Name: Avocado, Citrus and Rock Shrimp Salad
Ingredients: 1 1/3 Cups Fresh lemon juice; 1/3 Cups Sugar; 4 ½ Tbsp Louisiana hot sauce; 3 Finely chopped garlic cloves; Salt - as needed; 2 ¾ Cups Olive Oil; 2 Tbsp Cayenne pepper; 12 Bay leaves; 6 Pounds Peeled and deveined rock shrimp; 3 Cups Finely diced red bell pepper; 3 Cups Thinly sliced green onion; ¾ Cup Chopped cilantro; 2 ½ Pounds Orange sections; 3 Pounds Ruby Grapefruit sections; 6 Pounds California Avocados; Crisp fried thin blue tortilla chips -- as needed for garnish

Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. 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.

Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Rock shrimp: Provides the main protein, and cooks quickly to stay tender when kept just pink and opaque.
Olive oil: Adds fat and body to the dressing, carrying flavor and giving the salad a smooth mouthfeel.
Lemon juice: Provides acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sugar and oil.
Avocado: Contributes creamy richness and fat that softens the acidity of the citrus.
Grapefruit sections: Adds bright acidity and bitterness that contrast with the rich avocado and shrimp.
Orange sections: Adds sweetness and juiciness that balance the sharp citrus and hot sauce.

The step that matters

Cool the shrimp without rinsing. Rock shrimp absorb water quickly, so rinsing them in cold water would dilute their flavor and make the salad watery. Spreading them on a sheet pan lets the heat escape while they stay dry.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, sugar, sauce, garlic, olive, pepper, shrimp):

Parsleyfits better
Corianderfits better
Capersfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, sugar, sauce, garlic, olive, pepper, shrimp. 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
Tortilla Chip	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Grapefruit	1/2 fruit (123g)	52
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Green Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Avocado, Citrus and Rock Shrimp Salad