Name: Salmon and Shrimp Cakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 6 cakes
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion; 1 tablespoon finely chopped green bell pepper; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay®); 4 tablespoons butter, divided; 1 pound salmon fillets, chopped; 10 large shrimp - peeled, deveined, and cut into thirds; 1 cup panko bread crumbs; 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

Why it works: Onion and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,259 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together15,430 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + shrimptop 11% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,931 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper, sauce, butter, salmon, shrimp, bread):

Chivebetter flavor fit
Potatobetter flavor fit
Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper, sauce, butter, salmon, shrimp, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

Salmon and Shrimp Cakes