Why it works: Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,092 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the salad
Toss lettuce, peppers, bacon, mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese into a large mixing/salad bowl, set aside.
Make the dressing
To prepare dressing, combine anchovies, vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic, sugar, cornstarch, and remaining parmesan cheese in a blender.
Mix in the blender, slowly adding 1 cup oil.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Serve
Combine salad, croutons, and dressing, serve.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Parmesan cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,092 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Garlic + oreganotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,756 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Pepper + oreganotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,449 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Parmesan cheese + red winetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together177 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Red wine + vinegartop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together569 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Anchovies
- Add a savory, salty depth that gives the dressing its character.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the dressing so it clings to the lettuce rather than pooling.
- Olive oil or vegetable oil
- Forms the body of the dressing as it emulsifies with the vinegar.
- Red wine vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
- Parmesan cheese
- Contributes salty, savory flavor and helps the dressing season the salad.
The step that matters
Slowly adding the oil in the blender. Pouring the oil slowly lets it emulsify into the vinegar and blended ingredients, producing a smooth, stable dressing instead of a greasy, separated one.
Flavor stand-ins for the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, red wine, vinegar, oregano):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Onionbetter flavor fit
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, red wine, vinegar, oregano. 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).
“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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