Cabbage El Salvador-style

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

1. Cabbage + pineappletop 12% of all pairs
   Aroma overlapstrong
   Mentioned together32 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).

2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
   Aroma overlapstrong
   Mentioned together29,030 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

3. Carrot + peppertop 3% of all pairs
   Aroma overlapstrong
   Mentioned together14,555 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Cabbage + peppertop 3% of all pairs
   Aroma overlapstrong
   Mentioned together4,080 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

5. Onion + carrottop 4% of all pairs
   Aroma overlapstrong
   Mentioned together21,599 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Green cabbage

Forms the crisp, bulky body of the salad.

Distilled white vinegar

Adds acidity that brightens the salad and softens the cabbage slightly as it marinates.

Pineapple juice

Adds sweetness and fruity acidity that balances the vinegar.

Red onion

Contributes sharp flavour that mellows during marinating.

The step that matters

Flavor stand-ins for the pineapple

The recipe marks pineapple as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic, vinegar, pepper):

1. Limebetter flavor fit
2. Mangobetter flavor fit
3. Lemonbetter flavor fit
4. Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).