Cold Slaw with Cooked Dressing

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.

1. Pepper + cabbagetop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,081 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Vinegar + cabbagetop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,924 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

4. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,814 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

5. Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together92,116 recipes

   Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Vinegar

Provides the sharp acidity that gives coleslaw its tang.

Flour

Thickens the hot dressing so it clings to the cabbage.

Butter

Adds fat that gives the dressing a richer, rounder mouthfeel.

Sugar

Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the vinegar.

Chopped cabbage

Forms the bulk of the salad and supplies its crisp texture.

The step that matters

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, butter, flour, sugar, pepper):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Mustardfits better
3. Shallotfits better
4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, butter, flour, sugar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.