Why it works: Butter and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 85,593 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Spinach Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the spinach
Wash spinach thoroughly in several waters.
Steam spinach for about ten minutes.
Drain spinach in a colander.
Chop spinach finely and season with salt, pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of melted butter.
Mix well and press into small moulds or cups.
Serve
When cold, place each form on a lettuce leaf and top with a spoonful of mayonnaise dressing.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Spinach (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the salad, packing into a firm shape when chopped and pressed.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, coating the chopped spinach and softening its flavour.
- Mayonnaise dressing
- Adds creamy fat and acidity to balance the mild, earthy spinach.
The step that matters
Press the spinach firmly into the moulds. Chopped spinach holds its shape only when packed tightly and cooled. Loose packing lets the molded forms crumble when turned out.
“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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