Name: Chopped Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients: 8 cups (440 g) chopped iceberg lettuce; 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped; 3 plum tomatoes, diced; 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced; 8 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced; 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced; 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

Why it works: Lettuce and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,409 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Chopped Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients

8 cups (440 g) chopped iceberg lettuce
1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
8 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

Directions

Combine the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, celery, radishes, bell pepper, and carrot in a large salad bowl.
Lightly toss.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

135Calories

5 gProtein

1 gFat

30 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Iceberg Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5

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).

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.

Lettuce + cucumbertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,409 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cucumber + radishtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together212 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Lettuce + radishtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together58 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Cucumber + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 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

Swap the plum

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, celery, radish, pepper, carrot):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Lemonfits better
Plumthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lettuce, cucumber, tomato, celery, radish, pepper, carrot. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.