Name: Herb and Lemon Dip with Jicama and Cucumber Sticks
Ingredients: 1 15-oz. container low-fat ricotta; 1 cup sour cream; 2 Tbs. chopped chives or scallions; Generous squeeze of lemon juice to taste; Generous squeeze of lemon juice to taste; 1 3-lb. jicama, peeled and cut into sticks; 2 large cucumbers, peeled and cut into sticks

Why it works: Jicama and cucumber share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 24 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Herb and Lemon Dip with Jicama and Cucumber Sticks

Ingredients

1 15-oz. container low-fat ricotta
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbs. chopped chives or scallions
Generous squeeze of lemon juice to taste
Generous squeeze of lemon juice to taste
1 3-lb. jicama, peeled and cut into sticks
2 large cucumbers, peeled and cut into sticks

Directions

Make the dip

Whisk together ricotta, sour cream, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Put into container, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Prepare the vegetables

Cut up and wrap jicama and cucumber sticks in plastic bags, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

393Calories

31 gProtein

11 gFat

40 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Ricotta Cheese	1/2 cup (124g) part-skim	174
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Jicama	1 cup (120g)	46
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chives	1 tbsp (3g)	1

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.

Jicama + cucumbertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together24 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Chive + cucumbertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together244 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Chive + jicamatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Lemon + cucumbertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,067 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together25 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Low-fat ricotta: Provides a creamy, smooth body that forms the base of the dip.
Sour cream: Adds richness and tang, giving the dip a creamy texture and moisture.
Jicama: Supplies crisp, juicy sticks that hold up well for dipping.
Cucumbers: Adds cool, moist crunch that complements the dip's richness.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, chive, jicama, cucumber):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Pumpkinfits about as well
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream, chive, jicama, cucumber. 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.

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Herb and Lemon Dip with Jicama and Cucumber Sticks