Why it works: Apple and lettuce work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 515 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Apple Rings
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apples
Pare and core the apples.
Soak the apples in salted cold water for a few moments.
Slice the apples and place three rings on each plate of lettuce.
Assemble and serve
Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each apple ring.
Drizzle thin salad dressing over the salad.
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 + lettucetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together515 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the crisp, sweet-tart base that forms the rings of the salad.
- Maraschino cherries
- Add sweetness and a bright red color at the center of each ring.
- Thin salad dressing
- Adds moisture and flavor to the salad.
The step that matters
Soaking the apples in salted cold water. Cut apple flesh browns quickly from oxidation. A brief soak in cold salted water slows browning and helps the slices stay pale and fresh-looking until serving.
“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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