Why it works: Lettuce and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,409 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Scollops of Salmon En Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the salmon
Remove the bone from the salmon and cut each scallop into a pear shape.
Place the scallops in a sauté pan with a little salad oil, thin end pointing right.
Sprinkle with equal parts white pepper and coarse sea salt, and add a few spoonfuls of malt vinegar.
Ensure there is enough oil to prevent sticking, cover with oiled paper, and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 7 minutes.
Watch closely; they are done when creamy and firm to the touch.
Mix ½ cup of salad oil and ⅓ cup of vinegar, pour over the scallops, and let marinate until ready to serve.
Arrange and serve
Finely chop the white hearts of 4 cos lettuces and place in the center of an oval dish.
Peel a cucumber thinly and slice it into rounds, arranging them around the edge of the dish.
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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Lettuce + cucumbertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,409 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + cucumbertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,734 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
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Salmon + cucumbertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together513 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Vinegar + lettucetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,370 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Malt + vinegartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together365 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
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish and its delicate, creamy texture when cooked gently.
- Salad oil
- Adds moisture and prevents the salmon from sticking and drying out in the pan.
- Malt vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the fish and the marinade.
- Cos lettuce
- Provides a crisp, fresh base that contrasts with the soft salmon.
The step that matters
Watch the salmon closely in the oven. Salmon goes from moist and creamy to dry and firm within minutes. Overcooking tightens the proteins and squeezes out moisture, so check it at the stated time and remove it as soon as it feels firm to the touch.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, malt, vinegar, lettuce, cucumber):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Dillfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, malt, vinegar, lettuce, cucumber. 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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