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
In a saucepan, combine salt, mustard, pepper, flour, and sugar.
Add sour cream and vinegar, and mix well.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
If desired, add eggs and continue to cook until fully incorporated.
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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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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Mustard + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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
- Flour
- Thickens the dressing as it cooks, giving it body.
- Eggs
- Add richness and further thicken the dressing as they set with heat.
- Sour cream
- Adds creaminess and body to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness.
The step that matters
Cooking until thickened. Flour starch needs gentle heat and constant stirring to swell and thicken evenly. Heating too fast or without stirring can scorch the bottom or form lumps. Eggs, if added, can scramble if the mixture is too hot, so keep the heat moderate.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, flour, sugar, cream, vinegar, egg):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, flour, sugar, cream, vinegar, 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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