Name: Carrabba's House Salad Dressing
Ingredients: ½ cup mayonnaise; ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese; ¼ cup buttermilk; 1½ tsp minced garlic; ½ tsp minced fresh parsley; ½ tsp lemon juice

Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Carrabba's House Salad Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

354Calories

25 gProtein

21 gFat

18 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

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.

Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + lemontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,893 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Parmesan cheese + garlictop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,041 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Buttermilk + garlictop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together285 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Mayonnaise: Provides the fat and creamy body that gives the dressing its richness and coating texture.
Parmesan cheese: Adds savory, salty flavor and umami depth.
Buttermilk: Adds tang and thins the mayonnaise to a pourable consistency.
Garlic: Contributes sharp aroma and pungent flavor.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parmesan cheese, buttermilk, parsley, lemon):

Dillfits better
Basilfits better
Thymefits better
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parmesan cheese, buttermilk, parsley, lemon. 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.