Why it works: Lettuce and chive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 261 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Tip of the Iceberg Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, whisk the mayo, sour cream, blue cheese, lemon juice and pepper until well combined. Cover and refrigerate.
Assemble and serve
Slice the lettuce into four equal wedges, without letting each wedge fall apart.
When you're ready to serve, place one wedge vertically on a salad plate with the outside larger leaves down and the center of the lettuce pointing up.
Add a hefty dollop of dressing, sprinkle with chives and bacon or nuts and repeat with three more plates.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Blue Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 100 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
| Walnut | 1 walnut half (4g) | 26 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Iceberg Lettuce | 1 cup shredded (36g) | 5 |
| Chives | 1 tbsp (3g) | 1 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Lettuce + chivetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together261 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Lettuce + walnuttop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together491 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Chive + walnuttop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together119 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Pepper + lettucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,037 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
- Mayonnaise
- Provides creamy body and richness to the dressing.
- Sour cream
- Adds tang and a thick, smooth texture to the dressing.
- Blue cheese
- Supplies the sharp, salty flavor that defines the dressing.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich dairy and cheese.
- Iceberg lettuce
- Provides a crisp, cool base that holds the dressing.
The step that matters
Refrigerate the dressing before serving. Covering and chilling lets the flavors meld and the dressing thicken, so it clings to the lettuce rather than running off.
Swap the walnut
The recipe marks walnut as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, blue cheese, lemon, pepper, lettuce, chive):
- Chickpeafits about as well
- Beansfits about as well
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, blue cheese, lemon, pepper, lettuce, chive. 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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