Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Cold Slaw I
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
Slice the cabbage very thin.
Place the sliced cabbage in cold water until crisp.
Dry the cabbage with a towel.
Season and serve
Sprinkle sugar, salt, and pepper over the cabbage if desired.
Pour the vinegar over the cabbage.
Toss with a fork and serve.
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.
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + vinegartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cabbage + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the dish and provides its crisp, crunchy texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the slaw its tangy flavor.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.
The step that matters
Place the sliced cabbage in cold water until crisp. Soaking thinly sliced cabbage in cold water firms its cell walls, so it stays crisp rather than going limp once dressed. Drying it well afterward keeps the vinegar and seasonings from being diluted.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagethe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, pepper. 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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