Name: Apple-Cherry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Ingredients: ¼ cup apple-cherry juice blend; ¼ cup oil; 3 tablespoons vinegar; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon sugar; Paprika, salt, and pepper (optional)

Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Apple-Cherry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Combine apple-cherry juice blend, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and spices (if desired) in a covered jar, then shake to mix well.
Serve over fresh greens or pasta salad.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

189Calories

1 gProtein

14 gFat

18 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
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.

Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Apple + cherrytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together295 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Cherry + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,336 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Cherry + lemontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,301 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Cherry + vinegartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together767 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

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

What each ingredient does

Apple-cherry juice blend: Provides fruity sweetness and body as the base of the dressing.
Oil: Adds fat and a smooth, silky mouthfeel that carries flavour.
Vinegar: Supplies acidity that balances the sweetness and sharpens the flavour.
Lemon juice: Adds extra bright acidity that lifts the fruit flavours.
Sugar: Rounds out the acidity and adds sweetness to balance the dressing.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cherry, vinegar, lemon, sugar, pepper):

Limefits better
Orangefits better
Mangofits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cherry, vinegar, lemon, sugar, pepper. 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.