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Spinach and Mango Salad

"An out of this world salad that will have your dinner guests begging for the recipe. It is also versatile - summer berries are a nice alternative. I wouldn't normally tout a brand, but the only company I know that makes maple flavored balsamic vinegar is Wildly Delicious in their distinct tall blue bottles."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Spinach and mango share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 50 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓

The recipe

4 servings
Prep20 min
Cook5 min

Ingredients

Contains: tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Toast the slivered almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer them to a plate to cool.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar, maple flavored balsamic vinegar, dry mustard and chopped tarragon until the mustard is smooth.

  3. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, then season the dressing with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

  4. Place the torn spinach in a large salad bowl. Add the peeled, seeded and cubed mango.

  5. Add about two-thirds of the toasted almonds to the bowl with the spinach and mango.

  6. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until the leaves are evenly coated.

  7. Sprinkle the remaining toasted almonds over the top and serve right away.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Spinach + mangotop 9% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together50 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  2. Mustard + tarragontop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together573 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  3. Pepper + mangotop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together471 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Tarragon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,691 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Vinegar + mustardtop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Vinegar and mustard share little aroma chemistry, yet 14,067 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

Flavor stand-ins for the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (red wine, vinegar, olive, mustard, tarragon, pepper, spinach):

  1. Beansbetter flavor fit
  2. Chickpeabetter flavor fit
  3. Sesamebetter flavor fit
  4. Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against red wine, vinegar, olive, mustard, tarragon, pepper, spinach. 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).