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
Make the dressing
Bring the vinegar to a boil.
In a bowl, mix the beaten eggs, sugar, thick cream, mustard, and salt.
Stir the mixture into the boiling vinegar and cook until it thickens, being careful not to curdle.
While hot, stir in the butter until melted.
Serve
Before serving, beat in a little whipped cream.
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.
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Mustard + walnuttop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together849 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Walnut + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,832 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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, giving it body.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that gives the dressing its tangy flavor.
- Thick cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, softer texture to the dressing.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a glossy, rounded mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
The step that matters
Cooking the egg mixture into the vinegar. Eggs set when heated, but if the mixture gets too hot or cooks too fast, the proteins curdle and the dressing turns grainy. Stirring steadily and removing heat once it thickens keeps it smooth.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, sugar, cream, mustard, butter):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Sesamefits about as well
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, sugar, cream, mustard, butter. 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.
More salad dressing recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipes
French Dressing58 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.