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
Melt the butter in a dish set over boiling water.
In a bowl, beat the egg and add sugar, salt, mustard, and minced red pepper.
Stir in the cream or milk and flour to thicken.
Combine the mixture with the melted butter. Stir until it thickens.
Finally, add the vinegar and mix well.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 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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Mustard + peppertop 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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Binds the dressing and helps it thicken as it gently cooks.
- Flour
- Thickens the cream or milk so the dressing becomes smooth and body-rich.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sugar and richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dressing and softens the sharp taste of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Stir until it thickens. The egg and flour thicken the dressing only while it is heated gently over water. Overheating can scramble the egg, leaving lumps, so keep the heat low and stir steadily.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, sugar, pepper, cream, flour, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, sugar, pepper, cream, flour, vinegar. 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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