Name: Thousand Island Dressing
Ingredients: 1 (12 oz.) pkg silken tofu; 1/4 cup water; 2 Tbs white vinegar; 1 Tbs lemon juice; 2 tsp sugar; 6 Tbs chili sauce; 2 Tbs chopped sweet pickles; 1/4 cup chopped green pepper; 2 Tbs chopped green onions

Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Thousand Island Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

Put the silken tofu, water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and chili sauce in the blender and whirl until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a small bowl.

Finish and store

Stir the pickles, green pepper and green onions into the dressing.
Store in the refrigerator.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

223Calories

11 gProtein

6 gFat

36 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Tofu	100g firm	76
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Water	not in our table	0
Sauce	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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Tofu + oniontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together729 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,147 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,226 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Silken tofu: Provides a creamy, smooth body and thickness without dairy or mayonnaise.
Chili sauce: Supplies the sweet, tangy tomato base that gives the dressing its characteristic flavor.
White vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness.
Sweet pickles: Add sweetness and crunchy texture through the chopped pieces.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, vinegar, lemon, sugar, sauce, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Shallotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, vinegar, lemon, sugar, sauce, pepper. 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.