Name: Basil Dressing
Ingredients: ½ cup plain yogurt, light or regular; 3 tbsp low-fat cottage cheese; 2 tbsp finely-minced fresh basil; 1 tsp granulated sugar; 1 tbsp herb vinegar; salt and black pepper, to taste

Why it works: Basil and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,610 recipes mention both. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

½ cup plain yogurt, light or regular
3 tbsp low-fat cottage cheese
2 tbsp finely-minced fresh basil
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp herb vinegar
salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Place all ingredients except salt and pepper into a blender and puree until smooth.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Basil + vinegartop 9% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together1,610 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Basil + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together5,292 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Yogurt + cottage cheesetop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together174 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Yogurt + vinegartop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together955 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Vinegar + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together27,805 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Plain yogurt: Provides creamy body and tang as the dressing's base.
Cottage cheese: Adds thickness and creaminess, helping the dressing cling to greens.
Fresh basil: Contributes the herbal aroma that defines the dressing.
Herb vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the dairy.

“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.