Name: Cabbage Salad
Ingredients: 1 small solid head of cabbage, finely shaved; 1 small onion, finely chopped; ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt; ½ cup vinegar; a dash of red pepper; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 red or green pepper, chopped

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 ↓

Cabbage Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Finely shave the cabbage and chop the onion.
In a bowl, combine the salt, vinegar, red pepper, and olive oil. Stir the mixture until it thickens.

Dress and serve

Pour the dressing over the cabbage and add the chopped red or green pepper. Mix well to combine.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,001 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + olivetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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 salad and provides its crisp, crunchy texture.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and softens the cabbage slightly.
Olive oil: Adds fat and richness that carries flavour and coats the vegetables.
Onion: Contributes a sharp, aromatic bite to the salad.