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
Beat the yolks of 3 eggs until light.
Mix in 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of red pepper, and ½ tablespoon of butter.
Add ½ cup of vinegar and cook until the mixture thickens.
Remove from the stove and fold in the beaten egg whites.
Once cooled, gently mix in ¼ pint of 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.
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing as they set during cooking, giving it a rich, smooth body.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and richness of the dressing.
- Egg whites
- Whipped and folded in, they lighten the dressing and add airy volume.
- Whipped cream
- Adds fat and softness, making the dressing creamier and milder.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture thickens. Egg yolks thicken as their proteins set with gentle heat. Overheating can scramble them into lumps, so cook slowly and keep the mixture moving.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, pepper, butter, vinegar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, pepper, butter, vinegar, cream. 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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