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Mixed Mustard

A condiment made from mustard, vinegar, sugar, water, egg, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Mixed Mustard

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 ↓

Mixed Mustard

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mustard

  1. In a bowl, mix the mustard, sugar, and egg until smooth.

  2. Gradually add the vinegar and water while stirring.

  3. Cook the mixture over low heat until it thickens, stirring constantly.

  4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.

Store

  1. Store in a sealed container; it can be kept for several weeks.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

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

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Mustard + sugartop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Mustard
Provides the main sharp flavour and pungency of the condiment.
Egg
Its proteins thicken the mixture as it cooks gently over heat.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens flavour and balances the sweetness.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and mustard with sweetness.
Butter
Adds fat that gives the finished mustard a smoother, rounder texture.

The step that matters

Cook over low heat while stirring constantly. Egg proteins set and thicken gently at moderate temperatures. Too much heat or too little stirring can scramble the egg, leaving lumps and a grainy texture instead of a smooth, thick mustard.

Swap the mustard

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, egg, 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.

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