Name: Celery, Apple, and Fennel Slaw
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon; 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; 1/4 teaspoon sugar; 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally, plus 1/4 cup loosely packed celery leaves; 2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced crosswise, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds; 1 firm, crisp apple (such as Pink Lady, Gala, or Granny Smith), julienned; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Fennel and apple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 101 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

The recipe

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally, plus 1/4 cup loosely packed celery leaves
2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced crosswise, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
1 firm, crisp apple (such as Pink Lady, Gala, or Granny Smith), julienned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By epicurious. 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.

Fennel + appletop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together101 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Tarragon + fenneltop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together132 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Tarragon + lemontop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together884 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + fenneltop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together723 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Tarragon + celerytop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together334 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the tarragon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, apple cider vinegar, lemon, sugar, celery, fennel, apple):

Thymebetter flavor fit
Dillabout as good a flavor fit
Cinnamonabout as good a flavor fit
Tarragonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, apple cider vinegar, lemon, sugar, celery, fennel, apple. 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).

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