Why it works: Shallot and capers match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 405 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
A LA Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, mix salt and pepper with a little vinegar.
Add salad oil and stir well.
Incorporate chopped parsley, shallots, and optional ingredients like capers or gherkin.
Serve
Serve with cold meats, fish, hard-boiled eggs, or vegetables.
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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Shallot + caperstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together405 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Parsley + caperstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,550 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,737 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,898 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salad oil
- Forms the body of the dressing and carries flavour, giving a smooth mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
- Parsley
- Contributes fresh, green aroma and a light herbal flavour.
- Shallots or onions or chives
- Adds sharp, aromatic onion flavour that cuts through the oil.
The step that matters
Add the salad oil and stir well. Oil and vinegar are immiscible, so the dressing separates unless it is stirred vigorously or emulsified. Thorough stirring disperses the oil into small droplets, keeping the dressing evenly mixed on the food.
Swap the capers
The recipe marks capers as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, parsley, shallot, pepper):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersthe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Dillfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, parsley, shallot, 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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