Why it works: Cabbage and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,645 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Hot Slaw
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the finely cut cabbage in cold water.
Cook
In a pot, combine vinegar, mustard, black pepper, olive oil (or butter), and salt.
Heat the mixture until hot.
Stir in the cabbage and cook for a few minutes.
Serve
Serve hot.
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 + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 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 dish and softens slightly as it cooks in the warm dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the fat and sweetness of the cabbage.
- Olive oil or butter
- Carries flavour and adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel to the warm dressing.
- Mustard
- Adds pungent, sharp flavour that complements the vinegar.
The step that matters
Stir in the cabbage and cook for a few minutes. Cooking only briefly keeps the cabbage crisp-tender. Overcooking it releases more sulfurous compounds, softens the texture and dulls the bright, sharp flavour of the vinegar.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, mustard, pepper, olive):
- Capsicumfits better
- Lettucefits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, mustard, pepper, olive. 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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