Name: Citrus-seared Tuna with Minted Avocado-Cranberry Relish
Ingredients: ¼ Cup soy sauce; ¼ Cup fresh orange juice; ¼ honey; 1 tsp grated orange rind; 1 tsp grated lime rind; 4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks; 2 large California avocados, peeled and chopped; 1 Cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped; 1/3 Cups chopped purple onion; 1 Anaheim chile pepper, minced; 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint; 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice; ½ tsp salt

Why it works: Lime and avocado match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,117 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. 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.

Lime + avocadotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,117 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Lime + minttop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together846 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Orange + limetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together937 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Avocado + oniontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,653 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Tuna steaks: Firm flesh that holds its shape on the grill and cooks to the desired doneness.
Soy sauce: Adds salt and savory depth to the marinade, seasoning the fish as it soaks.
Honey: Sweetness in the marinade that promotes browning on the grilled surface.
Avocados: Creamy fat that gives the salsa a smooth, rich texture against the sharp citrus.
Cranberries: Tart fruit that adds acidity and chew to the salsa.
Fresh lime juice: Acidity that brightens the salsa and balances the richness of the avocado.

The step that matters

Grill over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Tuna is lean and overcooks quickly, turning dry and tough. Searing the outside briefly over high heat keeps the centre moist. Checking doneness early helps prevent overcooking.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, orange, honey, lime, avocado, pepper, mint):

Capsicumfits better
Lettucefits better
Tomatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, orange, honey, lime, avocado, pepper, mint. 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
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Orange Juice	1 medium (131g)	62
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

Citrus-seared Tuna with Minted Avocado-Cranberry Relish