Why it works: Pepper and avocado are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,455 recipes mention both. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 8Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Core and seed the red and yellow bell peppers, then dice them into small pieces about 1/4 inch (6 mm).
Remove the stems and seeds from the jalapeño peppers, then finely chop them. Wear gloves or wash your hands well afterward.
Halve the avocados, remove the pits, scoop the flesh out of the skins, and dice it into small cubes.
In a bowl, combine the peppers, jalapeños, and avocado. Add the olive oil, lime juice, chopped chives, and black pepper, then stir gently to coat without mashing the avocado.
Cover and refrigerate for about 15 minutes so the flavors blend. Stir once more and serve chilled.
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.
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Pepper + avocadotop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,455 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Avocado + limetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,117 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,491 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Jalapeno + limetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,035 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Jalapeno + avocadotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together441 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the chive
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, jalapeno, avocado, olive, lime):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Lettucebetter flavor fit
- Chivethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, jalapeno, avocado, olive, lime. 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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