Why it works: Tarragon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,399 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Crab Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the meat from the body and claws of the crab.
In a bowl, mix together the tarragon vinegar and salad oil.
Season the mixture with pepper to taste.
Combine the crab meat with the dressing and serve.
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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Tarragon + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,399 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,547 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Meat + crabtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Crab + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together922 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Crab meat
- Forms the body of the salad, supplying the main texture and flavor.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness of the oil.
- Salad oil
- Carries flavor and coats the crab meat, adding richness and moisture.
Swap the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, crab, vinegar, pepper):
- Tarragonthe original
- Garlicfits about as well
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Thymefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, crab, vinegar, pepper. 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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