Name: Tomato and Avocado Salsa
Ingredients: 2 tomatoes, finely chopped; ¼ cup finely chopped red onion; ¼ of a jalapeno chile, finely diced; ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro; 2 tbs lime juice; 1 tbs lime zest; 1 tbs olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 1 avocado, halved lengthwise

Why it works: Lime and avocado match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,117 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

Directions

Make the salsa

In a bowl, mix together tomatoes, onion, jalapeño and cilantro, set aside.
Add lime juice and zest, olive oil and salt to the tomato mixture, stir to combine.
Score each half of the avocado flesh into a small dice and scoop out, fold into the tomato mixture.

Chill and serve

Press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate.
Stir before serving.
Serve with tortilla chips.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

445Calories

6 gProtein

36 gFat

33 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
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.

Lime + avocadotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,117 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Jalapeno + avocadotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together441 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Jalapeno + limetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,035 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Tomato + avocadotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,385 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Provide the fresh, juicy body and bulk of the salsa.
Avocado: Adds creamy richness and fat that softens the sharper flavors.
Lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the flavors and slightly firms the avocado.
Red onion: Contributes sharp, pungent flavor and crunch.
Olive oil: Adds fat that carries flavor and gives a smoother mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Fold in the avocado gently. Avocado flesh bruises and turns mushy when mashed or overworked, and its surface browns through oxidation once cut. Folding it in last, in small dice, keeps the pieces intact and limits exposure to air.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, jalapeno, lime, olive, avocado):

Lettucefits better
Kalefits better
Cucumberfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, jalapeno, lime, olive, avocado. 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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Tomato and Avocado Salsa