Why it works: Pear and pineapple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 169 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Fruit Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the salad
Prepare jello according to package directions.
Once it begins to cool, add cut pieces of pear and pineapple.
Allow to congeal.
Serve
Serve on a bed of lettuce with mayonnaise.
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.
-
Pear + pineappletop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together169 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
-
Pear + lettucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together92 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Pineapple + lettucetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together271 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Jello mix
- Gels as it cools, setting the fruit in a firm, sliceable structure.
- Pears
- Provide soft, sweet fruit pieces that hold their shape within the set gelatin.
- Pineapple
- Adds sweet-tart fruit flavor and pieces that keep their texture in the gelatin.
- Mayonnaise
- Adds fat and creaminess that contrasts with the sweet, cool gelatin.
The step that matters
Add the fruit once the jello begins to cool. If the gelatin is still hot, it can soften or break down the fruit and the fruit may sink. Waiting until it thickens slightly lets the fruit stay suspended evenly as it sets.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pear, pineapple):
- Capsicumfits better
- Lettucethe original
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Beetrootfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against pear, pineapple. 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.
More fruit salad recipes
You might also like
Creamy Lettuce Soup8 recipes
Lettuce Soup8 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.