Name: The Red Bean Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Dark Red Kidney Beans, Rinsed And Drained; 1 stalk Celery, Diced; ¼ whole Small Onion, Finely Chopped; 3 whole Large Sweet Pickles, Finely Chopped; 1 whole Hard Boiled Egg, Peeled And Chopped (not Too Fine); ¼ cups Mayonnaise; 2 teaspoons Sweet Pickle Juice (or More To Taste); ¼ teaspoons Salt; ⅛ teaspoons Pepper

Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

The Red Bean Salad

Serves 6

Prep15 min

Ingredients

1 can (15 Oz. Size) Dark Red Kidney Beans, Rinsed And Drained
1 stalk Celery, Diced
¼ whole Small Onion, Finely Chopped
3 whole Large Sweet Pickles, Finely Chopped
1 whole Hard Boiled Egg, Peeled And Chopped (not Too Fine)
¼ cups Mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Sweet Pickle Juice (or More To Taste)
¼ teaspoons Salt
⅛ teaspoons Pepper

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

134Calories

8 gProtein

6 gFat

13 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Red Kidney Bean	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Kidney beans + oniontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Kidney beans + celerytop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together220 recipes

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

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

Swap the kidney beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, onion, egg, pepper):

Black-eyed peafits better
Beansfits better
Sesamefits better
Kidney beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, onion, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The 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.