Dandelion Salad

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.

1. Dandelion + watercresstop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together20 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

2. Watercress + oniontop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together533 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

3. Dandelion + oniontop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together52 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

4. Onion + creamtop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together10,827 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

5. Watercress + creamtop 26% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together211 recipes

   Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

Onion and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,827 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

Dandelion greens

Forms the leafy base and gives the salad its bitter flavour.

Watercress

Adds a peppery, leafy body that balances the bitter greens.

Green onions or leeks

Contribute a mild, sharp onion aroma and some crunch.

Oil or cream dressing

Coats the leaves, adding fat that carries flavour and softens bitterness.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (dandelion, watercress, cream):

1. Beetrootfits better
2. Kalefits better
3. Horseradishfits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against dandelion, watercress, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.