Name: Open-face Turkey Sandwiches
Ingredients: 4 slices rye-pumpernickel swirl, rye, or pumpernickel bread; 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon light tub margarine; 4 leaves Bibb lettuce; 8 ounces thinly sliced cooked turkey breast, cooked without salt, skin and all visible fat discarded; ½ small green bell pepper, cut into 4 thin rings; ½ small red onion, thinly sliced; 1 medium Italian plum tomato, thinly sliced; 4 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese

Why it works: Rye and lettuce share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 23 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Open-face Turkey Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 slices rye-pumpernickel swirl, rye, or pumpernickel bread
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon light tub margarine
4 leaves Bibb lettuce
8 ounces thinly sliced cooked turkey breast, cooked without salt, skin and all visible fat discarded
½ small green bell pepper, cut into 4 thin rings
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 medium Italian plum tomato, thinly sliced
4 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese

Directions

Separate each slice of bread, and spread each slice with margarine.
On each slice of bread, put each of the remaining ingredients in the order listed.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cheese over each sandwich.
Add pickled cucumbers for an added taste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1037Calories

57 gProtein

26 gFat

140 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 11 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Blue Cheese	1 oz (28g)	100
Rye	1 slice (32g)	83
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5
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.

Rye + lettucetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together23 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Plum + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,480 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lettuce + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,655 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Lettuce + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,562 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Rye-pumpernickel bread: Provides the sturdy base that holds the toppings and gives a dense, earthy flavor.
Light tub margarine: Adds fat and a thin layer that helps keep the bread from soaking up moisture from the toppings.
Cooked turkey breast: Supplies the main protein and the bulk of the sandwich.
Blue cheese: Adds a sharp, salty, tangy flavor that stands out against the mild turkey.
Red onion: Adds a sharp bite and aroma that cuts through the richness of the meat and cheese.
Italian plum tomato: Adds juiciness and a mild acidity that brightens the sandwich.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rye, lettuce, turkey, pepper, plum, tomato, blue cheese):

Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rye, lettuce, turkey, pepper, plum, tomato, blue cheese. 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.