Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Salad Dressing, with Oil
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Mix black pepper and coarse sea salt in 2 tablespoons of oil.
Stir in 4 more tablespoons of oil and 5 tablespoons of vinegar.
Add a little cayenne and sugar or mustard if desired.
Serve
Prepare your desired salad and pour the dressing over it just 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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Pepper + vinegartop 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).
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Pepper + sugartop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,401 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,401 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oil
- Forms the body of the dressing and carries the flavour of the other ingredients.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the dressing and helps draw out the flavour of the black pepper.
The step that matters
Pour the dressing just before serving. Oil and vinegar separate on standing, and acid softens delicate leaves if they sit in it too long. Dressing added at the last moment stays emulsified enough to coat and keeps the greens crisp.
“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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