Name: Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad
Ingredients: 2 pounds brussels, trimmed and halved; 2 tablespoons olive oil; kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper; ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 cup pomegranate seeds; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Why it works: Olive and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 23,449 recipes mention both. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

2 pounds brussels, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup pomegranate seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions

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

By whatsgabycooking. 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.

Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together23,449 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Olive + vinegartop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together10,843 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Pepper + garlictop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together27,044 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + pomegranatetop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together301 recipes

Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
Vinegar + garlictop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together9,034 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the pomegranate

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, pepper, vinegar, garlic):

Lemonbetter flavor fit
Limebetter flavor fit
Cherryabout as good a flavor fit
Pomegranatethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, pepper, vinegar, garlic. 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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