Why it works: Asparagus and spinach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 274 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓
Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the asparagus for 20 minutes until tender but not mushy.
Color the mayonnaise green with spinach or parsley juice.
Arrange the asparagus neatly on a dish with all the heads facing the same way.
Chill the asparagus in the refrigerator until very cold.
Pour the green mayonnaise over the asparagus, leaving the tips uncovered.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Asparagus + spinachtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together274 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
More asparagus salad recipes
You might also like
Asparagus Soup179 recipes
Spinach Soup50 recipes
Cream of Asparagus38 recipes
Cream of Spinach29 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.