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 ↓
Salmon Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, mix the egg yolk, mustard, pepper, and salt.
Slowly add the vinegar, then stir in the cream until well combined.
Assemble and serve
Arrange the lettuce on a dish and flake the salmon over it.
Pour the dressing over the salmon and 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.
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.
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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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Vinegar + mustardtop 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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Emulsifies the cream and vinegar, helping the dressing stay smooth and cohesive.
- Cream
- Adds richness and body, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the fish.
- Salmon
- Provides the main protein and flavour of the salad.
- Lettuce
- Forms the crisp base that holds the salmon and dressing.
The step that matters
Slowly add the vinegar, then stir in the cream. Adding the vinegar gradually to the egg yolk lets it emulsify smoothly. Adding it all at once can cause the dressing to split or turn grainy, and the cream is then stirred in to finish a stable, cohesive dressing.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, cream, vinegar, egg, mustard, pepper, sugar):
- Horseradishfits better
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, cream, vinegar, egg, mustard, pepper, sugar. 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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