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 ↓
Cold Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Shred the heart of the cabbage.
Put the shredded cabbage into a salad bowl.
Dress and serve
Season with sugar, salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.
Stir and toss thoroughly.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Cabbage + vinegartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cabbage + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,037 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the salad and provides its crisp, crunchy texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Oil
- Coats the cabbage shreds, adding richness and carrying flavor.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and lightly softens the cabbage.
The step that matters
Stir and toss thoroughly. Cabbage must be evenly coated so the dressing reaches every shred. Uneven tossing leaves some pieces bland and others soggy or overly sharp.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, pepper, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagethe original
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, pepper, vinegar. 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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