Name: Italian Dressing I
Yield: ¾ cup
Ingredients: ¼ cup drained capers; 1 clove garlic , pressed; 1 shallot , minced; ½ cup olive oil; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 1 small dried red chile , sliced; ½ teaspoon crushed fennel seed; 1 tablespoon white Chianti or dry white wine; 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Why it works: Capers and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 405 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Italian Dressing I

¾ cup

Ingredients

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting top, then shake well.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

202Calories

2 gProtein

14 gFat

16 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Fennel	1/2 bulb (87g)	27
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Capers	1 tbsp (9g) drained	2
Seed	not in our table	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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

Capers + shallottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together405 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Shallot + fenneltop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together146 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Capers + olivetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,688 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Capers + fenneltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together79 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Olive oil: Forms the bulk of the dressing and carries the flavour of the other ingredients.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the rich oil.
Capers: Add a briny, sharp punch that stands out against the oil and acid.
Shallot: Adds a mild, sweet onion flavour that softens the sharpness of the vinegar-style acids.
Garlic: Contributes pungent aroma and sharpness that mellows as the dressing sits.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (capers, garlic, shallot, olive, pepper, fennel, white wine):

Tarragonfits better
Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against capers, garlic, shallot, olive, pepper, fennel, white wine. 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.