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 ↓
Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Beat the eggs very lightly.
In a double boiler, combine the eggs, malt vinegar, cayenne pepper, mustard, butter, sugar, and salt.
Cook until the mixture forms a thick custard.
Finish and store
Once cooled, add the cream and tarragon vinegar drop by drop.
Beat the mixture for ten minutes.
Store in a cool place; it will keep for two weeks or longer.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + mustardtop 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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Vinegar + peppertop 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
- Eggs
- Coagulate when heated, thickening the mixture into a custard that holds the sauce together.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the sauce a smooth, creamy body.
- Cream
- Adds fat and softness, lightening the texture of the finished sauce.
- Malt vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the sauce its sharp, tangy flavour.
- Mixed mustard
- Adds sharpness and helps emulsify the sauce for a stable texture.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture forms a thick custard. Heating the eggs gently thickens them as their proteins set. Overheating can scramble the eggs, so the custard turns grainy instead of smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, malt, vinegar, pepper, butter, sugar, cream):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Potatofits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, malt, vinegar, pepper, butter, sugar, 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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