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 ↓
Mayonnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a two-quart bowl, mix the ground mustard, salt, and vinegar.
Beat in the yolk of a raw egg.
Gradually add the olive oil while beating briskly until the mixture thickens.
Adjust flavor with flavored vinegar or fresh lemon juice as desired.
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 + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Mustard + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,210 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + olivetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raw egg yolk
- Emulsifies the oil and water, letting the sauce thicken into a stable mayonnaise.
- Olive oil
- Forms the bulk of the sauce, giving it richness and body as it is beaten in.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and helps balance the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Gradually add the olive oil while beating briskly. Adding oil too fast before the yolk has emulsified can prevent thickening and cause the sauce to break into a separated, oily mixture. Slow addition with constant beating lets the oil disperse into tiny droplets held in the yolk.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, olive):
- Cucumberfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Tomatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, olive. 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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