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
Heat the vinegar in a saucepan until boiling hot.
In a bowl, mix together the milk, beaten eggs, sugar, dry mustard, salt, and pepper.
Beat the mixture well and stir in the hot vinegar.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
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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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they set during gentle cooking, giving it a creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tangy flavour.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, diluting the vinegar into a smoother dressing.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
- Dry mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavour that complements the tang of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Egg proteins set at moderate temperatures, so heating too fast or without stirring can scramble the eggs into lumps. Gentle, constant stirring lets the mixture thicken evenly into a smooth dressing.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, milk, egg, sugar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, milk, egg, sugar, 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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