Name: Cabbage Rose Salad
Ingredients: 1 medium head cabbage; 6 to 8 radishes, sliced; 1/2 cup chopped green pepper; 2 cups cooked rice, cooled; 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese; 1 6-ounce package ham luncheon meat, cut into julienne strips; 1 teaspoon celery seed; 2 teaspoons salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 16-ounce can crushed pineapple (drain; reserve juice); 1 3-ounce package cream cheese (room temperature); 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Why it works: Cabbage and radish match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. 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.

Cabbage + radishtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together106 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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).
Cabbage + celerytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,840 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,169 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Cabbage: Forms the crisp base of the salad and the edible bowl that holds it.
Cooked rice: Adds bulk and a soft, absorbent texture to the salad.
Cream cheese: Makes the dressing thick and creamy, binding it to the vegetables.
Mayonnaise: Adds fat and richness to the dressing, carrying its flavor.
Pineapple: Contributes sweetness and acidity that brighten the salad.
Cheddar cheese: Adds savory flavor and a little richness to the mixture.

Swap the radish

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pepper, rice, cheddar cheese, ham, meat, celery):

Mustardfits better
Carrotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Radishthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pepper, rice, cheddar cheese, ham, meat, celery. 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
Pork	100g cooked	242
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Pineapple	1 cup chunks (165g)	82
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Celery Seed	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Meat	not in our table	0

Cabbage Rose Salad