Why it works: Lettuce and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,356 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Summer Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Use the freshest herbs possible for the salad. If they appear stale or wilted, soak them in water for 1-2 hours to refresh.
Wash the herbs thoroughly and pick them over, removing any decayed or worm-eaten leaves.
Drain the herbs completely before serving.
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.
-
Lettuce + mustardtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,356 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Lettuce + cucumbertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,409 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Radish + cucumbertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together212 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Mustard + radishtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together297 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Lettuce + radishtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together58 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lettuce
- Forms the crisp, leafy base of the salad and provides most of its volume.
- Mustard and cress
- Adds a peppery, sharp flavour that contrasts with the milder lettuce.
- Radishes
- Add crunch and a sharp, peppery bite to the salad.
- Cucumber
- Adds cool moisture and a light, fresh crunch.
The step that matters
Drain the herbs completely before serving. Water left on delicate leaves dilutes any dressing and makes the salad soggy and limp. Thorough draining keeps the leaves crisp and lets dressing cling to them.
Swap the radish
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lettuce, mustard, cucumber):
- Beetrootfits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Broccolifits about as well
- Radishthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lettuce, mustard, 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.
More summer salad recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.