Name: A Club Sandwich
Ingredients: 1 slice of bread; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 slice of broiled bacon; 1 slice of white meat (turkey or chicken); 1 slice of ripe tomato; 1 leaf of lettuce; mayonnaise or other dressing

Why it works: Tomato and lettuce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,655 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

A Club Sandwich

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the toast

Toast the slice of bread until evenly golden and lightly crisp.
Butter one side of the toast.

Build the sandwich

On the buttered side, layer the broiled bacon, followed by the slice of turkey or chicken.
Add a slice of tomato on one half and a leaf of lettuce on the other half.
Spread a generous layer of mayonnaise or dressing over the toppings.
Top with the remaining piece of toast to complete the sandwich.

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.

Tomato + lettucetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,655 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + tomatotop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,013 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Bread + meattop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,924 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Bread + lettucetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together602 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

Bread: Provides the crisp, golden structure that holds the layers together.
Butter: Adds richness and helps the toast brown while adding flavor.
Bacon: Contributes savory, salty flavor and crisp texture from its rendered fat.
Turkey or chicken: Adds the mild, protein-rich meat that gives the sandwich its bulk.
Tomato: Adds juiciness and a touch of acidity that brightens the richer layers.
Mayonnaise: Adds fat and moisture that bind the fillings and carry flavor.