into the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously until it thickens, cooking very slowly.
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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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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 yolks
- Thicken as they heat, giving the dressing its body and smooth, creamy structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, more rounded mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its sharp, tangy bite.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Pour the boiling mixture in slowly while stirring. Egg yolk proteins set when heated, so the hot liquid must be added gradually while stirring constantly. This tempers the yolks so they thicken smoothly instead of scrambling. Cooking slowly keeps the proteins from tightening too quickly and turning grainy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, vinegar, sugar, pepper, egg):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, vinegar, sugar, pepper, egg. 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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