Name: Just the Best Coleslaw
Ingredients: 4 lbs shredded cabbage; 1/2 green pepper, shredded; 1/2 sweet red pepper, shredded; 1 large carrot, shredded; 1 stalk celery, shredded; 1/2 white onion or red onion, shredded; Dressing:; 3 fluid ounces apple cider vinegar; 3 ounces frenches prepared mustard; 2 ounces ketchup; 2 ounces sour cream; 1 ounce kraft mayonnaise; 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

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.

Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,645 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Cabbage: Forms the bulk of the salad and provides its crisp, crunchy texture.
Apple cider vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness.
Mayonnaise: Provides fat and creaminess, giving the dressing its smooth body.
Sour cream: Adds tangy richness and a creamy texture to the dressing.
Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness that offsets the acidity of the vinegar and mustard.

The step that matters

Add the sugar after the dressing is removed from heat. Sugar is held back until the dressing has cooled slightly, so it dissolves into the warm liquid when tossed with the vegetables instead of being cooked and caramelised or scorched in the saucepot.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pepper, carrot, celery, apple cider vinegar, mustard, ketchup):

Horseradishfits better
Turnipfits better
Lettucefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pepper, carrot, celery, apple cider vinegar, mustard, ketchup. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Just the Best Coleslaw