Name: Grape-fruit Salad and Dressing
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 3 tablespoons water; 3 tablespoons vinegar (2 if sharp); 3 tablespoons creamed butter; ½ pint cream; pinch of salt; sugar to taste

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Grape-fruit Salad and Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

In a double boiler, combine egg yolks, water, vinegar, and butter; cook until thickened to a mush consistency.
Let the mixture cool.

Finish and serve

Just before serving, beat the egg whites and cream together until well combined.
Sprinkle the grapefruit with salt and sugar to taste.

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.

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.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 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

Eggs: Egg proteins set as the mixture heats, thickening the dressing and giving it body.
Butter: Adds fat for a smooth, rich mouthfeel in the cooked dressing.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances its richness.
Cream: Adds richness and a light, airy texture when beaten.

The step that matters

Cooking the dressing in the double boiler. Egg yolks thicken as they heat, but high heat makes them curdle and turn grainy. Gentle, indirect heat from the double boiler, with steady stirring, keeps the dressing smooth.

“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.

Chicken Salad623 recipes

Salad Dressing491 recipes

Tomato Salad179 recipes

Cold Slaw160 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The 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.

Grape-fruit Salad and Dressing