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 ↓
Cream Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Mix salt, mustard, sugar, beaten egg, melted butter, cream, and vinegar in a bowl.
Cook the mixture over hot water until it thickens.
Strain the mixture and let it cool.
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.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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 gives it body and richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mouthfeel.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tangy flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with a touch of sweetness.
The step that matters
Cooking over hot water until it thickens. The egg proteins set gradually as they warm. Heating too fast or too hot can scramble the egg and leave lumps, so gentle, indirect heat keeps the dressing smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, butter, cream, vinegar):
- Mustardthe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, butter, cream, 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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