Name: Cream Dressing for Cold Slaw
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons whipped sweet cream; 2 tablespoons sugar; 4 tablespoons vinegar; finely cut cabbage

Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Cream Dressing for Cold Slaw

Ingredients

2 tablespoons whipped sweet cream
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
finely cut cabbage

Directions

In a bowl, combine whipped sweet cream, sugar, and vinegar, and beat well until mixed.
Pour the dressing over the finely cut cabbage and toss to coat.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Vinegar + cabbagetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,924 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Cream + vinegartop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,064 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Sugar + cabbagetop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,037 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Whipped sweet cream: Adds richness and a smooth, creamy body to the dressing.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that gives the dressing its tang and brightness.
Finely cut cabbage: Serves as the base vegetable that the dressing coats.