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 ↓
Ollo Hot Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the cabbage
Combine the cabbage and water in a pot and cook until the cabbage is tender.
Drain the water from the cabbage.
Make the dressing and serve
In a bowl, mix the milk, vinegar, sugar, butter, eggs, pepper, and salt until well combined.
Pour the mixture over the cabbage and stir well.
Let it boil for a moment or two before serving.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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).
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 becomes tender when cooked in water.
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they heat, giving it a creamy, coating body.
- Milk
- Adds richness and mildness, softening the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the slaw its tangy flavour.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth mouthfeel and rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.
The step that matters
Boiling the dressed slaw. Eggs thicken when heated, but if the mixture boils too hard or too long the proteins can curdle and turn grainy. Boil only briefly, stirring, so the dressing thickens smoothly.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, vinegar, sugar, butter, egg, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, vinegar, sugar, butter, egg, 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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