Name: Fancy French Dressing
Ingredients: ½ cup olive oil; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 heaping tablespoon powdered sugar; 1 green pepper, chopped; 1 pimento, chopped; 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley; 1 tablespoon finely chopped Bermuda onion; ¼ cup malt vinegar; ¼ cup tarragon vinegar; 1 clove garlic

Why it works: Parsley and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,563 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Parsley + tarragontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,563 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + tarragontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,399 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,649 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Vinegar + tarragontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,547 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Olive oil: Provides fat and body, carrying the flavours of the vinegar and seasonings.
Malt vinegar: Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness of the oil.
Tarragon vinegar: Adds acidity and a distinct aromatic, herbal flavour.
Powdered sugar: Adds a little sweetness that softens the sharpness of the vinegar.

The step that matters

Stir vigorously for five minutes. Oil and vinegar are immiscible, so vigorous stirring breaks the oil into tiny droplets that stay suspended as an emulsion. Stirring briefly leaves the dressing separated, and the sugar and salt dissolve better when mixed thoroughly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, sugar, pepper, parsley, malt, vinegar, tarragon):

Capsicumfits better
Shallotfits better
Mustardfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, sugar, pepper, parsley, malt, vinegar, tarragon. 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.

Fancy French Dressing