Name: Simple Salad
Ingredients: 1/2 head of lettuce, chopped well; 3 tsp. olive oil; 3 tsp. vinegar; salt to taste

Why it works: Lettuce and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,580 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Simple Salad

Ingredients

1/2 head of lettuce, chopped well
3 tsp. olive oil
3 tsp. vinegar
salt to taste

Directions

Chop the lettuce fine.
Add olive oil and vinegar, toss well adding salt as needed.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

127Calories

0 gProtein

14 gFat

1 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	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.

Lettuce + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,580 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Lettuce + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,370 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Lettuce: Forms the bulk of the salad and carries the dressing on its leaves.
Olive oil: Adds fat and richness, coating the leaves and carrying flavour.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the salad and balances the oil.