Why it works: Grape and apple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,659 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Fruit Salad
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the walnuts, celery, grapes, and apples, then mix in the mayonnaise dressing until well combined.
Serve the salad on a bed of lettuce.
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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Grape + appletop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,659 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Walnut + lettucetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together491 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Celery + lettucetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,033 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Walnut + celerytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Walnut + grapetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,427 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- English walnuts
- Add crunch and a nutty, slightly bitter flavour that contrasts with the soft fruit.
- Celery
- Adds crisp texture and a fresh, vegetal crunch to the salad.
- White california grapes
- Add juicy sweetness and moisture to the salad.
- Jonathan apples
- Add tart flavour and crisp, juicy texture as diced pieces.
- Mayonnaise dressing
- Binds the ingredients together and adds richness and creaminess.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (walnut, celery, grape, lettuce):
- Avocadofits better
- Figfits better
- Cherryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against walnut, celery, grape, lettuce. 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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