Name: Paula's Broccoli Salad
Ingredients: 1 bunch broccoli, cut in tiny flowers; 1 cup raisins; ¼ cup red onion; ¼ cup pecans (or walnuts, or sunflower seeds); ¼ cup bacon bits; 1 cup mayonnaise; ½ cup sugar; ¼ cup vinegar

Why it works: Broccoli and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,294 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Paula's Broccoli Salad

Timea few hours

Ingredients

Directions

Mix mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar.
Add bacon bits and other ingredients and mix.
Chill for a few hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

545Calories

21 gProtein

28 gFat

58 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sunflower Seed	1 oz (28g) hulled	165
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Pecan	1 half (4g)	20
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Flower	not in our table	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.

Broccoli + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Broccoli + vinegartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,286 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,226 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Broccoli: Provides the crisp, fresh bulk of the salad.
Mayonnaise: Supplies fat and creamy body that coats the broccoli and binds the dressing.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the dressing and cuts the richness of the mayonnaise.
Raisins: Add chewy sweetness and moisture to the salad.

The step that matters

Chill for a few hours. Resting lets the dressing soak into the broccoli and the flavours blend, so the salad tastes unified rather than like separate ingredients stirred together.

Swap the pecans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (broccoli, raisin, onion, sugar, vinegar):

Almondfits better
Chestnutfits better
Sesamefits better
Pecansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against broccoli, raisin, onion, sugar, vinegar. 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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Paula's Broccoli Salad