Name: 'Out of Salad Dressing' Salad Dressing
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 ½ lemons , juiced; 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 2 teaspoons garlic salt; ¾ cup mayonnaise; 1 cup milk

Why it works: Lemon and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,893 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

'Out of Salad Dressing' Salad Dressing

Serves 12

Total8 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Mix together lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and mayonnaise until smooth.
Stir in milk, adjusting the amount or adding a little water, to make the dressing as thin or thick as you like.
Cover and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

349Calories

25 gProtein

21 gFat

17 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 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
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 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.

Lemon + garlictop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,893 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Parmesan cheese + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,608 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Parmesan cheese + garlictop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,041 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Lemon + parmesan cheesetop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,232 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

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

What each ingredient does

Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the mayonnaise.
Parmesan cheese: Adds savoury, salty flavour and body as it blends into the dressing.
Mayonnaise: Provides fat and emulsified body that makes the dressing creamy.
Milk: Thins the dressing to the desired consistency and adds mild richness.

The step that matters

Stir in the milk gradually. Milk thins the thick mayonnaise and cheese base quickly, so adding it a little at a time lets you control the final consistency and avoid an overly runny dressing.

Swap the garlic

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

Basilfits better
Pepperfits better
Celeryfits better
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, parmesan cheese, milk. 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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'Out of Salad Dressing' Salad Dressing