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
Prepare
Beat the yolks of four eggs in a bowl until well combined.
Add ½ cup sugar, ½ tablespoon salt, ½ tablespoon mustard, ½ tablespoon black pepper, ½ cup cream, and ⅓ teaspoon cayenne pepper; mix thoroughly.
Make the dressing
Heat 1 cup vinegar in a saucepan until hot, then stir in 1 tablespoon butter until melted.
Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the egg mixture and bring to a boil.
Allow to cool, then transfer to large-mouthed bottles for storage.
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.
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify and thicken the dressing as they set with heat.
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the dressing.
- Cream
- Adds richness and softens the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, rounder mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Bringing the mixture to a boil. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat, but once they get too hot they can scramble and curdle. Pouring the hot vinegar in slowly while whisking helps warm the yolks evenly before the mixture boils.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, pepper, cream, vinegar, butter):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, pepper, cream, vinegar, butter. 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.
More salad dressing recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipes
French Dressing58 recipesThe 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.