Name: Tarragon Dressing
Ingredients: 2/3 cup extra virgin olive or flax seed oil; 1/3 cup lemon juice or red wine vinegar; 1 1/2 tsp dried tarragon; 1 tsp maple syrup or brown rice syrup; 1 clove minced garlic

Why it works: Lemon and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,137 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Tarragon Dressing

Ingredients

2/3 cup extra virgin olive or flax seed oil
1/3 cup lemon juice or red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp maple syrup or brown rice syrup
1 clove minced garlic

Directions

Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to combine. Refrigerate unused portions.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

464Calories

7 gProtein

19 gFat

68 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Flax Seed	1 tbsp (10g) ground	55
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2
Syrup	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 + tarragontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,137 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Tarragon + clovetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together548 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together884 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

Extra virgin olive or flax seed oil: Forms the body of the dressing and carries the fat-soluble flavours of the herbs and garlic.
Lemon juice or red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
Dried tarragon: Provides the main herbal aroma and flavour of the dressing.
Maple syrup or brown rice syrup: Adds a touch of sweetness that rounds out the acidity.
Garlic: Contributes pungent aroma and savoury depth.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, lemon, tarragon, maple syrup, garlic):

Thymefits better
Fennelfits better
Parsleyfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, lemon, tarragon, maple syrup, garlic. 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.