Why it works: Lettuce and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,356 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Lettuce Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Boil the eggs hard.
Remove the yolk from one egg and place it in a bowl.
Work the yolk smooth with a spoon, then add mustard, condensed milk, pepper, and salt.
Slowly mix in the oil, followed by the vinegar. Mix thoroughly.
Prepare and serve the salad
Remove the outer leaves of the lettuce, tear it into pieces, wash in cold water, and dry completely.
Break the lettuce into small pieces and place in a salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the lettuce.
Slice the remaining egg and arrange it around the salad. Garnish with the best pieces of lettuce.
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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Lettuce + mustardtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,356 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Lettuce + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,037 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lettuce
- Forms the bulk of the salad and carries the dressing with its crisp leaves.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Yolk is mashed into the dressing for body; sliced white and yolk add richness to the salad.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps emulsify the oil and vinegar.
- Oil
- Provides fat for a smooth, rich dressing that coats the leaves.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
- Condensed milk
- Adds sweetness and creaminess to offset the acidity of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Slowly mix in the oil. Adding oil gradually while mixing lets it emulsify with the yolk and mustard. Pouring it in too fast can cause the dressing to separate instead of turning smooth and creamy.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (condensed milk, mustard, egg, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits about as well
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against condensed milk, mustard, egg, vinegar, 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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