Why it works: Vinegar and mustard 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
Make the dressing
Rub the yolks of the eggs through a fine sieve.
Mix the sieved yolks with salt, pepper, and mustard.
Stir in the salad oil gradually.
Add Worcestershire sauce and vinegar gradually until fully incorporated.
Serve
Use the egg whites for garnishing the salad.
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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Vinegar + mustardtop 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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Sauce + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,120 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sauce + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,844 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Mashed yolks form a smooth base that emulsifies the oil and gives the dressing body.
- Salad oil
- Provides fat that, once emulsified with the yolks, gives the dressing its creamy richness.
- Worcestershire sauce or mushroom ketchup
- Adds savoury depth and salty, umami flavour to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
- Prepared mustard
- Its emulsifiers help hold the oil and yolks together and add a sharp flavour.
The step that matters
Adding the oil gradually. Oil added slowly to the yolks is dispersed into tiny droplets that stay suspended, creating a stable emulsion. Adding it too fast can cause the dressing to split and separate.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sauce, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Horseradishfits less well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sauce, vinegar, pepper. 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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