Why it works: Apple and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,206 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Apple Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Select small, smooth red apples that are very tart.
Cut a slice from the blossom end and use an apple corer and teaspoon to remove the core and pulp without breaking the skins.
Place the apple hulls in cold water to prevent discoloration.
Chop the pulp coarsely and mix it with chopped green onions if desired.
Pour French dressing over the mixture.
Serve the salad in the apple hulls, garnished with apple blossoms or nasturtiums.
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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Apple + oniontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,206 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
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