Name: Russian Dressing
Ingredients: ½ cup mayonnaise; 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish; ⅓ cup olive oil; 1 cup chili sauce; ¼ cup green peppers, finely chopped

Why it works: Olive and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,263 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Russian Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise and olive oil.
Add the chili sauce and finely chopped green peppers.
Beat the mixture well until combined.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Olive + saucetop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,568 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce + peppertop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,303 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sauce and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,303 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

Mayonnaise: Forms the creamy base and carries the other flavors.
Olive oil: Adds fat that makes the dressing richer and smoother.
Chili sauce: Supplies tomato-based sweetness, acidity and the dressing's color.
Sweet pickle relish: Adds sweetness and tang with a finely textured bite.
Green peppers: Contribute a fresh, crisp texture and mild vegetable flavor.

“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.