Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the egg in a bowl.
Add brown sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper; mix well.
Gradually stir in vinegar and milk.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Cool completely before using.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Thickens the dressing as it cooks and sets it into a creamy texture.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that gives the dressing its tang.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and body, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Egg proteins set gently around 160°F; high heat or no stirring can scramble the egg and leave lumps, so the dressing must be cooked slowly and stirred until it thickens.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, pepper, butter, vinegar, milk):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, pepper, butter, vinegar, milk. 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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