Name: Tomato and Cheese Salad
Ingredients: 1 slice of tomato; 1 lettuce leaf; 1 slice of American cheese; mayonnaise; 1 additional slice of tomato; dressing

Why it works: Tomato and lettuce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,655 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Tomato and Cheese Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Place a slice of tomato on a lettuce leaf.
Top with a slice of American cheese spread with mayonnaise.
Add another slice of tomato on top.
Finish with a spoonful of dressing.

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.

Tomato + lettucetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,655 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + cheesetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,896 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Lettuce + cheesetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together614 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomato: Adds juicy moisture and a fresh, slightly acidic flavour to each layer.
American cheese: Melts softly and adds creamy richness that balances the acidity of the tomato.
Mayonnaise: Adds fat and creaminess, helping the cheese spread and binding the layers together.
Lettuce: Provides a crisp, cool base that holds the tomato and cheese.